Shifting Sands

You may have noticed a somewhat schizophrenic tone to my last post. Such an observation is reasonable and fairly reflects my position with regards to Steorn. While the lack of anything tangible from them is extremely frustrating, I cannot help wondering if they are not onto something important. I do not buy the notion that a commercial company must conform to the rules of scientific disclosure no matter how much I wish they would.

As stated in that post, I had intended to use this entry to detail the reasoning behind my stance but there is something more interesting happening on the public forum and it is worth pausing to look at it if you have not done so already.

An idea, first proposed by a member going by the handle ‘overconfident’, has finally taken shape through a collaborating effort with a skilled builder (going by the handle ‘alsetalokin’). The narrative is fascinating and is detailed in a single thread that spans the months from October 2007 to the present time. It is too early to tell what is going on here but it is certainly worth a look. My immediate reaction is that the open nature of the project will allow anyone with the tools and know-how to replicate the device. This should help nail it down and explain any problem with the demo if one exists. Problem or not, we will all benefit from the lessons learned.

Caution prevails, but that does not make the demo any less interesting. No matter the final significance (or otherwise) of the machine, its open nature is a great example of how the net will eventually allow us to amplify our efforts to produce great things.


The thread is here

And the device video here

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.