Monday, August 21, 2006

Free Energy, Free Marketing, or Free Lunch?

OK, so there's a US patent as well, you can check out the United States Patent Application: 0060066428 here.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the Steorn Challenge and my last Blog Post.

It's got some artist drawings as well as the line drawings from the European patent. So here's the question everyone is asking.

Do they really think they have something, or is this just one big marketing ploy?

If its marketing, what the hell is it they are, in fact, marketing?

Is it just that they're good at marketing, and they want to sell, erm, marketing services? Or are they just trying to make the Steorn name so (in)famous that they can then sell some other mediocre product?

I mean, remember the whole thing about Segway? The whole IT business? How many people thought that IT was going to be a matter transporter and not, as it turned out, a Sinclair C5 on steroids?

You can imagine the results of the 12 person scientific jury:

"Well, it wasn't exactly OU, but these microgenerators are pretty neat. You just have to wind them up and they can power a cell phone for 30 minutes"

Interest parties should also check out some of Butch Lafonte's work. Try the Equilibrium Motor for example.

There are a lot of the same ideas, but he's been doing it for, it seems, quite a bit longer. Basically using magnetic shielding to get more energy out than you put in. The guys over at JLN Labs have been working on lots of other interesting stuff for years.

I'm also wondering where the energy comes from, if it, in the slightest chance, actually works? The earths magnetic field, or Zero Point? In the first case, will the energy drain eventually slow down the earths spin? In the latter case, will we cause a drop in the Higgs field to a lower energy level and wipe out the entire universe?

Maybe the latter? The Mayans predicted everything would change in 2012. That gives them 6 years to sell enough of these things to destroy life, the universe and everything.

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Saturday, August 19, 2006

Energy For All?

In today's news an Irish company challenges scientists to test 'free energy' technology.

I've been following such attempts for a few years now, and the most interesting thing about this one is the amount of media attention its been able to attract.

I've managed to dig out the patent, but haven't fully deciphered it yet.

Its at patent number WO2006035419

Here's the brief description from the preamble:

[0001] "Low Energy Magnetic Actuator"

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a magnetic actuating apparatus.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Electromagnets are commonly used where there is a requirement for a magnetic field to be actuated (turned on/off).

[0006] An electromagnet achieves this effect by providing (generating) a magnetic field while electrical current is applied to it. To turn off the field the current is no longer applied to the electromagnet.

[0007] The use of electromagnets to effectuate magnetic fields suffers from one major drawback - the electromagnet requires a relatively large amount of electrical energy to operate.

[0008] Many techniques are being used to reduce the amount of external energy that an electromagnet requires. Primarily these techniques relate to the efficiency of the electromagnet and its components.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A low energy magnet actuator allows magnetic fields to be turned on and off using a small amount of energy. The magnetic actuator according to the invention generally includes a base suitable for the support of a plurality of magnets. An actuatable shield is positioned in relation to the plurality of magnets so that it effectively blocks the magnetic field when it is positioned over at least one of the magnets. The magnetic fields of the plurality of magnets interact in a manner that allows low energy actuation of the shield. In one illustrative embodiment of an actuator according to the invention, the base supports a first magnet mounted to the base in a first position. A second magnet is supported by the base in a second position relative to the first magnet. A shield is positioned relative to the first and second magnets in a configuration that enables the movement of the shield between two known positions. In this illustrative embodiment, each magnet is of similar field strength and the field that radiates from the ends are of the same polarity. The shield is of a thickness that effectively blocks the emitted magnetic field when positioned over one or the other of the magnets. The magnetic fields of the two magnets interact in a manner that allows for the low- energy movement of the shield. The exposed magnetic field may be used to perform work (e.g. interact with other magnetic fields to move an object).

[0011] Advantages of the actuator according to the invention include low energy actuation of the shield in a manner that yields motion or actuation that is highly efficient. The highly efficient actuation of the shield results in movement that can perform work in a highly efficient manner.

Comments are welcomed.


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