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Perpetual Motion
© Copyright 2000, Jim Loy
Perpetual
motion is the dream of free energy. The idea is that these machines never run
down (violating The Second Law of Thermodynamics) and
even can do work (violating the Law of Conservation of
Energy). Those two laws are the most heavily tested and verified laws in
science. People actually invent machines like these that you see here, in the
hopes of getting rich, and generating unlimited free energy. They may indeed
get rich, if they can find gullible investors. On the left are my versions of
some classic perpetual motion machines.
- We see a five footed object that will not stay balanced on a foot, it
tends to roll to the left, where it will stand momentarily on the next foot,
and then roll to the left, etc. Wanna bet?
- The second one is called an overbalanced wheel. There is a weight at
the end of each hinged arm. We see that there are four weights (and a little
more) on the right side of the wheel, and only two on the left side. So it
turns clockwise. Other people claim that it turns counter-clockwise. Is the
wheel really overbalanced?
- The next one is a pendulum with a magnet on the end. The magnet is
attracted to magnets on each side. And metallic, magnetic barriers alternately
block and unblock the magnetic fields. Where can I buy some good magnetic
barriers?
- This one is another overbalanced wheel. In this case round weights
roll in their slots. It is easy to show that the situation shown is unstable,
and the wheel will rotate clockwise. Really?
- Next, we see another magnetic device. The magnet at the left pulls
the ball bearing up the inclined plane. The ball then falls through a hole and
reemerges at the bottom, and goes back up the inclined plane. Folks, that
doesn't make sense.
- The last one is a simple free energy idea (similar to many free
energy ideas advertised on the Internet). A motor turns a generator, which
turns the motor, etc.
I had a lot of fun reinventing and drawing these. None of them works, by
the way.
7. I've been working on the one on the upper right all day. I have
marbles, chutes, pulleys, and conveyor belts. The weight of all of those
marbles has just got to lift the three marbles which are on their way up,
right? What could possibly be wrong with that idea? I don't know, exactly
(well, I do). But I bet it won't work.
8. Below that one is another invention of mine. It is a somewhat higher
tech version of the donkey and carrot method of propulsion. We replace the
donkey and carrot with two magnets which attract each other. This one may have
been invented before.
The Earth going around the Sun is perpetual motion, right? Almost. It is
running down (not by any measurable amount) as it runs into meteors. And it can
do work as we fire rockets into space, which slows it down a little. But the
earth is really huge, and will take a very long time to run down. So the Earth
is pretty close to being a perpetual motion machine. The reason that I mention
this is that some science books actually call the earth's orbit perpetual
motion. Well, it is close, but not perfect.
9. On the right is another invention (based
on the beliefs of a friend of mine). We have electrolysis of water which
generates hydrogen and oxygen gasses, which we burn to turn a generator which
powers the electrolysis. The byproduct of burning hydrogen (in oxygen) is
water, which drips back into the original water.
Above, I said that I don't know what is wrong with my invention #7.
Well, I do know what is wrong, more or less. But, I was just trying to point
out that the Second Law says that it doesn't work. And that is good enough for
me. When someone comes up with such a hair-brained scheme, the Second Law says
it won't work. Well, that should help you discover the scam, or the flaw in the
idea.
My Grandfather had a clock that was jokingly advertised as running by
perpetual motion. Actually, a spring was wound by the changes in temperature
between daytime and night time. The temperature in his house was actually
controlled by air conditioning, which was regulated to be warmer in the day,
and colder at night. And so, his clock was being powered by his
air-conditioning system.
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