The Dream of Steorn
Looking back on the past year, I find myself asking the question:
Have I used my time wisely in supporting Steorn?
As it stands, I have to conclude that the answer is, ‘No’.
My belief in the company and its claims was based on my belief in the people involved and the concrete nature of their promises. The bold, brash announcements backed by hard currency seemed to defy common sense. Talk of breaking the laws of physics – in particular the principle of CoE – jarred with what I ‘knew’ to be true. I reconciled this by publicly stating that they were likely wrong on this point (or playing for controversy) even if they had the machines they claimed to have. However, as engineers, they could not mistake building a physical device that does not need fuel and was yet capable of producing 0.5W per cc indefinitely. They had to be lying or they had to have what they said they had.
Intrigued, I broke a holiday and flew from Spain to Dublin to meet these crazy people face to face. Sean Mc was disarming and I could easily see how anyone could be conned by such Irish charm. If the affable CEO had been a lone wolf, my defences would have remained intact. But he wasn’t. Surrounded by so many Steorn employees and talking to some of the key players, I was struck by the relaxed atmosphere and a sense that these people were convinced they were about to change the world. I was also energized by the enthusiastic drive to use the ‘Steorn Effect’ for humanitarian purposes and not simply as a lever to gain global supremacy. Sure, they would make money but, more importantly, they would bring light and heat and water and refrigeration and transport and all the benefits of our modern world to those in need – without charging them for a licence. Further, by seeding the planet with an inexhaustible source of green power, the Steorn crew would save the human race from itself.
After the Dublin party, I could not reconcile the difference between the people I met and the despicable liars they would have to be, if all of this was smoke and mirrors. Lying aside, there was also the question of intelligence. The claims were so bold, so precise and so (eventually) verifiable that it appeared extremely unlikely they would set themselves up for such an inevitable public fall. Remember, we are not talking about shadowy Internet figures, these are real people, easily traced and with lives and responsibilities that extend beyond Steorn.
Sixteen months on from the Economist advert, little of substance has emerged to move this thing forward. If I had known this at the time, I would not have gone to Dublin, not have spent a thousand hours, reading, writing, thinking and breathing the dream that led to this blog. I would not have returned from Croatia to London for the non-demo and I would not have made Steorn an integral part of my current novel.
It would be reasonable for anyone to conclude from the above that I have lost all hope but this is not true. I merely state that I would not have suspended my disbelief at the time if my crystal ball had been working. If you were among those who predicted that Steorn would not show anything at the demo but would instead shift the goal posts, fudge and continue to push back promises until they faded away, to-date it looks like you hit the mark and I missed.
I will try to pull together an entry that summarizes the reason I still hold on to the dream (or fantasy) of a future Steorn Miracle. The hope is nowhere near as strong as it was, but it is still there and the stakes are still huge. Steorn has not gone away and one way or another, there is more to this story than meets the eye.
Have I used my time wisely in supporting Steorn?
As it stands, I have to conclude that the answer is, ‘No’.
My belief in the company and its claims was based on my belief in the people involved and the concrete nature of their promises. The bold, brash announcements backed by hard currency seemed to defy common sense. Talk of breaking the laws of physics – in particular the principle of CoE – jarred with what I ‘knew’ to be true. I reconciled this by publicly stating that they were likely wrong on this point (or playing for controversy) even if they had the machines they claimed to have. However, as engineers, they could not mistake building a physical device that does not need fuel and was yet capable of producing 0.5W per cc indefinitely. They had to be lying or they had to have what they said they had.
Intrigued, I broke a holiday and flew from Spain to Dublin to meet these crazy people face to face. Sean Mc was disarming and I could easily see how anyone could be conned by such Irish charm. If the affable CEO had been a lone wolf, my defences would have remained intact. But he wasn’t. Surrounded by so many Steorn employees and talking to some of the key players, I was struck by the relaxed atmosphere and a sense that these people were convinced they were about to change the world. I was also energized by the enthusiastic drive to use the ‘Steorn Effect’ for humanitarian purposes and not simply as a lever to gain global supremacy. Sure, they would make money but, more importantly, they would bring light and heat and water and refrigeration and transport and all the benefits of our modern world to those in need – without charging them for a licence. Further, by seeding the planet with an inexhaustible source of green power, the Steorn crew would save the human race from itself.
After the Dublin party, I could not reconcile the difference between the people I met and the despicable liars they would have to be, if all of this was smoke and mirrors. Lying aside, there was also the question of intelligence. The claims were so bold, so precise and so (eventually) verifiable that it appeared extremely unlikely they would set themselves up for such an inevitable public fall. Remember, we are not talking about shadowy Internet figures, these are real people, easily traced and with lives and responsibilities that extend beyond Steorn.
Sixteen months on from the Economist advert, little of substance has emerged to move this thing forward. If I had known this at the time, I would not have gone to Dublin, not have spent a thousand hours, reading, writing, thinking and breathing the dream that led to this blog. I would not have returned from Croatia to London for the non-demo and I would not have made Steorn an integral part of my current novel.
It would be reasonable for anyone to conclude from the above that I have lost all hope but this is not true. I merely state that I would not have suspended my disbelief at the time if my crystal ball had been working. If you were among those who predicted that Steorn would not show anything at the demo but would instead shift the goal posts, fudge and continue to push back promises until they faded away, to-date it looks like you hit the mark and I missed.
I will try to pull together an entry that summarizes the reason I still hold on to the dream (or fantasy) of a future Steorn Miracle. The hope is nowhere near as strong as it was, but it is still there and the stakes are still huge. Steorn has not gone away and one way or another, there is more to this story than meets the eye.
posted by Paul Story at
08:29
10 Comments:
Excellent post Paul. There is a best seller in the making here for the writer / journalist who gets to the bottom of this and puts it into words.
One thing for sure, they either have a couple of months to prove what they have or they will be remembered in history as one of the biggest fraudsters of our generation. There is no room for them saying they thought they had something, they were categoric about what they had. They are either telling the truth(highly unlikely) or they are an orchestrated bunch of liars.
Just out of interest have you been in contact with Steorn lately?
Paul,
Thanks for your year in review. Sounds like some cynicism creeping in.
1) When can we read your novel? What's the title?
2) Have you kept up with any of the activity in the Steorn public forum? (Especially mine?)
3) Where do you plan to go from here? Are you planning to stay involved in the SPDC? Do you have any other energy-related activities in mind for the new year?
Overconfident
Hi Paul,
Even if an experience is unsuccessful, I would only regard it a waste of time if I failed to learn anything from it. Analysing why something failed can tell you a lot.
In my case, Steorn tells me nothing new, apart from confirming that laws of physics and human nature have not changed since I last looked!
As for revolutionary breakthroughs in the energy field, it seems unlikely, it is a fairly well understood field. There is still a possibility that something like ZPE could be harnessed, but there is no reason to believe that currently.
Energy is never going to be truly free or unlimited though, it will always come at a cost.
The breakthroughs are more likely in materials science, which would lead to much improved efficiency, and where we still do things at a macro level. For example, if we can understand DNA/life sufficiently to create designer microbes, we could create generators which collect energy from just about anything and convert it directly to electricity.
While we have dreams that go far beyond what is currently possible, many will remain impossible to achieve.
Isn't it time to change your blog tag from: "A personal view of the coming revolution" to something more like: "A personal view of a big empty promise"?
I am curious to see how frequent commentator and perpetual peddler of perpetual motion Mark Goldes reacts to your realization that no matter how big the claim, it is worthless without supporting verifiable evidence.
Excellent post Paul. This reminds me of the statement "men go mad in herds, but come to their senses one at a time."
There is no such thing as "free energy", but there are many sources of energy for removing our dependence on oil. It takes real science, physics and engineering to figure out the best way to tap into those sources.
Bold confidence can go a long way. Bold confidence with real knowledge can go a lot further.
Just when things look like they're at their darkest, the friggen Steorn Forum shows some life.
Check out the overconfident and alsetalokin project....and the associated youtube video.
On Perpetual Commotion
Magnetic machines that self-run are not, as is widely believed, perpetual motion machines. They are necessarily converting some form of energy.
The most likely candidate is Zero Point Energy, ZPE, in spite of the fact that it is widely believed, by those scientists familiar with the Zero Point Field, that conversion of ZPE is unlikely to prove practical.
As magnetic energy conversion technology moves toward the marketplace, a discussion as to the source of the energy is inevitable. It may go on for a very long time.
The first U.S. Patent issued claiming ZPE might be converted and used as a source of energy was inspired by the late Robert Forward, then a physicist at Hughes Aircraft. He had discussed, in a pioneering paper appearing in Physical Review B in 1984, how ZPE might become a source of electricity.
Dr. Frank Mead of the United States Air Force Office of Advanced Concepts and Jack Nachamkin, an Electrical Engineer working with him who originated the idea, were awarded U.S. Patent #5,590,031, in December of 1996. This invention, suggested by Dr. Forward, has not to date proven realistic to construct and test.
Several U.S. Patents have been issued to Dr. Fabrizio Pinto, a physicist. Formerly with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Dr. Pinto is now CEO of his own firm and is developing breakthrough technology based on ZPE conversion of the Casimir Force. There are medical, computer and energy applications referenced in his Patents. All might lead to practical technology.
Claims concerning mechanical magnetic systems that tap some new form of energy have surfaced periodically since the work of Wesley Gary, a Pennsylvania inventor, received the first of two U.S. Patents in 1874. Harvard and MIT Professors visited and were evidently impressed. Harper’s Weekly described his work in an article published in 1879. It can be read on the web.
The four wheeled automobile was invented in 1885. It will prove ironic if, as now seems likely, it should prove to be the case that human ignorance and scientific arrogance has been responsible for burning fuel to power vehicles.
Imagine how many lives might have been saved, how much cleaner the air would be and the reduction in the threat of climate change, had sufficient support to create fuel-free alternatives been provided, over a century ago.
Investigating the subject might suffice to start a perpetual commotion.
Thanks to everyone for your kind words.
anon - I visit the SPDC often but have had no direct contact with Steorn.
OC - Congrats on your project and well done to both you and alsetakolin - excellent work! The novel is caled, DREAMWORDS and is a SF that follows on from the podcast, TOM CORVEN ( http://www.dreamwords.com/TomCorven.htm )
Until Steorn I had no direct interest in free energy except for the belief that we would find a better source than the ones we have so far had to hand - I hoped Steorn had pulled it off.
I will stay tuned until I lose complete faith or witness (and hopefully write about) the resulting revolution.
bc - Unfortunately, much of what you say is true. I do believe that e have only scratched the surface of our universe and can only hope that a tiny fraction of the energy on our doorstep becomes available to us in some new economic and safe way.
anon - I take your point but when I finally lose all hope, the blog will not exist and the title will not matter.
drmike - I would love to read your take on OC and alsetalokin's project. Help keep our feet on the ground.
anon - thanks for the tip-off.
mark - time will tell.
Mark Goldes you posit:
On Perpetual Commotion
"Magnetic machines that self-run are not, as is widely believed, perpetual motion machines. They are necessarily converting some form of energy."
To the best of my knowledge no such 'magnetic machines that self-run' exist. Where may one inspect such a working machine? Without an example machine the rest of your text is so much bull caca. Rather than concerning ourselves with how wonderful it would be if things that never existed did, I think it is better to consider how much better it would be when the frauds of our time are shut down and/or locked up.
i believe in u, sean and steorn, and i think they'll make the difference soon
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