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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!dartvax!betsy
From: betsy@dartvax.UUCP (Betsy Hanes Perry)
Newsgroups: net.physics,net.misc
Subject: Re: "Free Energy Machine"
Message-ID: <4321@dartvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Mar-86 15:47:55 EST
Article-I.D.: dartvax.4321
Posted: Tue Mar 18 15:47:55 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Mar-86 05:45:01 EST
References: <326@inuxm.UUCP> <702@osiris.UUCP> <1639@brl-smoke.ARPA> <713@aicchi.UUCP> <603@dadla.UUCP>
Reply-To: betsy@dartvax.UUCP (Betsy Hanes Perry)
Distribution: net
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Lines: 38
Keywords: Ord-Hume, Perpetual Motion, Barometers
Xref: watmath net.physics:3953 net.misc:9392
Summary: 

In article <603@dadla.UUCP> dand@dadla.UUCP (Dan Davis) writes:
>In article <713@aicchi.UUCP>, dbb@aicchi.UUCP (Burch) writes:
>> In his wonderful book "Perpetual Motion", Ord-Hume describes several machines
>> which although they are not classic perpetual machines (They do have a source
>> of energy), will run for very long periods of time.  
>> 
>> -- 
>
>When I was in the service near Chicago in 1969 I visited the Chicago
>Museum of Science and Industry and saw a "perpetual motion" machine.
>It worked vaguely thus:
>
(summary: an endless chain of ball-bearings bounced across two angled
 steel platforms and into an aperture on the right side of the display.  They
 then reappeared at the left side of the display and began bouncing across.)
>
>It was fascinating to watch and I've always wondered if it was still 
>working. Maybe Mr. Burch or someone else in the Chicago area knows or
>could find out. It's a good excuse to visit a wonderful place.
>-- 
>  | Dan Davis  Tektronix, Inc.                  UUCP: tektronix!dadla!dand |


No, no, no!  Like Mr. Davis, I fondly remember the display in question,
which I believe was designed to demonstrate the elasticity of steel.
By the time I saw it, though, it had a little placard affixed to
the front:  
  THIS DISPLAY IS NOT A PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE.  THERE IS
  A CONVEYOR-BELT BEHIND THE DISPLAY LIFTING THE BEARINGS
  FROM THEIR EXIT TO THEIR ENTRANCE.
 
Oh well, back to the drawing-board.
-- 
Elizabeth Hanes Perry                        
UUCP: {decvax |ihnp4 | linus| cornell}!dartvax!betsy
CSNET: betsy@dartmouth
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"Ooh, ick!" -- Penfold