Steorn: Orbo

[vbloke]

Those chaps at Steorn have finally named their spiffy new perpetual motion machine "Orbo" and launched a shiny new website to promote it.

No information on the device itself, although it appears to use "magnets"

http://www.steorn.com/

[Cuddles]

I hope they're at least quantum magnets. I'm sure you're not going to get perpetual motion with the boring regular kind. And I suppose that technically magents really are quantum crystals, so they don't even need to make anything up. Apart from the perpetual motion of course.

[Admin]

Well if they're using unipolar magnets I'm investing in the company.

I reckon a £20,000 investment should be enough to make me a million once this product is on the market.

What's the betting that there'll be production delays? :D

And 'technical hitches' if they ever dare demonstrate the device!!


And "Orbo" - is that meant to sound technically advanced or something?

[tkingdoll]

That's a nice website.

So, I musta missed the debate on this one. Do we know what they're actually claiming? Cause the website doesn't tell me anything other than IT violates Science As We Know It, Amen. But it doesn't say what IT is.

I assume they've been asking for money for investment?

Could make quite a tidy profit on the interest on that money if given sufficiently in advance :D

[Admin]

They're claiming to have developed a 'free energy' machine.

It will be interesting to see if the whole thing pans out like other free energy fiascos.

They're always after more money from investors, the machines never materialise, if a demonstration is done there's always a reason why it didn't or couldn't work, production dates are set - then delayed - then reset - then delayed again....

Oh yes.... they'll always need more 'investment'.

[Araneus]

The depressing thing is, people will still fall for it. On another (non-skeptical) forum, there were a couple of comments along the lines of "It must be real, why else would they make the claim?".

I would be automatically skeptical of any organisation that represents itself as an "Intellectual Property development company". This screams "we want your investment capital" very loudly indeed.

[Lister]

I've been following that story out of curiosity since it started in August. It does seem very different in some ways from run of the mill free energy scams. In fact I quite think that maybe it is not a scam at all. My guess is that its whose purpose is the forum itself, probably some study of human behaviour or something crazy like that.
The company (Steorn) seems to be a company that can just only manage to stay afloat and probably earns its keep by doing lots of little odd jobs, probably mostly IT related. Maybe the whole 'Orbo' thing is just one of many such little jobs they are doing for some university or even something like Discovery channel.

[Amelie]

Need more information before I make a judgement. Any other helpful links?

[Mojo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_thermodynamics

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/unwork.htm

[gm137]

Well I'm sold: anyone else want my money? ???

Every time I see a "Perpetual-Motion-but-we're-not-going-to-prove-it" site, I get the urge to start humming the Flanders and Swann thermodynamics skit:

"Oh you can't pass heat from the cooler to the hotter
You can try it if you like, but you're far better notta"

...and so on.

[evomedia]

I really hope it works, why?

I've been in heated debate with a friend for over 2 year now, I arguied that a nearly perpetual motion machine (not actual perpetual) using magnetics fields mechanically forced on and off by use of gravity as an opposing force, so would run for thousands of years using neodymium magnets, against gravitation field created by earth) . My mates has been argueing its against physical laws, and hey presto today I read about the orbo technology. Not sure if the idea is identical but pretty damn close, I argued that using 3 forces may create a self sustaining loop.

Fingers crossed for its true, as winning a supposed unwinnable arguement would be wonderful. Wished I'd orginally patented the idea now when I thought of it 5 years ago if it works lol

[Araneus]

II argued that using 3 forces may create a self sustaining loop.

That's where you go wrong, of course. Assuming that forces like gravity and magnetism can somehow generate energy, which they can't.

[Cuddles]

Wished I'd orginally patented the idea now when I thought of it 5 years ago if it works lol

Don't worry, it doesn't.

[evomedia]

That's where you go wrong, of course. Assuming that forces like gravity and magnetism can somehow generate energy, which they can't.

Hehe ok here goes, ok, lets say you drop a object, you can harness some of that power if you hit say a bar attached to a disc, the disc rotates and charges a dynamo, now I completely agree that you would have to use an equal force to gravity get the object back to the top. But the reaction of it hiting and rotated the disc generates a charge (electricity) So to say gravity cant generate electricity is rubbish, the problem is that you have to use that charge plus some to get the object back up. So generating electric via gravity is a one off reaction.

So lets say that gravity equals 10 joules, and to counter gravity you need 10 joules to get it back to the top. Ok, the force stored in the dynamo would be alot less than the energy required to move the object against gravity, especially when friction is accounted for etc.

So introducing magnetic forces could offset the loss of energy in fact create a positive into the equation.

Why? I argue that moving electric charges, such as an electron, will accelerate in the presence of a magnetic field, causing it to change velocity and its direction of travel. And that the acceleration of electrons in the presence of a magnetic field is a release of free energy, but only if you put force into the equation, lets say you have 2 magnets repelling on the negative poles if you pushed one the other would repel with equal force again no energy gained.

But I suggest that if you cross 2 magnetic fluxes at their point of lowest magnitued and follow a curve to the point of highest magnitude via an external force like gravity will cause the electrons under the influence of the Lorentz force to naturally increase in velocity as it passes across the flux.

So I suggect that if you cross the flux optimum angle entering at the weekest point, and use a force like gravity the natural acceleration of electrons will increase as the field increases in magnitude, essentially the energy generated by the lorentz force generates free energy.

I reason if you use 2 magnets at the top where the combined magnetic attaction is greater than friction but less gravity on a slope towards a drop,it attracts then one will drop. if the falling magnet falls into a curve that enters the weekest point of the positive poles flux of another magnet and curves to the point of highest magnitude where the point of entry to the flux is less that gravity and the combined magnetic force at the point of greatest magnitude is greater than gravity you could push the magnet back to the top and create a loop.

If you then use the addition force to enter the magnetic flux at the weekest point of a stronger magnet it will again accelerate as it reaches maximum magnitude, all you need to do is repeat this until the velocity is enough to carry it back to the top, your already creating a greater force than gravity and as such can scale the ascent back to the top.

[Mojo]

But if it works, won't it cause global warming? All that free energy has to go somewhere.