Irish inventor claims of 'free energy' a hoax?
DUBLIN,
Ireland (Reuters/CNN) -- It has been a
pipe-dream of inventors since Leonardo da Vinci, but has the secret of free
energy now been found in Ireland, or is this just another misguided attempt to
build a perpetual motion machine?
A
cold stone house on a wind-swept Irish hillside may seem an unlikely setting for
the birthplace of such an epoch-making discovery, but it is here that an Irish
inventor says he has developed a machine that will do no less than change the
world.
The
58-year-old electrical engineer, who lives in the Irish republic and intends --
for "security and publicity-avoidance reasons" -- to keep his identity
a secret, has spent 23 years perfecting the Jasker Power System.
It
is an electromechanical device he says is capable of nothing less than
replenishing its own energy source.
The
Irishman is not alone in making such assertions. The Internet is awash with
speculation about free or "zero point" energy, with many claiming to
have cracked the problem using magnets, coils, and even crystals.
"These
claims come along every 10 years or so and nothing ever comes of them. They're
all cases of 'voodoo science'," said Robert Park, professor of physics at
the University of Maryland.
The
makers of the Jasker -- a name derived from family abbreviations -- say it can
be built to scale using off-the-shelf components and can power anything that
requires a motor.
"The
Jasker produces emission-free energy at no cost apart from the installation. It
is quite possibly the most significant invention since the wheel," Tom
Hedrick, the only person involved with the machine willing to give his name,
told Reuters.
Hedrick,
chief executive of a company set up with a view to licensing the device in the
United States, said the technology shattered preconceived laws of science.
"It's
a giant leap forward. The uses of this are almost beyond imagination."
Red hot with
controversy
Not
surprisingly, this topic is red hot with controversy -- sharply dividing a world
scientific community still on its guard after the "Cold Fusion" fiasco
of 1989 when a group of Utah researchers scandalized the scientific world with
claims -- quickly found to be unsupported -- that the long-sought answer to the
problem of Cold Fusion had been discovered.
Experts
contacted by Reuters were wary, citing the first
law of thermodynamics which, in layman's
terms, states that you can't get more energy out than you put in.
"I
don't believe this. It goes against fundamentals which have not yet been
disproved," said William Beattie, senior lecturer in electrical engineering
at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
"These
people (Jasker) are either Nobel prize-winners or they don't know what they're
dealing with. The energy has to come from somewhere."
Undaunted,
the inventor says that once powered-up, his device can run indefinitely -- or at
least until the parts wear out, adding that he has supplied all his own domestic
power needs free for 17 months.
But
he is keen to head off the notion that he has tapped into the age-old myth of
perpetual motion. "Perpetual motion is impossible. This is a
self-sustaining unit which at the same time provides surplus electrical
energy," he said.
Size of a dishwasher
In
a demonstration for Reuters, a prototype -- roughly the size of a dishwasher --
was run for around 10 minutes using four 12-volt car batteries as an initial power source.
Emitting
a steady motorized hum, the machine powered
three 100-watt light bulbs for the
duration.
A
multimeter reading of the batteries' voltage before the device started up showed
a total of 48.9 volts. When it was switched off, a second reading showed 51.2
volts, indicating that, somehow, they had been reimbursed.
The
machine went on to run for around two hours while photographs were taken, with
no diminution in the brightness of the light bulbs, which remained lit during a
short power cut.
"The
draw on the batteries was estimated
at more than 4.5 kilowatts. With any
existing technology the batteries would have been drained flat in one and a half
minutes," the inventor said.
Modern
theories of zero point energy have their roots in quantum physics and encompass
the fraught areas of "anti-gravity machines" and "advanced
propulsion" research.
Contributors
to the debate range from serious exponents of quantum science to those who
insist free energy secrets have been imparted to them by aliens. Still others
seem convinced the U.S. government is conspiring to suppress such discoveries.
Nick
Cook, aerospace consultant to Janes Defense Weekly and author of "The Hunt
for Zero Point" is not as quick as some to dismiss the possibilities.
"Zero
point energy has been proven to exist," he told Reuters. "The question
is whether it can be tapped to provide usable energy. And to that end, I think
it's possible, yes. There are a lot of eminent scientists now involved in this
field and they wouldn't be if there wasn't anything to it."
"In
my experience opinion in this field is extremely polarized ... people either go
with this area of investigation in their minds or they don't, and if they don't
they tend to pooh-pooh it vehemently. It's very difficult to get an objective
assessment," he said.
"Basically,
no one wants to be the first to stick his head above the parapet."
Impervious
to skepticism, Jasker's makers see the first practical application of their
technology as a stand-alone generator for home use, although the automotive
industry could also be a near-term target given the huge investment in
developing substitutes for gasoline-fueled engines. With world oil reserves
running down, there is mounting urgency in the quest for alternatives.
Is this story a hoax?
Since
publication of this story, CNN and other media have been criticized for falling
for a clear hoax. According to popular technical web site slashdot.org the story
is full of holes.
"Three
100 Watt light bulbs created a drain of 4500 Watts", - it should be 300
Watts. The inventor comments that perpetual motion is impossible, but then says
what he's created is a "self-sustaining unit" that generates surplus
energy, surely just another name for the same thing?
Michael
Sims, writing on Slashdot, points out that this inventor's claim contravenes the second law of thermodynamics
which states that in a closed system, any real physical process ends with less
useful energy than it started with, some is always wasted.
In
other words, a perpetual motion machine is impossible.
Copyright 2002 Reuters.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,
or redistributed.
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