Futuristic Energy Source Still Futuristic

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Forget the battery problems plaguing electronics. Steorn, and Irish technology startup, has a better idea: free energy. They claim to have created a device, called the Orbo, that can generate electricity from the ambient atmosphere around it. This would be a perpetual motion machine, and would violate the standard laws of physics. Steorn wants to blow your mind, baby.

The problem is, the machine’s yet to be proven to work. At a demo on Wednesday that was supposed to be the first public viewing of the machine at work, nothing happened. The machine had “technical difficulties”, and Steorn blamed the intense heat generated by the television lights for the problem. Yup.

No word on when a rescheduled demonstration might occur, but I for one am waiting. I’m all about fringe sciences (I heart Bigfoot hunters), so I wish them the best of luck. Also, I hate my electric bill. When they can come up with a way to pull television signals out of the air, then I’m really interested.

Free Energy? Erm, Not Yet, Says Steorn [The Guardian, with more on TechCrunch]