Is this the free energy source the world was waiting for?

Question

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single8713

Please read ALL the article before posting an answer. For those who believe that the thermodynamique law on energy preservation works for everything, READ the steorn.com website informations before saying its not possible. Actually the will start a live feed on 4 webcams tonight showing the system in action.
This discovery can be compared to when humans first harness fire, this could revolutionized our society and the world if politicians and oil companies (corporations in general) step out of the way to make it happen...

This is no magic, and it works for real too, but of course, if this company go through the usual channels to verify its technology, it will go the same way as the BP-100 medications that was curing Aids and Cancer and develop by an almost Nobel price winner in France. This technology is too important to go the usual way, if it does we will not even hear about it after few days, corporations wil just buy it off and make it disapear... I think many of you don`t really understand that systems are biased to filter those things. It is why Asia will rule the world and all of you will go the way of the dinosaurs... Good luck, you will need more than I.

If you are all so pessimistic about its premises, then visit the website, and register to their forum, where you will get all the info you need.
http://www.steorn.com/orbo/

Another link:
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0704/breaking46.htm

Another link with the device image on it...
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0704/steorn.html

Answer 1

Well I would certainly love it if their claims were true, as it would be a revolutionary discovery. However, magnetic forces obey the usual conservation of energy rules. The way Steorn is going about the whole thing is rather odd, though I don't see what they would have to gain from making false claims, since it would destroy their reputation to be discovered as liars.

I'm skeptical because the whole thing doesn't seem to make sense, and their demonstration hasn't even worked due to "technical difficulties", which is certainly not a good sign.

Answer 2

This is the same as all those carburator patents that were kept off the market becuse cars would get too much mileage. As I remember that one, the oil companies bought up all the patents on the new improved carburator designs that would provide unlimited mileage.
This is probably being pushed by the same guys. You'd think they would have gotten some help by now, or been incarcerated.

Answer 3

"McCarthy explained to Silicon Republic that Orbo technology works on the basis that occurrences in magnetic fields do not happen instantaneously, and are therefore not subject to time in the way that, say, gravity is."

Both magnetism and gravitational forces propagate at the same speed - the speed of light.

The way science works, you publish your findings. (You have a year from publication to file for patent(s), if you plan to do that.) Others then take a look at what you've done, and see if they can replicate it. Steom isn't doing that. Instead, they have a hand-picked jury - UNDER CONTRACT - that are allowed to see what's happening, and to test it.

What's Steom afraid of? Independent scientists, obviously.

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." - Wizard of Oz

Answer 4

"theoretically produces energy from nowhere using magnetics." Perpetual motion machines must contain strobes, magnets, liquid ntirogen fog... and the manual transmission from a 1972 Honda Civic.

1) Time is homogenoeus.
2) Noether's theorem.
3) Energy is locally conserved.

TANSSAAFL!

http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/lajos.htm#b5
symmetries and conserved observables

Three Laws of Thermodynamics:

1) You cannot win.
2) You can only break even on a very cold day.
3) It never gets that cold.

Answer 5

Unless they have found a way to exploit a Zero point power source, it sounds like just a different take on a perpetual motion machine. I am not buying it. ~
TANSTAAFL according to Robert Heinlein..

Answer 6

Sorry, don't believe the hype.

The article makes a big claim without any real description of how.

If this were real, it would be front page news on every newspaper in the world. So I'm guessing it's not.

Answer 7

A hoax.

If it works at all it is because it is drawing energy off of the earths magnetic field. This will drain off the magnetic field causing the distruction of the earth.

Answer 8

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

--Carl Sagan

Answer 9

You do know that we never actually landed on the moon, and that all the technology we now have is because of aliens providing it to us, and that Elvis is still alive, and OJ Simpson didn't kill Nicole, and that perpetual motion is on the horizon and that the .....