Free Energy?

[AdamCecil]

http://www.mufor.org/nmachine.html


Physicist Bruce DePalma has a 100 kilowatt generator, which he invented, sitting in his garage. It could power his whole house, but if he turns it on, the government may confiscate it.

Harvard educated DePalma, who taught physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 15 years, claims that his electrical generator can provide cheap, inexhaustible, self sustaining and non polluting source of energy, using principles that flout conventional physics and are still not fully understood. His N machine, as it is called, is said to release the "free energy" latent in the space all around us. DePalma views his device as an innovation that could help to end the worlds's dangerous dependence on finite supplies of oil, gas, and other polluting fossil based fuels.

Read the whole article, and tell people what you think.

I recently shared this article with my science teacher, who has commited himself to finding out as much about this as possible. He recently found a scienctist who says he tested the machine and found that no such "free energy" is happening.

[loveme4whoiam]

Originally posted by Article
At least one inventor had his device confiscated by the Defense Department on the grounds that its free energy technology endangered national security interests.
FFS... this is just screwed up. Any right-thinking person would encourage this research, even if it is widely believed to be impossible. Imagine the benefits of this should it actually work!

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I think it's a hoax. There is no such thing as "free energy".

[AdamCecil]

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2006, 08:26 PM
I think it's a hoax. There is no such thing as "free energy".
If you read the article, you would realize that what DePalma is proposing is an entire new idea of physics based on the principles of this machine. They use the example of a magnet. The magnetic force isn't attached to the magnet, as modern physics asert, but the magnet just taps into that force that is all around us.

[ComradeRed]

There is such a thing as "Gibb's free energy" although the name may be misleading...the change of the "free energy" with respect to temperature is equal to the unusable energy (entropy).

I think that this is not some miraculous device that has fallen from the heavens to defeat the first law of thermodynamics (or even the second law). I think this guy has invented a device that takes advantage of quantum electrodynamics more effeciently than before.

It's hard to think about without investigating the thing, but it doesn't seem like it's something new...only different.

[Janus]

Hmm... very interesting. I think that the term "free" energy isn't really used properly here since it is highly doubtful that the machine can break the laws of thermodynamics. I guess only more research will tell whether this machine has high potential or if it's just a hoax.

Though I still don't understand how this guy was able to create the machine without understanding the concepts behind it and with such limited materials at hand.


I think this guy has invented a device that takes advantage of quantum electrodynamics more effeciently than before.
Could you explain the baisc concepts behind quantum electrodynamics and how it applies here.

[ComradeRed]

In quantum electrodynamics (QED), the electric force is explained as the repulsion of two electrons through a mediating photon. So think of it like a pool game: the cue ball is the photon, the other balls are electrons.

Of course this is slightly off because there can be a virtually infinite number of photons exchanged between two electrons.

But what insures there aren't an infinite number of photons being exchanged (thus an infinite amount of energy) is a fascinating system of diagrams: feynman diagrams.

The rules are simple doodles adding a single line to each additional doodle and calculating out the energy involved, then plugging this into an equation that puts it in the form of probabilities.

That's where quantum mechanics comes in, there is an uncertain amount of photons exchanged (well, a probabilistic amount).

I suspect that if a photon were emitted by an electron and not absorbed by the other (because the one had to change it's orientation in spacetime to emit a photon), there would be a "free" photon.

That is where I suspect the energy comes from, especially considering what is being used (copper and magnets, ahem?!?).

[loveme4whoiam]

:blink: Gah... I think my brain's melted...

So why is this frowned upon by the US? Duh, the answer to that is so obvious. I'll rephrase - if Japan and India are pushing so hard in this area, why are the US letting them get so far ahead of the game as them?

[AdamCecil]

The US is controlled by the Oil Companies, that's why.

[AdamCecil]

*double post*

[ComradeRed]

Yeah, Japan, China, and India are all way FAR FAR FAR ahead of the US in terms of nanotechnology; that will be a major factor in the downfall of the US in the not too distant future.

Kinda ironic, after several lifetimes of using oil, the U$ will have none :lol:

[apathy maybe]

There is such a thing as 'free energy'. It's called solar (or wind or waves or tidal etc.). Considering that it 'pays' for it self with in a few years, solar panels are a must have investment for anyone with any money.

Energy from nothing is not going to happen at this stage of human understanding of quantum mechanics. And if this guy has this wonderful machine, he should distribute the design so that others can build it. That'll prove if it works or not.

[ComradeRed]

There is such a thing as 'free energy'. It's called solar (or wind or waves or tidal etc.). Considering that it 'pays' for it self with in a few years, solar panels are a must have investment for anyone with any money. I guess "Neither energy nor matter is created or destroyed, only changed in form" is thrown out the window?

With solar energy, it actually uses photons for steam (at least in some of the simpler models) or for electromagnetic engines, etc. There is nothing being "created", only changed.



Energy from nothing is not going to happen at this stage of human understanding of quantum mechanics. Maybe, though it depends which "interpretation" is correct.

For example, if the "sum over histories" version (which essentially takes a number of consistent histories of an event occurring) is correct, there are virtual particles from these histories with virtual energy; if humans could tap into this, it would be another golden age.

On the other hand, if the "Bohm interpretation" is correct, there is a potential energy that quantum mechanics uses which can (again) be tapped into.

I think that regardless of interpretation, something is happening that is unique; whether it is a quantum phenomena or not, it is interesting. The shroud of censors have only made it moreso interesting.

[bezdomni]

To create truly "free energy" is impossible.

Anybody who has payed half-attention in a high school physics/chemistry course would know that.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I had a look at the main site that the article was hosted on turns out it's reason-forsaken UFO site :rolleyes: That's woo-woo territtory right there. Also the mention of alleged government cover-up is a common woo-woo excuse. I should have realised earlier.

[TomRK1089]

Originally posted by [email protected] 16 2006, 09:24 AM
I had a look at the main site that the article was hosted on turns out it's reason-forsaken UFO site :rolleyes: That's woo-woo territtory right there. Also the mention of alleged government cover-up is a common woo-woo excuse. I should have realised earlier.
As noXion says, the source is certainly questionable, as is the science. Zero-point extraction? That'll stay in the realms of Star Trek, I think.