| Subj: | Free energy-News |
| Date: | 1/22/02 12:48:05 PM Pacific Standard Time |
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Inventor Claims Discovery of Free
Energy
By Kevin
Smith
Reuters
DUBLIN (Jan. 22) - It has been a pipe-dream of inventors since Leonardo da
Vinci, but has the secret of free energy now been found in Ireland?
A cold stone house on a wind-swept Irish hillside may seem an unlikely setting
for the birthplace of such an epoch-making discovery, but it is here that
an Irish inventor says he has developed a machine that will do no less than
change the world.
The 58-year-old electrical engineer, who lives in the Irish republic and
intends -- for ''security and publicity-avoidance reasons'' -- to keep his
identity a secret, has spent 23 years perfecting the Jasker Power
System.
It is an electromechanical device he says is capable of nothing less than
replenishing its own energy source.
The Irishman is not alone in making such assertions. The Internet is awash
with speculation about free or ''zero point'' energy, with many claiming
to have cracked the problem using magnets, coils, and even
crystals.
''These claims come along every 10 years or so and nothing ever comes of
them. They're all cases of 'voodoo science','' said Robert Park, professor
of physics at the University of Maryland.
The makers of the Jasker -- a name derived from family abbreviations -- say
it can be built to scale using off-the-shelf components and can power anything
that requires a motor.
''The Jasker produces emission-free energy at no cost apart from the
installation. It is quite possibly the most significant invention since the
wheel,'' Tom Hedrick, the only person involved with the machine willing to
give his name, told Reuters.
Hedrick, chief executive of a company set up with a view to licensing the
device in the United States, said the technology shattered preconceived laws
of science.
''It's a giant leap forward. The uses of this are almost beyond
imagination.''
RED HOT WITH CONTROVERSY
Not surprisingly, this topic is red hot with controversy -- sharply dividing
a world scientific community still on its guard after the ''Cold Fusion''
fiasco of 1989 when a group of Utah researchers scandalized the scientific
world with claims -- quickly found to be unsupported -- that the long-sought
answer to the problem of Cold Fusion had been discovered.
Experts contacted by Reuters were wary, citing the first law of thermodynamics
which, in layman's terms, states that you can't get more energy out than
you put in.
''I don't believe this. It goes against fundamentals which have not yet been
disproved,'' said William Beattie, senior lecturer in electrical engineering
at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
''These people (Jasker) are either Nobel prize-winners or they don't know
what they're dealing with. The energy has to come from
somewhere.''
Undaunted, the inventor says that once powered-up, his device can run
indefinitely -- or at least until the parts wear out, adding that he has
supplied all his own domestic power needs free for 17 months.
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.
THE SIZE OF A DISHWASHER
In a demonstration for Reuters, a prototype -- roughly the size of a dishwasher
-- was run for around 10 minutes using four 12-volt car batteries as an initial
power source.
Emitting a steady motorized hum, the machine powered three 100-watt light
bulbs for the duration.
A multimeter reading of the batteries' voltage before the device started
up showed a total of 48.9 volts. When it was switched off, a second reading
showed 51.2 volts, indicating that, somehow, they had been
reimbursed.
The machine went on to run for around two hours while photographs were taken,
with no diminution in the brightness of the light bulbs, which remained lit
during a short power cut.
''The draw on the batteries was estimated at more than 4.5 kilowatts. With
any existing technology the batteries would have been drained flat in one
and a half minutes,'' the inventor said.
Modern theories of zero point energy have their roots in quantum physics
and encompass the fraught areas of ''anti-gravity machines'' and ''advanced
propulsion'' research.
Contributors to the debate range from serious exponents of quantum science
to those who insist free energy secrets have been imparted to them by aliens.
Still others seem convinced the U.S. government is conspiring to suppress
such discoveries.
Nick Cook, aerospace consultant to Janes Defense Weekly and author of ''The
Hunt for Zero Point'' is not as quick as some to dismiss the
possibilities.
''Zero point energy has been proven to exist,'' he told Reuters. ''The question
is whether it can be tapped to provide usable energy. And to that end, I
think it's possible, yes. There are a lot of eminent scientists now involved
in this field and they wouldn't be if there wasn't anything to
it.''
''In my experience opinion in this field is extremely polarized ... people
either go with this area of investigation in their minds or they don't, and
if they don't they tend to pooh-pooh it vehemently. It's very difficult to
get an objective assessment,'' he said.
''Basically, no one wants to be the first to stick his head above the
parapet.''
Impervious to scepticism, Jasker's makers see the first practical application
of their technology as a stand-alone generator for home use, although the
automotive industry could also be a near-term target given the huge investment
in developing substitutes for gasoline-fueled engines.
With world oil reserves running down, there is mounting urgency in the quest
for alternatives.
If the Jasker men really are onto something, it could be the most important
Irish invention since
Guinness.
REUTERS 10:22
01-22-02