Surfing YouTube can create wasted time beyond the minutes you spend sitting in front of your computer screen.
I was poking around on Engadget the other night. I found an article about a kook who proclaims he will unveil a free energy device in June that will put all the oil companies out of business. The next thing I knew I had followed multiple links back to hundreds of free energy devices and over unity motor video demonstrations.
It wasn’t long before I was in the garage tearing apart old hard drives and attempting to assemble a magnetic motor that would run without a power source.
The free energy world is complex, full of conspiracy theories and con artists; especially when it comes to the popular magnetic motor.
The problem with the concept of a self-powered magnetic motor is not that it is hard to convince people it will work; the problem is it is very difficult to convince people it won’t work.
For decades, perhaps centuries, inventors have been captivated by the magic of the magnet. Harnessing the attraction and repulsion properties of magnets in a perpetual motion machine has been a popular goal of many, from school kids to reputable inventors.
Companies have been founded, investors have been cheated, and wild claims have been spread over the holy grail of “over-unity”. Over unity is a term for a device that has an energy output exceeding its energy input. A magnetic motor seems to be the most popular design for such a mythical device.
Would-be inventors typically arrange magnets on a disk with another set of magnets on a fixed base around the perimeter. The magnets are arranged so that the ones on the spinning disk are alternately repulsed and attracted by those around the fixed perimeter. Since magnets never lose their attractive and repulsive properties, the belief is that they will cause the disk to spin perpetually without any outside power in-put, at least until the bearings for the disk wear out.
It seems insanely simple, and when you start playing with disks and rare earth magnet arrangements, you think, “Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?”
Of course, lots of people have thought of it before. Many have tried, and all have failed. Searching YouTube or Google for “free energy” or “magnetic motors” will turn up countless videos and articles with many fascinating machine designs, from the simple to the extremely complex.
Those searches will also lead you to just as many articles about conspiracy theories.
Many claim that “free energy” and “overuntiy” has already been achieved by many inventors. They will go on to explain that all those inventors have been bought out by energy corporations who then destroyed the prototypes and design documents. I encountered numerous articles that claimed free energy inventors have died under suspicious circumstances.
The audience that accepts these conspiracy theories as truth is huge, and it is easy to see why. If a machine were invented that created free energy, it is obvious that it would have a massive impact on the world economy. Oil and other energy companies would see their stock crash overnight. Millions would lose their jobs, and the balance of world economic power would shift instantly.
It is obvious that such an invention would be a concern for national security in many governments.
I got caught up with the idea for a few hours. My experiments with spinning rods, wheels, and rare earth magnets were fun but came to naught. If a magnetic motor was so simple and really could work, one of those thousands of would-be inventors who have uploaded video documentation of their attempts would have succeeded by now.
So I’m a skeptic.
But my hat is off to the inspiring creativity and ingenuity of the ever hopeful magnetic motor inventors. Their gadgets displayed in videos on YouTube and other sites are fascinating.
A few of the most interesting devices are the Perendev motor, Bedini motors, and gravity wheels. Many variations and combinations of these designs have been used over the years to support false claims of free energy achievement.
Just be careful when you search for these videos, the government or big oil operatives may be watching you.
