Thursday, July 5, 2007

Our first view of Orbo, All 4 Cameras are Live

Camera 1:

Camera 2:
Camera 3:

Camera 4:

13 comments:

dobson said...

Yes, this is an art exhibition in an art gallery. What else would you expect to find in a museum that specializes in kinetic sculpture.

I was there at lunch-time today, taking photos. I shall be back tomorrow with my camera again.

I'm not sure what this says: Either it demonstrates the artistic illiteracy of the science press, or it demonstrates the scientific illiteracy of the British Public - either way, this is exactly what Art should be about.

Even with the exhibition closed there was a small crowd gathering outside discussing the exhibit and it's claims. What better way to raise consciousness about our energy dependancy and our public misunderstanding of science than by publicly, beautifully perpetrating one of the oldest scientific scams known to mankind.

By the way, I quizzed Mr Walshe (one of the partners) about the machine. I'm pretty sure it's a "spring-effect" magnetic motor. It's a surprising display of thermodynamics.

When a permanent magnet is made one must invest a great deal of energy in order to reduce the amount of entropy in the magnet's structure. The permanent magnet stores a small amount of energy.

A magnet motor works by slowly releasing this stored energy. At the end of the process, when the machine stops, the magnet will have become mostly demagnetized. As one might expect, the amount of energy required to make a permanent magnet is substantially greater than the amount of energy you can get back.

Consider this:
http://www.overwhelmingevidence.com/oe/node/314

This is very funny: A bunch of ID creationists seem to have forgotten to switch on their conceptual-art detectors this morning. They clam that Steorn's claims validate their own findings.

Dobson

Anonymous said...

No way the jury has seen the Orbo if this kinda stuff is going on.

Anonymous said...

Umm - I'm just a newbie and all, but wouldn't the "intense" heat from camera lights be a possible source of 'hidden' input energy into the system? Given that Steorn has had months to plan this demo, it seems rather unbelievable that they are only just now realizing that heat from camera lights, if that is what's really the issue, could affect the system.

Anonymous said...

Definitely an artistic stunt.

The only thing I don't understand is how they could spend so much money on the project (The full page article in the Economist, among other things) and expect to break anywhere near even.

bc said...

These images are truly sad. So much for lifting weights!

We have a very real energy crisis coming over the next few decades (peak oil), and we also need to seriously reconsider how we use energy to avoid damaging impacts on the environment.

We already have clean unlimited energy in the form of wind and solar power - that's as free as it gets. Instead Steorn divert people's time and money with a wild goose chase.

There are lots of lessons to be learned here. Number 1 being don't try to outwit nature.

Anonymous said...

Why did DR.Mike not get to see the unit before the demo as was promised?

Oh, right. Steorn could not use the 'camera light heat problem' as an excuse if Mike had seen it in another location.

Gee, did anyone try to run it with the lights turned off? Noooo.. that would be too easy.

This is just another in a long (nearly a year) line of broken promises, half truths and contradictions. (like that this would be lifting weights)

Nearly four years from discovery and they have an 'unforeseen' problem with the ONE demo unit they brought? No backup? Sounds like a planned 'technical problem'.

My belief is that the demo unit will continue to be delayed. No running OU device will be shown. Instead there will be a film and lecture by Sean.

I would love to hear from an investor about how much faith THEY still have in Steorn.

Can anyone really be this incompetent?

Cappy said...

Judging from the screensavers on the computers, they are not Mac heads.
??????
I think that's the problem right there fellas, shoulda been running OSX.

dobson said...

The only thing I don't understand is how they could spend so much money on the project (The full page article in the Economist, among other things) and expect to break anywhere near even.

This is England, a land where art is under no compulsion to "break even". Damian Hirst (who is probably our most famous living artist at the moment) just blew more than £10m on a diamond encrusted skull - he might sell it, he might not. It's art, not finance.

Galleries often advertise new exhibitions. Most of them have marketing budgets, and it's not unreasonable to imagine that a well-funded art group can pull off a stunt like this.

This is London, specifically Spitalfields - a place where crazy stuff happens every day.

Anonymous said...

Uri Gellar used the same excuse(lights are too bright/hot) on television when he couldn't get his tricks to work for the cameras! Maybe he's behind this....

Anonymous said...

Since bright, hot lights add to our global warming problems, shouldn't they have gone with sunlight and low-light cameras instead?

It's disappointing they do not have a firm grasp on how the thermal environment interacts with their device. This suggests the 'free energy' they detected may just have been heat supplied by their test rig, their monitoring equipment, lighting, or even their hands. Temperature is such an fundamental issue in all systems, be they mechanical, electronic, or biological, that if competent scientists or engineers reviewed their earlier work, thermal influences should have ruled-out early on.

Had they properly tested the planned exhibition setup well in advance, they might have found that the plastic case surrounding the device slowed the rate at which heat could be dissipated, which might have slowed, stopped, or even reversed the motion of their device.

But I am still hoping that they have discovered something useful. Otherwise this may go down as another premature announcement of cold fusion, which could harm further research into cleaner energy sources. Either way, there is always the chance, however slight, that any established principle of science may have undiscovered exceptions. There are always different experiments left to try.

Anonymous said...

well, aren't they simply paid by mainstream energy companies to discredit alternative energies?

Anonymous said...

"Otherwise this may go down as another premature announcement of cold fusion, which could harm further research into cleaner energy sources. "

"well, aren't they simply paid by mainstream energy companies to discredit alternative energies? "

There is no way to discredit valid alternative energy research. All this will discredit is people who can't make a proper case and demonstration of their devices. And I am afraid it will not discredit such things enough! There will always be a new Perendev or MEG or Tilley or Steorn around the next corner for honest well meaning people to waste time on.

Don't worry-- if someone actually discovers an unknown source of energy, which, unlike the cold fusion stuff, is an effect of any magnitude, it won't be hard to prove and demo and no oil, car or utility company in the world can stop it any more than the horse and buggy makers stopped car development or railroad tycoons thwarted the airplane.

Anonymous said...

This is a hoax. But I'm considering selling something like orbo options, or futures. send me $20 bucks and when orbo comes out, I'll send you $2000. You stand to get free energy, perpetual motion, and some pocket change all in the same day!!!

p.s. I take pay-pal, visa/ mastecard, and cash baby!