The psychology of perpetual motion machine seekers

Quite often people send me designs with the question "Why won't it work?" Some of these are people who have designed a clever puzzle to test student understanding of physics principles. They know it won't work, and they know why. They are just challenging others.

Some of them really think it will work, but don't say so up front. When the error is found, the inventor may acknowledge the error and say, "I'll have to fix that." It then becomes clear to me that the inventor really thinks he was on to something, but just made a goof. These inventors haven't the slightest doubt that PMMs are possible, and nothing will change their minds, not physics, not experiment, nothing. Why?

Two reasons come to mind. (1) They don't trust that the well-established physics laws are completely true. They hope there's a loophole in there somewhere that will make PMM possible. (2) They think they can stumble on a new physical phenomena not covered by existing laws.

Of course reason 1 is justified, because no physics laws or theories claim to be the final perfect description of nature. And reason 2 isn't totally unreasonable, for we always expect to discover new phenomena, which may require new laws and theory.

...those who search for, or imagine they have found, the perpetual motion, are always men to whom the most certain and invariable truths in mechanics are unknown.

—Jacques Ozanam (1640-1717)

But in either case, I am put in a position of "What can I say?" If someone asks me to find a flaw in a design, I have only two choices: (1) To use existing physics laws to show that the inventor misapplied them, or (2) tell the inventor to build the device, then get back to me.

If I failed to identify a misapplication of existing physics, that could merely be that I'm not knowledgaeble enough or clever enough, or the darned device is just too complicated for my small brain. It would not prove that the machine would work as claimed. Only an experimental test could establish that.

The inventor invites me to analyze his device. He's hoping I will try to find something wrong with it, and fail, giving up in frustration. When I do find the flaw and explain it to him, he may reject the explanation out of hand, declaring it wrong, or inapplicable to the special features of his device, which he's sure I don't understand. He may become defensive or even hostile, complaining that I am trying to stifle independent thought. This can result in endless and futile exchanges.

No one can anticipate new physics discoveries or unknown physical phenomena. But the inventor cannot claim such novelties and use them unless he's done experiments to conclusively demonstrate them. No one can find flaws in existing physics and existing theory except through experiment. To the inventor who is convinced that PMM is possible, no experimental failure will serve to dissuade him, for he always has a whole litany of excuses to point to that prevented his success, which he's confident he can "fix" with just a bit more tinkering.

The questions one must put to the inventor are these: Aside from a conviction or suspicion that PMM is possible, and the realization that existing physics isn't perfect, what reason do you have to think your particular approach or your assumption will work? Are you just blindly tinkering, hoping something you desire will happen? Do you have experimental evidence that a particular physics law isn't quite right? Have you really found some prediction of conventional physics that no one before you has noticed? Or are you just acting on a "hunch"? If it's only a "hunch", why are you so passionately convinced that there's something to it? Is your faith in this idea rational, or emotional?

The same questions must be asked of those who think they can make an anti-gravity levitator, or a reactionless thruster, or those who have a new ether theory, new theories of gravitation, those who think the earth is flat, those who think it is hollow, and those who think the whole universe lies within a sphere of a few thousand miles diameter.

Some inventors assume their own physics principles, principles unknown to conventional physics. It's often hard to ferret these out, for they are used without consciously thinking about them. Often these principles, if true, would demolish all or most existing physics theories and laws, including those that have been thoroughly tested experimentally and found to be reliable. One must ask the person if he is willing to throw out all of that and rework physics from the ground up to make it account for all of the phenomena that physics has experimentally studied and verified. The PMM inventors can't, and usually don't, care about any physics beyond that tiny portion that affects their pet idea. They are often totally unaware of the far-reaching consequences of their explicit or implicit assumptions, and unaware of how comprehensive and interdependent are all physical laws.

Usually PMM inventors have no reason or even a clue where conventional physics might be wrong. They just hope that it will be wrong in such a way as to make their pet invention work. They are like the Hermetic philosophers and alchemists of old, who thought that if one were pure of spirit and purpose, one could achieve power over nature's laws, even the power to bend them to one's will.

They are convinced that "Anything is possible" and sometimes say so. By this they do not mean, "Everything is possible" (for that would be absurd), but "Nothing can be declared impossible a-priori".

Some proposals are simple enough to build in the laboratory. Yet their inventors reject suggestions that they build and test them. Some proposals depend on a key assumption that could be easily isolated and tested in the laboratory. Yet they won't and don't. They say, "The test wouldn't be conclusive, for there are too many problems with friction, choice of materials, precision machining, etc."

Then there are those who claim they have actually built a PMM that puts out more power than required at its input. The skeptic suggests that they divert some of the output power to drive the input, with power left over for other things, thereby convincing everyone. They say they can't do that for the output power is in "a different form" from that required by the input, or some other reason. Always an excuse, always an "out".

Bob Schadewald's Law of Perpetual Motion: A perpetual motionist typically concocts a scheme so complicated that he can't see why it won't work. He then assumes that it will work.
Some tell me they actually built a device that clearly violates some law of physics. I offer to test it. Then they tell me it didn't work well enough to suit them, so they already dismantled it in order to make an improved model. Drat!

Others send me elaborate computer simulations, beautiful engineering drawings, or even spreadsheet simulations of performance, dense with numbers. The history of invention is littered with devices that worked wonderfully on paper, but just couldn't be made to work in the laboratory. Today there are fascinating animated computer graphic simulations that only work on the computer screen, not in reality. Why? One reason is that computer simulations are no better than the information fed into them, and if you left out something, or misrepresented something, the results will be wrong. "Garbage in, garbage out," as the computer folks say. Then there's the problem of precision limitations and propagation of computational errors, especially if the system is complex.

For a PMM to work, some well-established physics principle would have to be broken or bent by a considerable amount, an amount large enough that it could be experimentally tested. Or some new phenomena would have to be operating to produce an easily observable effect on performance. We are not talking "small effects" here. If the inventor could identify the part of the device that does those remarkable things, that part could be isolated and tested. Yet the inventor usually cannot identify that part, or propose a way to make the test.

Perpetual motion machine inventors generally exhibit these characteristics:

He has supreme confidence in himself and his (faulty and superficial) understanding of physics and engineering.
He has no appreciation of, or confidence in, the powerful general principles of physics that apply universally to all systems, even systems not yet invented or tested.
He thinks that you can't declare the possibility or impossibility of something on the basis of known and well-established physics.
Usually the inventor's own calculations are obviously based on equations and principles of well-established physics. He's just done them incorrectly. He usually overlooked something.
He thinks that the laws thermodynamics are no more than dogmatic assertions. He doesn't understand that they are based on a solid foundation of more fundamental laws, such as Newton's laws.
He doesn't realize that if his device did violate the laws of thermodynamics it would necessarily also violate more fundamental laws, such as Newton's laws of force and motion.
He doesn't grasp that if his calculations, based on Newton's laws, reached a conclusion in violation of the laws of thermo, then we know that he simply made a blunder, neglected something, or misapplied a law. And we can know this without bothering to check the calculations to find the specific error(s).
So does he accept established physics or not? Only when its conclusions suit his preconceptions, beliefs, or desires.
In short, even if he "knows" some laws and principles of physics, drawn from textbooks, he's missing the bigger picture of how they interconnect, and how they are properly applied. He wears very large blinders.

What's the difference between a psychotic and a neurotic? A psychotic thinks two and two make five. A neurotic knows that two and two make four, but he just can't stand it.

PMM inventors, and other "alternative science" proponents, flatter themselves that they are able to see truths that mainstream scientists are too "blind" to see. Often they achieve these great insights with only a superficial or informal education in science or engineering. It's true that some trained scientists are narrow specialists without a broad understanding, and some few are actually not very good at what they do. But science is a collaborative and competitive enterprise these days, with everything being continually and often skeptically tested. Engineering applications put physics and chemistry to the test continually, for any flaw in the science results in an application that doesn't work as expected. Doesn't it seem a bit unlikely that someone outside of the loop of the science establishment, working alone and without benefit of collaborative interaction with others more knowledgable, should stumble on a flaw or loophole in physics that more knowledgeable and experienced scientists had overlooked for many years?

Inventors usually become irritated when a physicist or engineer looks at the drawings and the claims, "sees" the impossibility of it and declares that the thing can't possibly work. The inventor indignantly says "How can you conclude anything if you haven't even looked at my math and calculations, and haven't even understood the operating principle I'm using?" Here's a similar situation that illustrates this scenario:

Suppose someone claimed he could make a flat (plane) triangle with equal sides but unequal angles. He doesn't actually show us the triangle, though. Suppose he supported that conclusion with 15 pages of dense mathematics. Should we believe him? Should we bother to check all of that mathematics? Should we say, "Well you might be correct?" Should we refrain from drawing conclusions? No. We should suspect that he made a mistake somewhere in his math. We would conclude that he didn't understand mathematics very well, or he wouldn't even have done all of that math. If we took the trouble to show him the specific place where he made the math error, and he still insisted his conclusion was correct, we would be justified in concluding that he's a wacko on this subject.

PMM inventors often challenge skeptics to "Prove my idea won't work". This ploy takes several forms:

Build my machine yourself before you dismiss it.
Show by logical argument that it won't work.
Show it won't work, but do not use general arguments such as conservation laws.

These are impossible tasks. If you built the fellow's machine and it clearly doesn't work as he claims it should, he'll say you made an error in construction, or didn't use the right materials, or simply say, "You didn't understand its principle."

To discredit his idea by logical argument is just as futile. The inventor is already sure that at least one fundamental physics principle is wrong (usually the conservation of energy). The only arguments you can make are based on physical principles, and if he doesn't like your conclusion he will say that you used another defective physics principle.

Yet in his own analysis, the inventor often builds upon certain fundamental principles of physics that he accepts as valid. He doesn't realize that his faulty conclusion, if true, would invalidate the very principles he used in his own logical analysis.

[Those] who have an excessive faith in their theories or in their ideas are not only poorly disposed to make discoveries, but they also make very poor observations.

—Claude Bernard (1813-78) French physiologist, 1865.

From what I've said, the reader may sense that what's going on here is not a search for answers, but a game of apologetics in support of an entrenched belief. This is not unlike the tactics used in religious apologetics. Any ploy is used to support an unshakable belief. Discrediting skeptics through clever pseudo-logic is a most effective tactic for confusing and disorienting someone who is used to more rational discourse. Many a scientist has been "suckered into" such a losing game before realizing that the other person is playing by an entirely different set of rules, and considers the entire game to be irrelevant to the truth of his convictions.

Such "true believers" are certain that they have a hotline to truth—absolute truth. They are angered and upset that anyone can fail to see these truths. In fact, they usually consider skeptics as deliberately denying these truths, for some personal or emotional reasons. They see skeptics as "the enemy", an enemy to be discredited in any way possible. They invent all sorts of fantastic reasons why the "establishment" would attempt to "hide or deny the truth". Perhaps it's a "vast conspiracy".

I use the pronoun "he" because in all the history of PMM, not one inventor or advocate has been a woman. Not even among the deliberate fakers and con-artists. Curious, isn't that?

The sincere amateur perpetual motion machine inventors display a strange syndrome often seen in believers in other kinds of pseudoscience. They proclaim absolute belief that their idea for producing unlimited energy will work perfectly. Typically they say, proudly, "I have no training or special skills in engineering or physics." They say their idea is simple, and they could build it in a few months in basement or garage with simple tools. If it's that simple and easy to build, why are they so certain that they have found the secret that has so far eluded engineers and scientists throughout history? You'd think they'd quit their job, cash in their kid's college fund, go to the hardware store to buy the parts needed and build this wonderful machine quickly, for once it's built and shown to work, it will revolutionize everything and we'll all be rich. But they don't. They procrastinate, drag their feet, and make excuses, or say, "I've been too busy to spend much time on that project."

Then they fuss about patents. "Patents cost too much money and take time," they say. "I'll just guard the secret and tell no one." The cost of a patent is trifling compared to the money they'd make on this thing in the first few weeks, since they are so absolutely certain it will work. But on the other hand, if the idea is so simple, and the materials to build it are readily available and the skills to build it are minimal, then once one is built, anyone can build one, or many. They'll be converting bicycle factories in third world countries to turn out millions of perpetual motion machines within a few weeks. But then we'll all be richer than ever from the money saved on non-renewable energy (except for those who had foolishly stashed all their wealth in oil and gas companies) so what will it matter?

Some PMM inventors say they realize that achieving perpetual motion will turn the world's economy on its head, but it must be done to save humanity from the fate of energy depletion and world-wide starvation. They are confident that their invention will be humanity's salvation. Yet they seem in no great hurry to get the thing built and working. There seems to be a disconnect between their beliefs and their behavior. They spend more time defending their claims against skeptics with words, and less time in the lab building that device that would (if it worked) make all words superfluous.

PMM inventors waste time and money playing with schemes for achieving things, which, if they knew more physics, they would realize are very highly unlikely, infinitesimally close to impossible. They know as well as anyone else that their chance of achieving their goal is smaller than their chance of being struck by lightning while riding on a white mule. But like the gambler or lottery player, they rationalize, saying, "You can't win if you don't play the game." Their appreciation of reality is quite different, and is incompatible, with that of the scientist.

PMM inventors seek personal satisfaction playing the role of the misunderstood genius. In this drama they do not expect or even want a final resolution (a working PMM), for that would bring the drama, and their role in it, to an end. They thrive on, and are encouraged by, rejection. They see the world all around them as imperfect. They don't like the way nature seems to operate, and like the alchemists, they think that appearances are deceptive, and that appearances can be changed if one has purity of purpose and sufficient faith. They fantasize that they might discover a way to change the world, bringing it into line with their emotional desires. They cannot accept that such improvement might be impossible. They behave much like the Biblical prophets, crying in the wilderness, railing against the moral imperfections they see all around them. They are absolutely certain they see truths all others are blind to. Truth, they think, comes from their own gut feelings, inner intuition, and spiritual feelings, not from rational analysis and science.

Thoughts to Ponder

We have no intention to ridicule sincere perpetual motion seekers. However, their emails often contain gems of wisdom that deserve repeating, for they have implications beyond what the writer may have intended, and are therefore worth pondering. We collect a few here. [We have not altered the writers' spelling, punctuation or grammar.]

An inventor declares his faith in an overbalanced wheel machine: I know this principal is sound as there is so much slow & powerful torque latent within the axle of any circular device. So that's where that latent free energy has been hiding!
Perseverance I. Many thanks for taking your time and trouble to help me clarify my MISCONCEPTION about my PPM. [PMM ?] By addiction, I shall probably end up trying some other design. It's definitely addicting.
Perseverance II. hello, after reviewing your web page on unworkable devices i started thinking about it and i invented my own perpetual motion device. The thing that i did not expect to encounter is that since i have created it, it has not stopped working. [Translation: I expected it to work, but it didn't.] I would like to get as much information that you have on perpetual motion and to see if this idea is just a mistake. I know that you dont have to do this for me but i was just asking if you had any information that you do not currently have on the site, could you email it back to me so i can work on my apparatus and experiment a little more. Thank you
Why doesn't anyone listen? i very much need your help, your advise. i have discovered a new and unique system of generating an abundance of electricity. zero pollution. this power unit will net moer than 100,000 horsepower per unit. i have met with several qualified people to get them to evaluate this system of generating electricity. none would sign a statement verifying or denying my findings. I wonder why.
If at first you don't succeed... This is what I have been working on in my spare time for about four years now, and I believe I am getting close to seeing my invention actually work. - Of course I have said that quite a few times before, but I believe that every failure has taken me closer to the solution. However, since I haven't actually achieved my goal, maybe the solution I imagine is only a mirrage. - and if it is a mirrage, is there an oasis on the other side? Only time will tell. Sometime later I received this progress report: Remember me? The guy who was sure he was going to make this perpetual motion thing work?!? The guy who brought God into the picture.?! Well I still haven't got it working - BUT I'm quite certain that I'm closer than I was before.
Still working on it. In spite of the fact that I'm totally psyched about what I seem to have acomplished, my invention still does not at this point sustain it's own motion, but the magnetic force keeps bending a 1/2 inch axel shaft and has broken an integral drive belt. So although i am very excited about what appears to be inevitable success, it still does not work - yet. "Appears to be inevitable success"? Very encouraging!
An inventor making vast claims about his ideas on a PMM forum was told by someone that he might visit my web site to find devices, very much like his, that don't work. He responded: Thank you for your suggestion however I have no need of visiting a website to be shown on paper why it won't work. Odd he should say that, for his own claims only worked "on paper".
An inventor said he intended to spend $10,000 to build a magnetic device. I asked whether he had practical experience experimenting with magnets, and whether he had done the vector analysis of his device. I wanted to know his level of understanding of basic physics, since his design was clearly violating Newton's laws. He responded with annoyance: My experience working with shielding materials??? Hmmm�. Close to none... I can�t analyze the forces, but it makes sense to me, and it�s easier for me to drop some cash, than try to figure out mathematical equasions� esp. magnetic shielding (too complicated for me). I don�t believe in laws that have been inducted into a �physics hall of fame� and in fact I think they are just a special case of a so called �theory of everything�, and since we have such limited (more like NONE) knowledge of the processes that happen, we shouldn�t make claims and/or statements like one thing is more possible than another. That feeling is common amongst perpetual motionists.
This email, short and to the point, just about says it all. I have built a machine out of magnets that generates more energy than what is required to run it, yet it does not run. Can you please help me out? Thank you. The obvious response is "No." One could ask "How do you know it puts out more energy than required to run if it refuses to run?" But why bother?

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