Just as I was forgetting about the (still unresolved) Steorn fiasco, two things had to remind me of the story today.
Long time readers of this blog may remember my enthusiastic blogging about Steorn, the Irish company that around two years ago claimed it had invented a technology that creates energy out of nothing using magnets.
A 360east reader who was in a meeting with me earlier today asked me about the latest news about Steorn . At the time of their original claim, they created a lot of buzz online and in the media. The company claimed that it selected an international jury of respected scientists to validate its technology. A big debate ensued on the company’s discussion forum between the ‘believers’ and ‘non-believers’. Then about a year ago, Steorn was to hold a public demo of the technology in London, which failed before it started. The jury was never heard from.
The latest news from Steorn is that there is NO latest news. The company’s website is still live. The discussion forum is still there, but hardly anything useful is posted there anymore and the company personnel have totally stopped communicating with the outside world. If the whole thing was a hoax, no one came out to explain it. Some argue that the failed demo shows that the people behind Steorn are sincere. If they were fraudsters they would have simply rigged a “successful” demo.
I find the whole thing depressing more than anything else.
And now, Reuters, out of all people, report on this Japanese car that runs on water! Wow! Has the world energy problem just been solved today?
Or is this yet another “free energy” claim that will go nowhere?
Debunlers of this latest water car say that this car probably works on the energy released by the water reacting with a metal hydrides inside the cars generator. So the energy is not coming from the water but from the hydrides (which themselves need a lot of energy to be created). So we’re talking about a better and not a fuel cell that run on water.
Treehugger.com has a critical post about this latest big free energy claim.
Spare us!
Comments
4 responses to “Arrrrgh! Not another “water-fuelled” car!!”
7ilooooo, now they will raise the prices of water
relax man
you’re thinking way too much!! leave things alone.. who cares if those japanese guys are bullshitting or not?!!
For topics in Jordan that may affect you/us ok but for a water fuelled car there is no need to get all worked up!
maybe what you do is actually blogging by definition, but screw that. For your own sake, take a pill and relax, you don’t have to figure out everything in life.. just be
dont think you’r the drinker type but doing that will make you relax a bit
cheers bro
Ahmad: Well, the first AND second law of thermodynamics say this is a hoax and if anything, yes, the motor is working as a battery.
I actually think hydrogen cars could be very useful if they become feasible: That way, the waste is created when creating the hydrogen (separating it from the oxygen in water), not when the engine is running. We’d have pollution-free trafic, and the pollutants could be isolated to the site of production and dealt with there.
But a solution to the energy problem it is not.
if they really do separate hydrogen and oxygen then
Hydrogen+Oxygen+spark= BOOM