Free Energy - Have they succeeded?

[merlin]

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Heard the one about the two Irishmen who say they can produce limitless amounts of clean, free energy? Plenty of scientists have - but few are taking them seriously. Steve Boggan investigates

Friday August 25, 2006
The Guardian


Do you remember that awful feeling as a child on Christmas Day when Santa left you the toy you wanted . . . without any batteries? This feeling comes to me as I meet Sean McCarthy and Richard Walshe, two men making the claim that they are about to change the world - for ever.
These dynamic and personable businessmen from Dublin insist that they have found a way of producing free, clean and limitless energy out of thin air. And they are so confident that they have thrown down the gauntlet to the scientific community in a bid to prove that they have rewritten the laws of physics. Last week, frustrated that they couldn't persuade scientists to take their work seriously, McCarthy, Walshe and the other 28 shareholders of Steorn, a privately owned technology research company, took out a full-page advertisement in the Economist. In it, they called upon scientists to form a 12-member jury to decide whether their free-energy system is real, hoaxed, imagined or incorrectly well-intentioned.

So, as they prepare to demonstrate this wonder of science to me at their modest offices near the Liffey, I feel all the excitement of Christmas Day. There is a test rig with wheels and cogs and four magnets meticulously aligned so as to create the maximum tension between their fields and one other magnet fixed to a point opposite. A motor rotates the wheel bearing the magnets and a computer takes 28,000 measurements a second. The magnets, naturally, act upon one another. And when it is all over, the computer tells us that almost three times the amount of energy has come out of the system as went in. In fact, this piece of equipment is 285% efficient.

That's a lot of "free energy" and, supposedly, a slap in the face for one of physics' most basic laws, the principle of conservation of energy: in an isolated system (the planet, say), energy can be neither created nor destroyed; it can only be converted from one form into another.

"We couldn't believe it at first, either," says McCarthy, chief executive of the company. He is a 40-year-old engineer born in Birmingham but brought up in Dublin. After a couple of decades in the oil industry, McCarthy, Walshe and two others set up Steorn as a technology and intellectual-property development company. "We did difficult things. If someone had an idea that they wanted to make work, we'd work on it with them, help them recruit staff and get them through to their first product."

Then, by chance, came their "discovery". They were called upon by the police to help gain forensic evidence against "skimmers" who cloned the cards of people using ATMs. Subsequently, when banks approached asking how they could prevent such fraud, Steorn advised that the best way was to catch the small number of people committing most of the crime. They came up with a system of 16 tiny CCTV cameras that could guarantee recording the identities of the perpetrators.

"We wanted the cameras to be independently powered, so we tried out small solar and ambient wind generators," says McCarthy. "We wanted to improve the performance of the wind generators - they were only about 60-70% efficient - so we experimented with certain generator configurations and then one day one of our guys [co-founder Mike Daly] came in and said: 'We have a problem. We appear to be getting out more than we're putting in.'"

That was three years ago. Since then, McCarthy says, the company has spent £2.7m developing the technology. Steorn has also gone into partnership with a European micro-generator company to develop prototypes.

In Steorn's theory, fixed magnets could act upon a moving magnet in such a way as to make it a virtual perpetual motion generator. In an electrical appliance - a computer, kettle, mobile phone or toy - that would provide all the power for its lifetime. Of course, free-energy cars, power plants and water-pumping systems could follow. A better world indeed.

But then that Christmas Day feeling kicks in; doubts about the power source. According to McCarthy and Walshe, the marketing manager, there have been no fewer than eight independent validations of their work conducted by electrical engineers and academics "with multiple PhDs" from world-class universities. But none of them will talk to me, even off the record. I am promised a diagram explaining how the system works, but then Steorn holds it back, saying its lawyers are concerned about intellectual property rights. And that European partner, the one with the moving, almost perpetual, prototypes? It won't talk to me either and Steorn has undertaken not to name it.

"It's the Pons-Fleischmann factor," says McCarthy, and he and Walshe look at each other darkly. Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann were the last experts to excite the scientific community with free-energy claims when, in 1989, they reported producing a nuclear-fusion reaction at room temperature - what happens in the sun at millions of degrees centigrade. The subsequent controversy resulted in the scientists being pilloried, even though the scientific community remains divided to this day over claims of "low-energy nuclear reactions".

"No one in the scientific community wants to become embroiled in the kind of controversy that Pons and Fleishmann faced," says McCarthy. "With our challenge, we're hoping to provide a respectable public platform for serious evaluation of the technology. Then, perhaps, scientists will feel confident enough to challenge the conventional view."

Certainly, the Steorn team seems genuine and well-intentioned. Walshe says that if the technology is accepted it will be licensed to manufacturers, but given away to electrical and water projects in developing countries. And, until their claims have been assessed by the jury, McCarthy says they won't be accepting any investor offers. So if this is a hoax, it would appear not to be a money-making scheme; Walshe says the Economist ad alone cost £75,000.

"Before we went public, we realised that if we're wrong it could have a very adverse effect on our business, so we're not doing this lightly," says McCarthy. "We expected stick, and we're getting it already. We've had a lot of abusive emails and telephone calls -people telling us to watch our backs, that sort of thing. Someone even published my home address on a website."

The conspiracy theorists are, indeed, having a field day in a forum section set up by the company on its website, www.steorn.com.

"We've been accused of being a publicity stunt for the next Microsoft Xbox gaming system because some of the artwork on our website was similar to theirs," says Walshe. "Some people have said our offices don't exist and one accused us of simply being a call centre in Australia because one of our telephonists has an Australian accent. My favourite is the one that says we are a CIA or oil-industry front intended to discredit research into free and clean energy. In other words, our claims are deliberately false and when they are found out to be, it will be a blow for all free and clean research."

Steorn says it has seven patents pending on its technology, though it is difficult to see what can be patented; magnets already exist and so do the 360 degrees of a circle. Yet it is the positioning of the magnets that seems to be at the heart of this "new" energy. And, as McCarthy points out, the Patent Office rejects inventions that fly in the face of such fundamental principles as, say, the conservation of energy. Nevertheless, as of yesterday, almost 3,000 people claiming to be scientists had expressed an interest in sitting on the Steorn jury. The 12 best will be chosen at the end of the month and then testing will begin.

"We've been advised it could take between a week and 10 years," says McCarthy. "We don't have any doubts. We've conducted meticulous research and we're getting such phenomenal results - up to 400% efficiency - that small glitches and errors in testing can be ruled out. We really believe we've found something that can change the world."

The rest of us can only wait and see. In the meantime, I ask Martin Fleischmann, the cold-fusion scientist, now 79 and retired, what he thought of the Steorn project.

"I am actually a conventional scientist," he says, "but I do accept that the existing [quantum electro-dynamic] paradigm is not adequate. If what these men are saying turns out to be true, that would be proof that the paradigm was inadequate and we would have to come up with some new theory. But I don't think their claims are credible. No, I cannot see how the position of magnetic fields allows one to create energy."

With great charm, Dr Fleischmann wishes the Steorn team luck. And if their "free" energy can light up a developing-world village or the eyes of a child with a toy, then perhaps we all should.

[xr8-200]

Their website says a lot without saying anything realy..........what they claim might be true but I would'nt hold my breath.

If this is true, then this may be the biggest step since the industrial revolution... Which may not be a good thing...

From: http://www.steorn.net/forum/comments...&page=1#Item_0
By uknugget

Reasons NOT to release it? If I were in the energy business I could probably come up with a 10,000 page document to support the argument that cheap, clean energy will be the doom of mankind to the government..... If Steorn passes the peer review, you will see something like this presented to every head of government from the energy cartels:

At the top of my head, the headings would be:

1. Economic

a) The largest industry in the world, oil and gas, will collapse overnight. The consequences will collapse the stockmarkets and trillions will be wiped off the value of all the major industries.

b) Dependent industries, such as automobile, ship-building, defence, domestic power, & aerospace will also suffer as a result, and many will go bankrupt because they will not be able to afford to retool, retrain, and redesign their existing lines.

c) Every support industry of b) such as parts, servicing, sales (wholesale and retail) will be affected, and will also face bankrupcy.

2. Political

a) The massive unemployment caused by the collapse of these industries, in addition to the down turn in the stock markets, will create severe social deprivation

b) The huge reduction in tax revenues as a result of bankrupcies, unemployment, and diminishing sales in one of the most profitable government income (Oil) will lead to central government being unable to cope with the demand in social services.

c) All supplemented government services: transport, medicine, education, etc will have to be curtailed. Anarchy may rise in the streets.

3. Geopolitical/Global (Playing to the fear of minorities)

a) Countries with advances in OU technology will take over the traditional role Europe/America has filled until they can catch up. Most likely around the Far East.

b) Free/cheap energy production will lead 3rd world countries, such as in Africa, to industrialise easily to catch up, and in doing so increase their standard of living and population.

c) Resulting population explosion will cause conflicts for resources such as raw materials and food. Wars will break out, and newer deadlier weapons will be developed from OU technologies.

4. New Industry Prospect

a) OU technologies will never be as profitable for individual companies nor the government, because once produced, it will not need to be powered with energy, or renewed, and it will not need replacing frequently with parts.

b) Fewer people will be employed in the industry, and those that are will not be from the segment of the population that need jobs the most (Low income, less trained).

c) OU technologies will start a new angle in terrorism. More powerful weapons can be built easily and cheaply by those familiar with the technology.

5. Environmental paradigm

1. No discernable advantage to clean cheap power. - Industries will have to be geared up to produce them anyway, and the resultant pollution from the processing of raw materials will dramatically increase.

2. As the oil/gas industries collapse, they will leave a legacy of highly dangerous and toxic materials around the world without the funds to clean them up nor sustain the security of its maintenance.

3. Global Dimming - It has been proven that particulate pollution in our atmosphere has had a cooling effect from the energy of the Sun. Without this pollution, the heightened CO2 levels (Highest in 650,000 years - source http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4467420.stm) as well as the thinned ozone layer will irrevocably raise the earth's temperatures spiralling further.

4. We need to burn carbon based fuel in our atmosphere in order to save the planet.

LOL. Even though it all sounds plausible, it is of course just bull crap I made up this afternoon for fun.

Yep, I work for a multinational and I came up with this in 30 minutes. Think what a concerted effort from the energy cartels can come up with! - Although based on fact, the above list ignores the sure knowledge that OU technologies will be saving the planet from global warming, preventing respiratory diseases, preventing wars for oil, bringing untold benefits to individuals, and cheap, clean energy will be an impetus for an economic boom that will trigger off a cycle of new industries, and inspire a renaissance in science and technology which will not only make many more people wealthy, but raise the standards of living and employment."

[Sourbastard]

Right now there are 800 E mutants fitting magnets to their drive shafts.

[nugget378]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

Right now there are 800 E mutants fitting magnets to their drive shafts.

Little pencil diameter sized magnets no less,
preliminary reports suggest a nett gain of 20rwkw...

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by nugget378

Little pencil diameter sized magnets no less,
preliminary reports suggest a nett gain of 20rwkw...

kilowatts, mockawatts or magnawatts?

[flappist]

Originally Posted by sourbastard

kilowatts, mockawatts or magnawatts?

No it is the RWMWL on the e-series or rear wheel magno watts link

[jimmy_c]

Will these guys end up dieing in a mysterious way and all will be forgotten in 2 weeks.

:lookedat:


Even if its true, Im sure they will be discredited some how.

[sprjenkins]

yeah good luck to em, i believe you can do it but there's a lot of people who will wan't them to fail. if it does work then A: a major oil company will by it and we will never see it again, just like the engine that ran on water that shell bought. or B: these guys will both get themselves killed and the technology will disapeer

[4.9 EF Futura]

Lol... not really much to go on in that article huh???

Even if it works - watch the human race take a gift like free energy and use it to destroy ourselves even quicker.

Its easy to be at the top of the food chain when everything else is dead

[ON_DUBS]

hope they live behind bullet proof glass..

[eb2fairmont]

Pull my finger...there's some free energy for you.

[BlueRaven]

I read about this a while ago...pretty cool concept.

[GasoLane]

I also heard about this a few weeks ago, and whilst reading the forum some of the comments ranged from 'A Microsoft hoax', to someone saying that they invented this 10 years ago but stopped pursuing it becaue if everyone used it the power would blow up the earth.

I think it's a Steorn in a tea cup (or teapot )