News Media Scammed by 'Free Energy' Hoax 928
The General Electric corporate empire was scammed - they modified the story with a skeptical headline but otherwise left it alone. The AOL/TimeWarner corporate empire didn't have any problem with the story. The Environmental News Network, which probably should know better, didn't.
Now I know that wire stories are often run with minimal verification - each paper or website assumes that Reuters, or UPI, or AP has checked the story for veracity before it went out. And I know that reporters and editors can't be experts on every field of endeavor that they report on.
But this is Basic Science. The Three Laws (everyone loves the Second Law[1]) are not a new thing, and they're not going away any time soon. This should have been taught in junior high. There's a simple, well-known test that Reuters could have applied to this story: "Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary proof". This claim is the most extraordinary of all - free energy, perpetual motion, whatever you want to call it, and it demands proof beyond question. Reuters is running this story based on an anonymous inventor. Is that extraordinary proof?
But wait, I said perpetual motion. The phrase "perpetual motion" is one which sets off alarm bells in people's heads, so the anonymous inventor was quick to head off that thought process:
"But he is keen to head off the notion that he has tapped into the age-old myth of perpetual motion. ``Perpetual motion is impossible. This is a self-sustaining unit which at the same time provides surplus electrical energy,'' he said."
This quote is simply embarassing. It parses to "Perpetual motion is impossible. This is a perpetual motion unit." The inventor must be snickering in his Guinness right now to have snuck that one past.
The story gets better when you read it several times. Three 100 Watt light bulbs created a drain of 4500 Watts, according to the nameless inventor. That would be an impressive feat all by itself, except that it's total nonsense.
The piece would have made a good humor article. A properly skeptical and properly educated Reuters reporter could have examined these claims, poked holes in them, and published a story that simultaneously reported on the claims and educated the public about why they are a load of hogwash. Too bad that's not what happened.
Maybe you'd like to take a crack at evaluating their claims? You think you can examine their device a little more critically than Reuters? Give them a call.
And I have a second task as well. Slashdot is occasionally criticized for getting a story wrong, even though we diligently correct ourselves when necessary. My theory is that the difference between Slashdot and other media is that they never correct themselves, no matter how inaccurate, so readers are left with a false picture of accuracy. To test this claim, I'll send a Thinkgeek t-shirt to the first person who finds a retraction of this 'free energy' story published by Reuters or any of the newspapers/media outlets that ran the original story. *Any* of them. I don't expect to pay out.
Update: 01/24 16:38 GMT by M : CNN has updated their story with a new headline and several new paragraphs at the end, which qualifies. A couple of people also noted that ZDNet appears to have taken their copy of the wire story down. Lucas Garsha was the first to email, so he gets a t-shirt. I wasn't clear whether the claim should be email or in the comments, so I'll also send a t-shirt to the first commenter noting this, which appears to be skia.
[1] This is a fine world that we live in, where I can find a website devoted to the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Give the author credit. (Score:5, Funny)
I would like to revise the headline for Reuters... (Score:3, Funny)
cya
Ethelred [grantham.de]
I have discovered a wonderful proof of this (Score:3, Funny)
Laws (Score:5, Funny)
-- Homer Simpson
Arthur ? (Score:2, Funny)
And I bet it solves the Stopping problem too (Score:4, Funny)
Personally, I think this story is a hoot!
Oops. (Score:5, Funny)
Ummm... Mr. Jasker... I think we let the cat out of the bag.
Hee hee hee... (Score:5, Funny)
"So is that Free as in Beer, Free as in Speech, or Free as in Energy?"
Hmmm (Score:4, Funny)
wouldn't it be ironic (Score:5, Funny)
J
Here's how it works--- (Score:5, Funny)
Then you power three 100W light bulbs for an hour. That's only 0.3kWh, or probably close to $0.05 worth of electricity.
Upon demonstration to the reporters, the three batteries on the outside are left with an "increased charge". The machine put out more than it took in *.
The secret: Four car batteries are in the box. It's self repleneshing! Demonstrate this to enough reporters, using nwe external batteries each time, and it will run forever!!!
Sigh.
*Editor's Note: If only more women were like that.
great! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Give the author credit. (Score:5, Funny)
In a trailer park on the shores of the Mississippi, a local man has claimed to have invented a perpetual motion human.
To prove his claim, he hooked a car battery up his wife/cousin for 10 minutes while she held a 100 watt light bulb in each hand. After removing the car battery, she proceeded to twitch for more than 37 hours.
Aleady companies are clammoring for the device, known as the "shockway," claiming it will revolutionize the world. "We could have our employees work 24 hours a day," said one business owner. "This could be the most important invention to come out of Mississippi since... since... paternity tests"
Re:Laws (Score:2, Funny)
Lisa: Bu...
Moe: Go home science girl!
Lisa: I am home!
Moe: Good, stay there
Standard Perpetual Motion Device Screening Test (Score:5, Funny)
Succesful completion of this test would be extraordinary and get peoples attention.
To test this claim, I'll send a t-shirt... (Score:2, Funny)
It would probably be irresponsible to pull some strings at the newspaper I work at to have a retraction printed just for the t-shirt, wouldn't it...
Oh well.
really... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:incredulous (Score:2, Funny)
And in other news... (Score:1, Funny)
Kuro5hin readers aren't THAT dumb... (Score:5, Funny)
Thanks for reminding me about K5... I hadn't visited them much since their server problems back in December. Now, about the K5 readers being "...taken in...", allow me to quote the first comment -- I think it sums things up perfectly.
-- END OF LINE.
Or... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Define the extraordinary proof, please (Score:3, Funny)
Attainment is determined by the systematic mathematical application in the defined mode, of the accurately selected operational segments... To reiterate there are no physics heresies, no physics contradictions and no ambiguous claims.
I love that last part. =)
Re:wouldn't it be ironic (Score:3, Funny)
Given that ironic roughly means perversely unexpected, this would not be ironic since it would be well in the trend of Slashdot getting basic stuff wrong.
I'm glad michael was there to explain to us why he's smarter than Reuters though.
Re:Laws (Score:1, Funny)
2) You can't break even,
3) You can't leave the game.
I love that one.
A Modest Proposal - 2K2 Edition (Score:2, Funny)
And yes, I realize that A Modest Proposal was a satirical political statementa and has an incompatible context (and was sarcastic in nature, unlike this post), but it still sounds good as a subject line, and was Ireland-related, sho up yersh. I gesh th'Guinnesh is gettin' to m'.
Re:I have discovered a wonderful proof of this (Score:2, Funny)
'...margins of this books are too small...'
Can someone remind me.
Thanks
-Ben
Re:Free Energy not impossible (Score:3, Funny)
Classic example: (Score:3, Funny)
I figure some jerk reporter was pecking some geek to provide him with some juicy info, and the geek made something up...
cya
Ethelred [grantham.de]
How I tested this theory (Score:1, Funny)
1. I unplugged a lamp from my desk and put it on top of the dishwasher;
2. Opened the dishwasher, left part of the lamp power cable hanging down;
3. Ran couple of short wires from 2 new Duracell 9V batteries to inside of the dishwasher;
4. Closed and locked the dishwasher making sure all 3 wires/cables got in while the lamp and batteries stayed out;
5. Put the lamp switch on the ON position;
6. Ran the dishwasher on a short wash setting.
The expected result (if the Jasker theory were true) was that
Actual resutls from the test:
From these results I conclude that perpetual motion is possible as demonstrated by my dishwasher; however, it doesn't generate excess power/electricity.
What would Stephen Hawking say about this? (Score:4, Funny)
Thanks to the crew at www.mchawking.com [mchawking.com] we now know how Stephen feels about the second law; and by extrapolation, how he feels about "Energy from nothing".
Dbl std: Perpetual Motion vs. Software Patents (Score:5, Funny)
So why don't they do this with software patents?
Re:Reuters (Score:3, Funny)
Location, location, location! (Score:2, Funny)
In other stories today, Irish electricity company filed for chapter 11, citing as a reason mysterious drains of electricity from its systems at undisclosed location in Ireland. Company insider says, there were numerous sighting of a man with something, that looked like a washing machine, by systems, experiencing power drainage. He was not identified, and referred to in company's files as simply "an electricity pirate".
*the above story is completely fictious
Insight from Carl Sagan (Score:5, Funny)
"They laughed at Einstein. They laughed at Newton. Of course, they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."
New idea? (Score:5, Funny)
"THIS INVENTION EFFECTIVELY GUARANTEES THE CONTINUITY OF MANKIND".
No, that would be sex.
No sig, sorry.
Re:Laws (Score:2, Funny)
No you won't (Score:1, Funny)
No, what's REALLY ironic.. (OT) (Score:2, Funny)
No, ironic is getting a lecture on proper usage of an English word by someone who couldn't pass a grade two English course.
oh well (Score:2, Funny)
This is not a hoax. I happen to have seen the device working, and I can tell you that it does create energy out of nowhere, something we've been taught that we cannot do. Just like turning lead into gold, which is also very much possible.
Actually, not only have I seen the device, but I once met one of the inventors. As a matter of fact, I know one of the inventors personally. To be perfectly honest, I am actually the lead inventor of this system. I'm going to market it and make a fortune that will make Bill Gates look like a beggar on the streets! I will use this device to create warp drive, and the conquest of the universe will begin!
OH WELL.
Re:But the voltage *increased*!... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Kuro5hin user moderation system (Score:2, Funny)
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Maybe he split the beer atom. (Score:3, Funny)
It is a VERY heavy beer.
Re:Give the author credit. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Hee hee hee... (Score:2, Funny)
But it has a really nice case (Score:3, Funny)
Hook this man up! (Score:3, Funny)
Wow (Score:3, Funny)
I wonder if ENRON has bitten yet? (Score:2, Funny)
I wonder if ENRON has bitten yet?