A Free Lunch From Steorn
Something bothered me about Steorn’s claims early in my research. It is one thing to say that you can make magnets do work and quite another to say that they will keep doing so without degradation for the life of the machine. If the permanent magnets degraded over time or simply demagnetised, then recharging them periodically would constitute fuel and the whole dream comes tumbling down.
I couldn’t understand how Steorn could make this claim. True, they’ve been playing around with this tech for a few years now, but as far as I know, they have not simply set one going and let it run for a year or two. Rather, they have been hunting for new and better ways to do the same thing, testing and retesting exhaustively, starting it off, measuring performances, torques and speed before stopping it, tweaking some aspect of the design and then running the tests again. Exhaustive, time-consuming and the stuff of good engineering design. But, if that’s true, how can they know that the magnets don’t demagnetise?
The answer lies in something Sean said in the Steorn public forum in November last year. Posting to the forum, he said that if a permanent magnet, initially magnetised to 80% of its capacity, was used in the device, then after some time in operation it would have increased its strength to 100%.
I’m not sure if the 100% figure refers to saturation or retentivity – probably the latter. Either way, it is an astonishing statement. Now we can understand their confidence. While nothing will beat a long field trial to prove the point, the knowledge that the magnetisation is topped up as it runs, is the key to the magic that is about to change our world. Where is the energy coming from? Why does a permanent magnet do that? These are questions that will excite scientists working on the subject in the coming years. Meanwhile the rest of us can hop on the ride happy in the knowledge that Steorn has confounded one more law:
There really is such a thing as a free lunch.
Labels: free energy, magnetization, magnets, ORBO, ou, renewable, Steorn
posted by Paul Story at
17:12
12 Comments:
In the last five hundred years we seperated science and religion. Both have their place in society - But Steorn is on the science side of the equation and at this stage proof is required. The first week of July has arrived and if they dont produce the demo in London then their credibility will begin to slide, by the end of the month it will be halved and by September gone.
I already have seen people starting to make excuses for them as to why they wont demo. But this is not a religion. We cannot just believe Steorn because it would be nice to. We all return to these discussion boards because we are curious - but now I am just bored. We debate endlessly about physics, economics, marketing. But to no real end..let see something now.
Hi Anthony,
I agree that if they do not produce a credible demonstration, it will be hard to justify spending any more time on this, but I believe they will. However, assuming they do, I doubt that it will constitute proof. That will only happen when the jury report.
Thanks Paul, good comment. But I must respectfully disagree, we dont have to wait for a jury whose only function is to tell us WHY it works because according Steorn it does work. A public demonstration of a machine which produces energy with no clear source of power will impress a lot of people. My wife does not know how the car works, but she still knows it transports her from A to B. And to be honest I dont really know how it works either! The point being, that if something works and is useful then it will be clear to all its usefullness. Something which runs endlessly and generates electricity will be proof in the legal sense i.e. people will see it working and the onus then will be on the sceptics to disprove them. The burden of proof will be shifted, and that is the key to this public demonstration. THE SHIFTING OF THE BURDEN OF PROOF from Steorn to others.
I'm sorry Paul but to extrapolate what someone said to the extent that now we can be "happy in the knowledge that Steorn has confounded one more law" is a step too far. Are you maintaining any scientific detachment here?
Hello again Anthony,
I understand where you're coming from but I think you misunderstand the purpose of the jury. From Steorn's perspective, the jury has one purpose - validation. It is a business and yet it can sell nothing until the jury validates their technology. Its stated and explicit purpose is to provide proof that this thing does what is claimed of it. The process is divided into three phases and it is the last one - to conduct a full thermodynamic analysis - which will begin to address the 'why' of it. It may or may not take years for scientists to fully understand what is going on and Steorn does not need to wait for that to happen before they become operational.
You may be right about the demo - I hope so. It is possible that their display will be so compelling that all but a few will accept it as true. That's a long call though. Since they will not be giving away the blueprint at that stage, many people are likely to assume it is some sort of trick - and that is a reasonable stance. In my opinion it is wrong, but it is rational.
Ultimately the provision of proof lies with the jury but I pray the demo is so good that it shakes the establishment to its foundations.
Hi Bob,
I'm not speaking as a scientist but as a human being. I fully understand why you would want to wait for real scientific proof. You are correct, I do not maintain scientific detachment, but have made a call based on many, many factors. The power of science is that it arms us with knowledge mined from the universe through a mix of meticulous measurement and human ingenuity. Without the scientific method, the power of reason is subject to our own prejudices but it is a damned sight quicker and, even with all its flaws, it is also often right. Time will tell if I have been intellectually mugged. Bring it on, Steorn.
It seems strange that people are already willing to accept that the public demonstration will someone be flawed or confusing or not convincing. But why should this be...back to the car analogy. When were first on the streets of England, people saw them working with no horses. They carried people at "high" speeds QED. They did not know anything about the internal combustion engine, nor did they need to. There eyes proved it. A wheel with magnets attached which is rotating and lifting a weight or generating power will be sufficent proof. Again, we may not know why...that is the function of the jury to tell us why and to validate it for academia. But if the car goes without horses then hey presto I will be convinced. We are all tying ourset up in knots here, with oh maybe this might or that might...a wheel turning that is generating electricty and which our own eyes clearly tell us has no power source will be 90% proof. If the theory is correct then a simple mechano type construction will be possible, no hidden boxes or wires. If Steorn have it then it will be obvious to all that it works, WHY it works is another question.
But my little voice inside is shouting the same old thing....no Demo in July, nothing in August and Steorn will just disappear as they struggle to convince us that they are "almost there". Go to the youtube, loads of guys with amazing machines and theories BUT also crazy theories about men in black suits and oil company spies etc..etc..
Hi Anthony,
The car analogy would be a good one if the demo is such that it allows the public to touch and feel an Orbo - to drive it, so to speak. Unfortunately I doubt if that will be the case (would be great if I'm wrong). Without knowing more about their plans, we can't say too much except express our hope that it is indeed compelling evidence. This could be done in a number of ways. Will they do it? I'm optimistic but unsure.
That said, compelling, is not the same as proof. That is the purpose and the role of validation.
It is my hope (more like faith) that because Steorn are so well aware of how free-energy scams and hoaxes have been conducted in the past, they will do various things in the demo which will counteract those perceptions.
However I also must note that Sean McCarthy is a great showman (and I do not mean that pejoratively in any way, shape or form) who loves to engage people and the media and has great personal magnetism (forgive the term).
And thus, perhaps the demo will be designed to simply create more of an uproar instead of a "visual validation" which is what so many who follow this story (including myself) REALLY want.
Spot on, WP. We know they have the creativity to produce something spectacular, but Sean's love of a fight and the company's obvious patience might combine to create a demo that stokes the fire and the argument to new heights. I hope not. I don't think there is any need for it.
However, it does depend on how far we are from validation. A month or two and it could be worth showing something that leaves little doubt to what they have. Much longer and they risk losing the lead by showing their hand long before they can cash it in. There is probably some advantage to the company in having most competitors dismiss them as insignificant.
What happens when that changes?
My guess is that they are getting so much energy out of the magnets it's clearly not coming from decay.
Of course, guessing what things are is cute but it's best done after making effort of getting to know the topic.
Here I've listed a few inventors I think are worth looking into. Then you can make separate guesses for each one of them. ^_^ I have done all the work already, it's so much more fun as guessing what Steorn is up to and it also makes a much more efficient investigation. There are various ways to do the trick with the magnets. I've only described the most basic effects.
do remember to have fun ;-)
Hi Gaby,
I know you have put a lot of sincere work into this arena and if Steorn are on the level, my natural scepticism for many of their predecessors will have to be reviewed. It is likely, however, that many of these free energy devices will not work.
Perhaps this is where the join can be seen - the dichotomy between my willingness to believe Steorn and my gut reaction against this sort of thing in general.
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