Question: The first and second laws of thermodynamics conspire to make perpetual motion impossible. But suppose you’re like me, and you like to examine claims like the one below and identify precisely where they fall apart. What’s the exact reason …
Tag: perpetual motion
Being More Fluid in Our Thinking
The pic here is a good example of what psychologists refer to as functional fixity. We so strongly assume the mistake is in the array of numbers that our minds are “fixed” and we find it difficult to look elsewhere. …
Busy Day at the ARPA-E Show
I thought readers might be interested in my “notes to self” from the ARPA-E show the other day: A representative from Électricité de France (logo pictured) says that the company is going full bore with EPRs (European pressurized water reactors).
Analyzing Claims Regarding "Breakthroughs in Physics"
At the rate of approximately one per month, I receive emails from people who claim to represent breakthroughs in physics that are called “over unity” or “perpetual motion,” where the purported efficiency of the process is greater than 100%, meaning …
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Conservation of Energy Sent Science in a New Direction
This year is the 200th anniversary of the confirmation of the conservation of energy, marked by the publication of British engineer Peter Ewart’s paper “On the Measure of Moving Force” in 1813. Of course, the consequences of this are enormous. For one, …
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Michio Kaku’s “Physics of the Impossible” and Its Implications to the Clean Energy Field
I just finished Michio Kaku’s 2008 book Physics of the Impossible, which left me with a renewed admiration and respect for this great mind and true master-communicator of popular science. So warm and inviting is the language and its presentation that …
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Sunday's Experience with Perpetual Motion
Perhaps foolishly, I try to keep an open mind about “inventions” that are tantamount to perpetual motion machines. Having said that, when I run across people who claim to have invented one — and who want to show it to …
Tagged with: perpetual motion
Sunday's Experience
I love to be productive on the weekends. And so, when I was invited to see a demonstation of a new energy-related invention today, I jumped at the chance. Making the whole experience more interesting: from its description, it sounds …
Transformative Business Ideas in Clean Energy
In a typical week, I receive half a dozen or so business plans with requests for funding. I find all of these intriguing in one way or another — even the ones that I can see instantly have no chance. …
Mythbusing in the Renewables Industry
I want to thank the authors of the GreenEnergyBlog for providing the extremely valuable service of mythbusting in the renewables industry. Like many of us, I come across many outrageous claims each week, tantamount to perpetual motion machines and other …
