Free energy?

[sAsLEX]

What's to say what will happen in the next 10-20 years?

Depends where the $$$ are to be honest. The new PS3, the chip in that is pretty amazing, but from its pretty lacklustre showing against the Wii I wonder if they would be willing to put all that development in to PS4 only to be beaten by something well behind the technology it developed.

[xwhatsit]

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

Without ever stopping.

[SARGE]

Has mankind finally managed to harness some of the universes 'free' energy sources, or even managed to prove the existence of 'zero-point' energy?

Independent scientists are currently evaluating the inventor's claims (although the inventor of the 'Orbo' the device which appears to harness the free energy admits he doesn't know how it works), as the laws of energy state that energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Religious and scientific dogma alert:

http://www.steorn.com/

Or it may all be utter bollox of course.

we will know if he is right in a few months if he mysteriously dies and his research burns up in the accompanying lab fire

[avgas]

Difficult and impossible are two different things.

Technically speaking the world is flat, and the globe is round. its all about perspective really.
The world has always been flat - but when it wrapped around the planet it becomes a globe.
People fail to recognize the fact that 'the world' refers to the net of places - not how it is constructed.

[Skyryder]

This may be a bit off topic but there's a promo on Discovery or it may be the Geographic channel with a guy holding a burning flame in the palm of his hand and the promo says that this stuff is going to energize the world. Any one know what that's all about.

Skyryder

[Dargor]

what is stopping what happend when russia got a good dose of free energy.

Not being made in Russia.. if its not bullshit of course.

[Mekk]

Check out http://www.randi.org for all you need to know about Steorn and their bs.

[Karma]

Technically speaking the world is flat, and the globe is round. its all about perspective really.
The world has always been flat - but when it wrapped around the planet it becomes a globe.
People fail to recognize the fact that 'the world' refers to the net of places - not how it is constructed.

Explain the horizon.

[xwhatsit]

Explain the horizon.

You're making classic n00b mistake -- don't mix up your data with your interface.

The world is flat, for all intents and purposes. It can be represented as such. However, it's interface is presented as a globe.

I'm failing at explaining it, especially after some so-called brain lubrication. Carefully re-read Avgas's post again and you'll see he's not trying to refute your statement, he's talking about something quite different.

[Steam]

Here's how a guy in the USA is making hundreds of thousands by duping farmers and yokels into supporting his "free energy" scheme...
http://www.randi.org/jr/112301.html

Randi comments: Now Mr. Ma gets down to what Dennis Lee is really doing with his crowd, selling them the same old swindle that Charles Ponzi and his successors worked so successfully, the Pyramid Scam....

The Lee pyramid scheme, from what I can gather, goes like this: the people at the show are invited to become "witnesses." Lee says he will have two prototypes built for Maryland, and the witnesses, by contract, have to go to one of those exhibitions. (There will be 1.6 million witnesses nationwide.) Each witness will be given a certificate for free electricity at the event, and nine certificates for free electricity for friends. That catch is, those nine people have to pay $1000 each to get in on it. He will then use that $9000 to build it for you, and the excess electricity from the machine on your property will be sold for five cents/megawatt to finance more units to be built for the people you refer, and for your own profit. You will also get the profit from the people you refer. This keeps expanding until he gets some number of units built, 32 million I think, when he will lower the price to 1 cent/MW to drive all power companies out of business, and then totally convert the country to this free electricity to eliminate pollution.

The profits for the top level recruits, said Lee, would be $230,000/yr and it would be $16 billion a year for him, from selling the electricity. . . . At the end of the show, the only people left looked like they were ready to enlist in a militia to fight "big government" and "big business." They looked like mostly farmers and others that care little about the actual physics.

I was kind of afraid to ask any negative questions because it seemed like I was alone in that group. Everyone except me was grabbing for forms to sign up as a recruiter or a dealer. All the scientists had left before then.

[Karma]

You're making classic n00b mistake -- don't mix up your data with your interface.

The world is flat, for all intents and purposes. It can be represented as such. However, it's interface is presented as a globe.

I'm failing at explaining it, especially after some so-called brain lubrication. Carefully re-read Avgas's post again and you'll see he's not trying to refute your statement, he's talking about something quite different.

Kinda like saying that we are standing still for all intents and purpose, when in reality we're all spinning around an axis at 0.5 km/sec and on top of that revolving around the sun at 30km/sec.

[ManDownUnder]

Everyone except me was grabbing for forms to sign up as a recruiter or a dealer. All the scientists had left before then.

Yup - it's interesting how those with knowledge often leave before they story can be ruined... a shame too.

[avgas]

Explain the horizon.

Not the world, merly the world wrapped around the earth.
For anyone else out there - show me why in the internet is a globe.
Do people live in the core of the earth?
The "world" does not refer to the construction of the "planet"
Otherwise there would be no "up" or "down", in the world. Only "in" or "out".
Think about it.
Its all perspective man

[Karma]

We'll have to disagree on this one, I can see where you're going, but your definition of world is all wrong.

world /wɜrld/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[wurld] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. the earth or globe, considered as a planet.
2. (often initial capital letter) a particular division of the earth: the Western world.
3. the earth or a part of it, with its inhabitants, affairs, etc., during a particular period: the ancient world.
4. humankind; the human race; humanity: The world must eliminate war and poverty.
5. the public generally: The whole world knows it.
6. the class of persons devoted to the affairs, interests, or pursuits of this life: The world worships success.
7. a particular class of people, with common interests, aims, etc.: the fashionable world.
8. any sphere, realm, or domain, with all pertaining to it: a child's world; the world of dreams; the insect world.
9. everything that exists; the universe; the macrocosm.
10. any complex whole conceived as resembling the universe: the world of the microcosm.
11. one of the three general groupings of physical nature: animal world; mineral world; vegetable world.
12. any period, state, or sphere of existence: this world; the world to come.
13. Often, worlds. a great deal: That vacation was worlds of fun.
14. any indefinitely great expanse.
15. any heavenly body: the starry worlds.
—Idioms
16. bring into the world,
a. to give birth to; bear: My grandmother brought nine children into the world.
b. to deliver (a baby): the doctor brought many children into the world.
17. come into the world, to be born: Her first child came into the world in June.
18. for all the world,
a. for any consideration, however great: She wouldn't come to visit us for all the world.
b. in every respect; precisely: You look for all the world like my Aunt Mary.
19. in the world,
a. at all; ever: I never in the world would have believed such an obvious lie.
b. from among all possibilities: Where in the world did you find that hat?
20. on top of the world. top1 (def. 46).
21. out of this or the world, exceptional; fine: The chef prepared a roast duck that was out of this world.
22. set the world on fire, to achieve great fame and success: He didn't seem to be the type to set the world on fire.
23. think the world of, to like or admire greatly: His coworkers think the world of him.
24. world without end, for all eternity; for always.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE world, weorold; c. D wereld, G Welt, ON verǫld, all < Gmc *wer-ald- lit., age of man]

—Synonyms 1. See earth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.