The Museum of Unworkable Devices

Jippy_ writes "The quest for perpetual motion has been going on since at least the 11th century according to this site, and scientists have been getting it wrong ever since. Take a gander at some of the most valiant efforts (and ultimately the biggest failures) in trying to beat the laws of physics through the last 1000 years, along with other impossible inventions and devices."

The newest item added to the exhibition...

[netsharc]

the server that hosted the site!

Also known as the

[Tablizer]

MS-Windows Museum :-P

(somebody had to say it)

but...

[Anonymous Coward]

do they have a BeBox?

Why didn't they just ask...

[ksheka]

...Lisa Simpson?

Goody! Lots of ideas...

[irritating environme]

For new bogus-physics product companies to get coverage from wired.com and get 10 million in funding

I think that the problem with these devices isn't the laws of physics per se, I think its just that they were never properly marketed.

Re:Why didn't they just ask...

[Anonymous Coward]

In this house we obey the laws of Thermodynamics!

Unworkable-DRM.

[Anonymous Coward]

My nomination for the museum of unworkable devices is DRM

Buttered toast

[TummyX]

Where's the cat with buttered toast attached to its back?

Do they have the ultimate 20th-c vaporware?

[saskboy]

Hydrogen Fuel Cells?

Surely they must be there, at least for another 10 years ;-)

Well, there's your perpetual motion, right there.

[blair1q]

The quest for perpetual motion has been going on since at least the 11th century

Without ever stopping!

and the timecube?

[circletimessquare]

what of the timecube? [timecube.com]

I have requested that the UCS, or
Union of Concerned Scientists, act
to evaluate Nature's Harmonic Time
Cube Principle of Creation - for the
welfare of children, nature and the
future of all humanity. The dumb,
stupid and evil bastards have ignored
their obligation to their humanity
fellowship to research Time Cube,
and deserve to be spit upon publicly.
It is their moral duty to test Time
Cube, and a curse of evil if they ignore
the greatest discovery of humanity.
I have offered $10,000.00 to the evil
bastards if they disprove Time Cube.
They can't disprove it, so they hide
like yellow-belly bastards they are.

Re:Buttered toast

[macemoneta]

I thought that was an anti-gravity device? At least that's what I've been using mine for.

I've got it!!!

[heli0]

A flawless design for a perpetual motion machine... the only thing I need to make it work are a couple monopole magnets and a room-temperature superconductor. Honest!

Send $1,000 to P.O. box 324, NY, NY 20002 to get in on the ground floor!!

Excellent museum

[quantaman]

I mean even the server [netcraft.com] follows the spirit of the exhibits!

Re:I've got it!!!

[neurostar]

Send $1,000 to P.O. box 324, NY, NY 20002 to get in on the ground floor!!

I'm guessing that with the intelligence of some of the /. crowd, you should be recieving approximately $20,000 in unmarked bills within the next week...

;)

neurostar

I have a source of unlimited power

[91degrees]

The Troll Engine.

what it does is post a comment extoling the virtues of Windows 95 over Linux. It then uses the heat generated by the ensuing flamewar to power a small town.

almost

[trb]

I have a design for a perpetual motion machine that almost works.

Desinged a car to be pulled by megnets

[alch]

It was cool !! Metal wheels and magnets to pull itself along !! Never figured out how to stop it though.

Re:Buttered toast

[Dunark]

Where's the cat with buttered toast attached to its back?

The judges are still out on that one, it hasn't stopped moving yet.

Re:Why didn't they just ask...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Little Lisa Simpson, Springfield's answer to the question no one asked."

Re:and the timecube?

[salesgeek]

I was going to ask him to teach me the "Universal Secrets of the Time Cube" but then I read this:

There is no teacher on Earth qualified to
teach Nature's Harmonic Simultaneous 4-
Day Rotating Time Cube Creation Principle,
and therefore, there is no teacher on Earth
worthy of being called a certified teacher.

I guess I'm out of luck.

Fools!

[angst_ridden_hipster]

They think that perpetual motion is impossible, but I'm almost there!

There's just one small problem with friction in the defrobnication rotor. All I need is some funding to fabricate a new one out of frictionless unobtainium, and then we'll see who's laughing!

I'd be happy to demo the system to anyone willing to make a nominal million dollar investment. Second Law, make your time!

I already have 2 perfectly working pm machines

[Anonymous Coward]

theyre named ididntdoit (3) and where did he go? (6) they never run out of energy (just ask my wife!!!!)

Re:Also known as the

[Anonymous Coward]

Making crappy Microsoft jokes is not getting you any closer to going on a date with a real girl.

Oh, I have already given up trying. It is less stress to simply date my hand.

Re:and the timecube?

[Anonymous Coward]

Pictures and video of Gene Ray, the discoverer of the Timecube, giving lecutre at MIT. [mit.edu]

point and match

[clambake]

Considering the "cork and uneven displacement of fluid", one of the reasons given why it would not work is:

"The system will eventually run out of energy by lowering the water level. This will happen even with perfectly rigid components [and perfect gate seals]. Consider what happens when the ball goes through a gate. The total volume in the two spaces connected by the gate must remain constant, so if the ball goes up, a volume of water equal to the volume of the ball must come down. In each iteration through the loop one ball's worth of liquid effectively moves from the top section to the bottom section. The upper level stays the same--until the ball pops up from the top surface, at which point the level drops by one ball volume worth."

I wonder today if this is still true if we consider magnetic fluids. It woul dbe possible to create an uneven distribution of fluid, one that will defy gravity indefinitly, using iron filing and mineral oil.

Sadly, I have no money left...

[Kinniken]

...everything is invested in helping a destitute royal from Nigeria. As soon as I get the millions promised in the email, I will invest in your project.

Can't pour out more'n u put in.

[Anonymous Coward]

My father didn't understand why you can't build a car that ran forever off battery energy forever replenished by an electric generator on each wheel, more wheels added as needed.