Difference between revisions of "Perpetual motion machine"

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(However, if intelligent human intervention is part of the "machine", as embodied by the U.S. Constitution, then a perpetual effect (conservative governance) is possible.)
 
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A perpetual motion machine is a fictional isolated system capable of having internal motion indefinitely.  Many attempts to build such a system have failed.
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[[Image:BoyleSelfFlowingFlask.png|right|thumb|[[Robert Boyle]]'s self-flowing flask appears to fill itself through siphon action.  This is not possible in reality because a siphon requires its "output" to be lower than the "input".]]
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A '''perpetual motion machine''' is a [[hypothetical]] isolated system capable of having internal motion indefinitely.  Many attempts to build such a system have failed for a simple reason: [[entropy]] (disorder) is always increasing, and a perpetual motion machine would defy that law. However, if intelligent human intervention is part of the "machine", as embodied by the [[U.S. Constitution]], then a perpetual effect ([[conservative]] governance) is possible.
  
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The only argument that a perpetual motion machine is impossible is based on an interpretation of the [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]].  If entropy is always increasing, even in closed (and isolated) systems, then indefinite motion is impossible because an increase in the disorder of the system will inevitably disrupt the motion.   
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A perpetual motion machine would try to use its initial energy to remain in motion perpetually.  Because [[entropy]] is always increasing isolated systems, indefinite motion is impossible because an increase in the disorder of the system will inevitably disrupt the motion and require additional energy to "fix" it.  The [[Second Law of Thermodynamics]] and [[Epistle to the Hebrews (Translated)#1:10-11|Hebrews 1:10-11]] predict that a perpetual motion machine is impossible, and none has ever been created.
  
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Those who deny that entropy is always increasing, even in closed (and isolated) systems, are left without a persuasive argument that perpetual motion machines are impossible.
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An even less plausible type of perpetual motion machine would continue to perform work without any input of energy, thereby serving as an unlimited energy source.  This is prohibited by the [[First Law of Thermodynamics]], which states that energy must be conserved.
  
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Since both types of perpetual motion machine are flawed in both theory and in practice, they are clearly [[pseudoscience]]. Despite this, websites have professed to offer "free energy" devices for sale.<ref>http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/</ref><ref>http://www.fuellesspower.com/</ref><ref>http://www.magniwork.com/</ref>
  
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This is not the usual meaning of the term "perpetual motion."
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The rejection of the possibility of a perpetual motion machine requires recognition that the Earth itself is not in perpetual motion, and that its instability is increasing, which is one of the many [[Counterexamples to an Old Earth]].  The impossibility of a perpetual motion machine also implies that the speed of light cannot forever be constant.
  
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:The perpetual motion, then, which has been the subject of such anxious and laborious search, is not a mere motion which is continued indefinitely. If it were, the diurnal and annual motion of the earth, and the corresponding motions of the other planets and satellites in the solar system, as well as the rotation of the sun upon its axis, would be all perpetual motions....
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==References==
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<references/>
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:In short, a perpetual motion would be a watch or clock which would go for so long as its mechanism would endure without being wound up: it would be a mill which could grind corn or work machinery without the action upon it of water, wind, steam, animal power, or any other moving force external to it.
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[[Category:Physics]]
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::&mdash;Dionysis Lardner, 1857, ''Natural Philosophy for Schools,'' [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC34136808&id=ZzsDAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA70&lpg=RA1-PA70&dq=%22perpetual+motion%22&as_brr=1 p. 70]
 
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:Perpetual motion is of course possible, as is stated in the first law of motion, "Motion continues in a straight line undiminished in velocity unless acted on by some external force." A top set spinning under conditions where there is no friction will never cease to spin. These conditions are very nearly realized in the motions of the planets and stars. The statement that energy cannot be destroyed asserts this possibility.
 
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:But by "perpetual motion" is generally meant a machine which will do work and keep going though energy equivalent to the work done is not supplied to it. Many attempts have been made to construct such a machine. They have all failed. The statement that energy cannot be created denies the possibility of such a machine.
 
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::&mdash;S. Lawrence Bigelow (1912), "Theoretical and Physical Chemistry," [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC01829380&id=Xo8AAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA26&lpg=RA1-PA26&dq=%22perpetual+motion%22&as_brr=1 Theoretical and Physical Chemistry By S Lawrence Bigelow p. 26]
 

Latest revision as of 22:57, March 7, 2024

Robert Boyle's self-flowing flask appears to fill itself through siphon action. This is not possible in reality because a siphon requires its "output" to be lower than the "input".

A perpetual motion machine is a hypothetical isolated system capable of having internal motion indefinitely. Many attempts to build such a system have failed for a simple reason: entropy (disorder) is always increasing, and a perpetual motion machine would defy that law. However, if intelligent human intervention is part of the "machine", as embodied by the U.S. Constitution, then a perpetual effect (conservative governance) is possible.

A perpetual motion machine would try to use its initial energy to remain in motion perpetually. Because entropy is always increasing isolated systems, indefinite motion is impossible because an increase in the disorder of the system will inevitably disrupt the motion and require additional energy to "fix" it. The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Hebrews 1:10-11 predict that a perpetual motion machine is impossible, and none has ever been created.

An even less plausible type of perpetual motion machine would continue to perform work without any input of energy, thereby serving as an unlimited energy source. This is prohibited by the First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that energy must be conserved.

Since both types of perpetual motion machine are flawed in both theory and in practice, they are clearly pseudoscience. Despite this, websites have professed to offer "free energy" devices for sale.[1][2][3]

The rejection of the possibility of a perpetual motion machine requires recognition that the Earth itself is not in perpetual motion, and that its instability is increasing, which is one of the many Counterexamples to an Old Earth. The impossibility of a perpetual motion machine also implies that the speed of light cannot forever be constant.

References