Breakin' the Law, Breakin' the Law

Everybody believes what they will, and things that are taken as fact by some are taken as theory or pure conjecture by others. I myself don't believe plenty of things that others take for fact. Still, there are certain things most people don't argue on, like the laws of physics. Consider this example:

Would you argue with someone if they told you they could throw something up in the air and it wouldn't come down?

There are certain assumptions we have been making about the world around us for a very long time. Among the foremost assumptions we have had are the Laws of Thermodynamics:

The First Law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed. It just changes forms, so the universe is a closed system.

The Second Law states that putting energy into a system will always result in a loss in potential output, i.e., that no system can be 100% efficient.

Well, somebody would like us to disbelieve these laws. Steorn, an Irish technology company, claims to have invented a method of creating free energy with no emissions. According to their website, this technology is "based on the interaction of magnetic fields and allows the production of clean, free and constant energy." They go a step further and state that this technology can be applied to pretty much any energy-consuming device, from cellular phones to cars.

So, debunking a couple of well-established laws of physics seems like either a huge boast or an enormous hoax. Or maybe a PR ploy designed to take advantage of the world's current oil shortage/renewable energy hysteria. Steorn is unfazed by public perception, though, and issued an ad in The Economist this week that will "attract the attention of the world’s leading scientists working in the field of experimental physics. From all the scientists who accept Steorn’s challenge, twelve will be invited to take part in a rigorous testing exercise to prove that Steorn’s technology creates free energy." Even though I wonder about the validity of the statement that says the company itself will pick who gets to evaluate their new technology, this is still a ballsy move, and implies that they really are onto something.

Assuming this is the real thing, Steorn plans to license the rights to its technology to energy companies worldwide, and allow royalty-free licensure for water and rural electrification projects in Third World countries.

Let me say that I'm not a bandwagon-rider in any way. I've been talking ceaselessly about renewable energy sources since I was a kid, and so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping this might be more than a PR hoax. I wouldn't mind having some of my assumptions about physics shaken a little if we can start using our abundant resources that don't kill the planet. Let's hope it's the beginning of a new, greener, world for all of us.