Comments on: Comments on 14076

Post number 14076

bshort — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 14:40:35 -0800

Inventor Claims Zero Point Energy Source Calling his invention a "Jasker", an Irish Electrical Engineer (who is keeping his identity a secret), claims to have a working prototype of a machine that is capable of replenishing its own energy source. We've heard this sort of thing before, and there are hundreds of other "inventors" making the same sorts of claims, but could this one be for real? And how does this fit in with the First Law of Thermodynamics?

By: bshort

bshort — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 14:57:36 -0800

Oh, and Joe sent me the original story. Forgot to say that in the original post.

By: j.edwards

j.edwards — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:15:41 -0800

"The Jasker produces emission-free energy at no cost apart from the installation. It is quite possibly the most significant invention since the wheel," Tom Hedrick, the only person involved with the machine willing to give his name, told Reuters. (emphasis mine) This doesn't inspire confidence in me. Nor do their violations of physical ~~laws~~ theorems verified by copious experimentation and consistency with observed phenomena.

By: Nauip

Nauip — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:18:04 -0800

for free energy (after construction costs) I would prefer to look in the direction of Solar Chimneys. I don't understand why they haven't taken off.

By: aramaic

aramaic — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:20:51 -0800

but could this one be for real? No. However, if it were functional, a lot of countries would be screwed: Saudia Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico, Russia, Norway and Nigeria would all be hosed. The global economy would be knocked on its ass by the follow-on effects of so many national economies imploding. I mean, long-term a new non-polluting energy source would be great for humanity. Short-term, a lot of people would die.

By: Zootoon

Zootoon — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:25:45 -0800

On a more serious note (that article was worrying for a while-my father is an Irish electrical engineer), Ireland is about to build the largest wind farm in the world, three times larger than all the others put together, and will provide 10% of the countries electricity needs.

By: tsarfan

tsarfan — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:29:22 -0800

forget the 100-watt light bulbs, buster, it's the 1000 watt jobbers that i need help powering... descretely

By: majick

majick — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 15:48:49 -0800

...how does this fit in with the First Law of Thermodynamics? It does not. I don't doubt that advances in efficient production of energy and efficient machines will continue, possibly even with dramatic and surprising breakthroughs. However, energy is, has been, and will continue to be conserved. Here's a good rule of thumb for the layman: A device claiming to be any variation of a perpetual motion machine is either an error, a hoax, a scam, or some combination thereof.

By: ggggarret

ggggarret — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:00:22 -0800

and at one point in time the world was flat... but we're smarter than that now. i'd even venture to say that we're living at the height of human innovation. could it possibly get any better???

By: MarkB

MarkB — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:05:36 -0800

First law of thermodynamics: You do not talk about law of thermodynamics.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:05:37 -0800

Everything that can be invented has been invented.

By: majick

majick — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:07:17 -0800

Yeah, them physical properties of the universe, they're keeping a brother down.

By: j.edwards

j.edwards — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:25:19 -0800

Everything that can be invented has been invented. I anticipate a world market for about five of these Zero Point Energy Devices.

By: rodii

rodii — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:36:11 -0800

I anticipate a world market for about five of these Zero Point Energy Devices. If it really worked, why would you ever need more than one?

By: skallas

skallas — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 16:40:17 -0800

This isn't a perpetual motion machine, there was draw on the batteries. If its real and thats a big if its very efficient and isn't violating any laws of physics. Also Zero Point energy is not the new lexicon for perpetual motion, its the tapping of very weak atomic energy. Nice primer from Scientific American here. Don't let me get in the way of your cynicism though.

By: linux

linux — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 17:42:02 -0800

It's better than a perpetual motion machine, it returned an extra 5 volts to the batteries when they turned it off. Interesting, no?

By: Hammerikaner

Hammerikaner — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 17:47:35 -0800

Short-term, a lot of people would die. what? why? if each household in the world could get their hands on one of these (they can't be too expensive to make if an Irish engineer made one), there would be no need for anyone to be beholden to another person for their electrical power. nuts to saudi arabia, and nuts to every other nation that exports oil. their reserves of oil were destined to run out anyway. they might as well just switch over to Jasker machine production if they're so enthralled with supplying the world with energy. there's no reason for people to die. the only people i see dying are rich oil tycoons that commit suicide after their fortunes dry up. good riddance, they deserve to die anyway.

By: obiwanwasabi

obiwanwasabi — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 18:01:03 -0800

I heard somebody opened a service panel for inspection and heard a voice: 'Sooo, yer after me lucky charms, are ye?'

By: aramaic

aramaic — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 18:18:01 -0800

Nuts to every other nation that exports oil ...that'll be a really amusing attitude when the Middle East & Russia go down in flames, dragging Africa with them. There was an important lesson to be had post-9/11. Evidently, you missed it.

By: majick

majick — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 19:08:59 -0800

Personally, I hope to see the experimentalists come up with something like this -- essentially a perpetual motion machine plus cold fusion -- before the theorists can explain it. Unfortunately, I have a lot of doubts that some guy cooked up the answer in his garage, and it's a pretty poor idea to let my personal enthusiasm to get in the way of healthy skepticism. inventor_man: "Perpetual motion is impossible. This is a self-sustaining unit which at the same time provides surplus electrical energy." A "self sustaining unit" sounds an awful lot like a euphemism for "perpetual motion" to me. If this device were producing a net energy gain, the energy must be coming from somewhere. Maybe that somewhere is a source that can be drained to no ill effect and is bottomless for practical purposes -- I'm not up on Zero Point theory whatsoever -- but thermodynamic law still won't be denied. An anonymous guy with a black box that nobody's had a chance to look inside, based on an unpublished process, does not a very credible claimant make. Add to that the fact that he went to the lay press with a golly-gee-willikers demonstration before he went to the scientific world. It walks and talks like a duck.

By: Hildago

Hildago — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 19:12:39 -0800

I for one would be happy to see a zero-point energy source come into operation. I'm tired of living under the constant shadow of Governor Gary Locke's polite request that we conserve energy. I see his ghostly reflection in the bathroom mirror every morning.

By: Hackworth

Hackworth — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 20:02:56 -0800

*prays*

By: Optamystic

Optamystic — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 21:16:08 -0800

What aramaic said.

By: rodii

rodii — Tue, 22 Jan 2002 22:21:17 -0800

what? why? if each household in the world could get their hands on one of these [...] there would be no need for anyone to be beholden to another person for their electrical power. Where would their food come from? You can't eat electricity. If the only thing you have to sell suddenly becomes nearly worthless (not completely--there are other uses for petroleum), where do you get the money to buy food? And if the entire economy of a nation depends on that thing, you can't depend on your neighbors for relief...people starve. (they can't be too expensive to make if an Irish engineer made one), Now it's my turn to say it: WTF?

By: talos

talos — Wed, 23 Jan 2002 05:33:03 -0800

"Eric's History of Perpetual Motion and Free Energy Machines"

By: pracowity

pracowity — Wed, 23 Jan 2002 05:58:27 -0800

There's always a perp in perpetual motion.

By: 4midori

4midori — Wed, 23 Jan 2002 09:25:46 -0800

If both this and the supercompression from that Florida company prove true, watch for the feces to impact with the personal cooling device!

By: themikeb

themikeb — Wed, 23 Jan 2002 09:55:16 -0800

in this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!!!!

By: delmoi

delmoi — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 06:04:03 -0800

Aramaic, what the hell are you trying to say? That if a cheap, replenishable method of generating energy were discovered, it should be suppressed and we should continue to use Oil in some sort of bizarre global welfare system?

By: Flimsy_Parkins

Flimsy_Parkins — Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:51:58 -0800

It would be NICE if we could have a global welfare system, bizarre or otherwise, independant of the use of oil. Of course, that's terribly unlikely to happen. But is it more unlikely then the magical energy box?