BBC expert: Steorn … "a case of prolonged self deception"
By John Pospisil
An expert sent to investigate claims by Irish company Steorn that it developed a perpetual energy device has dismissed the whole affair as “a case of prolonged self deception”.
Steorn claims that it has found a way of creating free, constant energy from nothing, defying the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.
Steorn promised to demonstrate its ”Orbo” perpetual energy machine at the Kinentica art museum in London, but this was at first delayed, due to technical problems, and then postponed.
The BBC News website sent Professor Sir Eric Ash to investigate the Steorn’s claims, and to talk to Steorn CEO Sean McCarthy (pictured).
McCarthy, who has a background in software engineering and control systems, told Professor Ash that he didn’t know where the Orbo’s energy came from, speculating that somehow it could be harnessing zero point energy, or that it could be related to dark matter and dark energy.
As Professor Ash points out the law of conservation of energy is not something that can be negotiated:
“Denying its validity would undermine not just little bits of science - the whole edifice would be no more. All of the technology on which we built the modern world would lie in ruins.
“There is no flexibility in the acceptance of the law as true - at all times, and in all circumstances.”
What makes this whole thing a little sad, is that by Professor Ash’s account, McCarthy is very pleasant, amiable fellow, who truly believes he’s made an impossible breakthrough:
“I believe that Mr McCarthy is truly convinced of the validity of his invention. It is, in my view, a case of prolonged self deception.”
Professor Ash’s parting advice to McCarthy was to “drop Orbo and get back to software engineering”.
Anyone who’s been reading TECH.BLORGE.com over the past few days will know that I’ve been very critical of Steorn. I’ve speculated that this whole thing is a prank, publicity stunt, or art project. Or perhaps, in a best case scenario, Steorn is well meaning but misguided.
With this latest report from the BBC, it appears that “well meaning but misguided” might have been right, not that I get any pleasure from seeing someone who is obviously passionate about his discovery being shot down in flames. The world does need dreamers, after all.
Hopefully McCarthy will turn his talents to new endeavors that don’t require the laws of the universe to be turned inside out.
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July 9th, 2007
I’m sorry, but does anyone else read this article tidbit and find the argument against the Orbo as basically the same thing it’s criticizing Steorn on?
It’s basically a few lines that just say, “important investigator” “looked into” “declares wrong” “because he said so”… I mean, really, did this acclaimed investigator just look at the same thing everyone else already has and just said, “yep, I don’t see how it’s possible either”.
Please tell me there’s more to it.
July 9th, 2007
I am a theoretical physics student at Imperial College.
Whilst this “technology” does seem EXTREMELY unlikely, for obvious reasons, I do take great offense to the high horsing I’ve observed surrounding this topic. Yes, it is by human law impossible that this could be true, but science is all about challenging what we currently believe to be true. Stop sh*tting all over the guy and give him a chance to show what he thinks he’s discovered.
July 9th, 2007
Edward, I completely agree. I don’t think anyone is saying they completely believe in what Steorn is proposing, but all of this malicious hate towards Steorn’s claims seems a bit ridiculous.
They say they have this device that does something no one’s been able to do before, but because it doesn’t seem possible based on how we’ve looked at things in the past, everyone wants to be the first to claim it’s a sham.
We all know that’s a big possibility, we all know it’s incredibly unlikely, and especially after the problems with their demo we all know it’s looking like something that ‘just can’t be’, but good lord people, try to keep an open mind!
This might be a bit off-topic, but I’m really getting sick of these supposedly open-minded individuals who devote their lives to free speech only to be more than willing in telling others to shut up. Hypocrisy ftl.
July 9th, 2007
they are cowards because they are stashing their chips on what is clearly the most probably outcome. but that doesn’t stop them from being malicious, close-minded, rule bounded cowards. just like you said :)
July 9th, 2007
I wonder what all of the knockers will say if ad when they get it up and running??
July 9th, 2007
Doesn’t nuclear fusion breach the law of the conservation of energy - at least as that law was understood before Einstein clarified it, found a new source of energy and showed us how the law needed to work. Assuming that we know everything about every possible source of energy, from the rotation of electrons to dark matter means that all physicists should cease all work as there is nothing left to be discovered, clarified or invented.
Just because Sean McCarthy cannot explain where the energy comes from does not mean it does not exist, and for a “BBC Expert” to tell Steorn to give up and go back to software engineering when they believe they have found something worthy of further investigation is disgusting in the extreme.
Matbe it’s right, maybe it’s wrong, but Sean, don’t give up if you’ve found something even slightly encouraging.
July 9th, 2007
Mr. McCarthy said that his technology is “fully scalable” and it can power a car.
So why would he (try to) demonstrate a device so frail that it runs on watch bearings? Why not show something beefy?
I think there’s a reason for the wimpy demo. I think that the closer Steorn look at their effect, the smaller it gets.
Because what they’re seeing is really just the error in their own measurements.
July 10th, 2007
I wonder what all of the knockers will say if ad when they get it up and running??
err. “Ok, where is the battery hidden?”
Believing OU is difficult enough. Believing this bunch of incompetents have discovered it is even harder.
July 10th, 2007
The live demo in London was suppose to be very simple to show that there were “no strings attached” at all, that the device solely ran on its magnetic power without the use of an external battery source (which some people would probably think if they were to show a more complex model encased in metal, etc.). It was suppose to be just a spinning wheel, and when everyone were to say “what’s so special about this?”, then McCarthy said they would have connected a 10g weight to the wheel and watched as the wheel lifted it demonstrating their free energy claim. McCarthy said that they had three models at london, and when that first one failed (which was the most simplistic model of the three), that they sent the other two to the be checked for any problems as well.
July 10th, 2007
“science is all about challenging what we currently believe to be true”
That sounds very “Make Money Fast!”/Business 2.0, but it’s not what science is about. The Laws of Thermodynamics are not laid down by the evil Emperor, and Steorn are not the Rebel Alliance, but that would be a fun movie.
Science is about developing systematic knowledge of the Universe, explaining Natural phenomena in a formal way.
Since Steorn have been completely unable to present anything credible in over 3 years, they are just incompetents with a wild claim and a business plan.
July 11th, 2007
Why is everyone so sure that the machine violates the laws of physics? Do we know all the sources of energy? Are there 11 dimensions as some theoretical physicists suggest? If so, could energy be coming from one of those? The critics are a long way from knowing the answers to these questions, yet, in their ignorance, they are gleefully libelling people who seem to be trying their hardest to help out the world.
July 12th, 2007
No matter how great the engineering is the device will always eventually find zero point and stop. So many people in history have tried creating permanent magnet motors and all of them have turned out the same. When permanent magnets are in the same flux field for any length of time the flux fields weaken. Every magnet has a “maximum energy product” rated in Mega Gauss Oersteds, MGOe. This is the amount of work a magnet can do before its level of magnetism has deteriorated to the point that its energy doesn’t reach out far enough to affect anything surrounding it. Contrary to the popular notion that rare earth magnets are invincible, even the most expensive sintered NdFeB magnets max out at less than 50 MGOe. If they are used in a device that puts them constantly in opposition, they will run down, and this is the whole assumption behind so-called “magnetic motors”. the other issue is this really isn’t free energy machine even if it did work because the permanent magnets had to get there flux fields from somewhere if the magnets where charged with current from another source or even if kinetically they where charged by rubbing two piece of metal together there was still a transfer of energy. The amount of energy used in manufacturing a magnet is typically 10 times what the magnet is capable of producing. More expensive magnets are even less efficient. Add to this the losses in energy incurred by these 33%-66% concept magnet devices themselves, and the energy consumed in the overall manufacturing process is 20-25 times the energy you will get out. The other thing to think about is that a permanent magnet will not always be a magnet it will eventually loose its flux over time. Now maybe that time might be 100 years and that’s all good but eventually it will die and if you put a magnet into another magnets flux field its life is shortened dramatically. Well anyways we all dream of free energy and I also hope we find it some day but I doubt it’s going to be orbo.
July 13th, 2007
Science is a delicate field that does not deal with absolutes. In science, time has always been the best teacher. I am very curious how Steron proposes that his kinetic experiment is going to work. Although he may have attempted to capitolize off of his research prematurely, he is not the first. Give him the time he needs to explain himself and his invention before judging him.
August 9th, 2007
Steorn are a company of enginners, so we’re not just talking about one man here. The whole company would need to have been delusional for a period in excess of three years.
In short: The tech is real.
August 11th, 2007
I totally agree with Dr. Ash. Steorn paid for me to fly from Chicago to London and put me up in a hotel for 10 days. There is no way they’d have done that if they didn’t believe in what they had. Why they believe the impossible is not known, and probably never will be.
I sure enjoyed London though!