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A Machine to Die For is a documentary about perpetual motion that showcases

different inventors, each of whom is striving to create a perpetual motion machine.

The documentary could be used as a resource when studying motion and simple

machines in secondary science and physics. It could also serve as a springboard for

discussions about inventors and inventions and the history of scientific endeavours.

It would be suitable for teachers of middle to senior secondary students in Science

(Physical Sciences), History and Materials Technology.

PICTURED: ALDO COSTA2

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A Machine to Die For—the quest for free energy

Synopsis

A Machine to Die For is about the search for ‘perpetual motion’ and ‘free energy’. Conventional science claims this is impossible, yet generations of inven-

tors have been mesmerised by the promise of an engine that powers itself. The world’s reliance on diminishing fossil fuel resources and the associated problems of pollution serve to spur them on.

A Machine to Die For showcases a number of dedicated, sometimes eccentric, and always obsessive individuals who have devoted their lives to this quest.

The recurring centrepiece is ex-car mechanic Aldo Costa, who has spent some fifty years building a giant five story high fuel-less Ferris wheel that he believes will run forever.

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In Norway Ryder Findsrud, an art-ist and sculptor, has designed and built the ultimate Perpetual Motion machine. This combination of pulleys, pendulums, magnets and weights has, he contends, been continually on the move for six years.

There is a recluse in Canada who be-lieves the secrets of Perpetual Motion were given to him by aliens. A British inventor, John Searl, has been working on a ‘free energy’ fl ying machine that can apparently do the London/New York run in under half an hour.

An inventor in Seattle, Doug Konzen, believes he can get batteries to recharge themselves faster than they discharge, and another who has a machine that puts out some thousand times more power than is required to run it.

Eric Kreig is a compassionate but righteous debunker who has dedi-cated his life to puncturing folly. He is offering a $10,000 prize for the fi rst Perpetual Motion Machine, and provides a dose of healthy scepticism throughout the documentary.

Prof. Edmund Storm, who worked at Los Alomos on nuclear projects, states: ‘New ideas are very frequently

generated by people who are very strange and it is easy to reject their ideas just by virtue of their strange personalities.’ Is there really not that much difference between these inven-tors and conventional scientists? Great ideas and great inventions are all guesses; all begin in faith and are nurtured by optimism, and advance in the teeth of resistance. And who should tell a crusader when to stop?

Before you watch the fi lm

1 Brainstorm and discuss what you know about energy and the scien-tifi c laws about energy:• What types of energy are

there?• Can energy be changed from

one form into another?• Can energy be made or de-

stroyed?• Can machines run without a

constant supply of energy?• The by-line of the documentary

is ‘the quest for free energy’. What do you think is meant by the term ‘free energy’? Is any energy entirely free?

Record your ideas and decide whether you want to change or alter them after watching the docu-mentary.

2 Look at the key words below and discuss the meanings with your teacher or your classmates. - perpetual- Fossil fuels- pollution- famine- patent- sceptic- motion- conspiracy- unorthodox- utopia- obsession

Key scientifi c words

- energy - kinetic- friction- gravity- magnetism- electromagnet- thermodynamics- generator

After you watch the fi lm

Rules of science

Conventional scientists refer to believers in free energy as crackpots, conmen or crooks because they work outside the current laws of physics. Narrator

TABLE 01

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The seekers after perpetual motion are trying to get something from nothing. Sir Isaac Newton

Scientists look for patterns in nature and they develop general laws or rules to help understand the world around us. About 300 years ago, Sir Isaac Newton formulated a law that stated that energy could not be created from nothing. This became the First Law of Thermodynamics. Later, two other laws of Thermodynamics were developed.

The British scientist and author C.P. Snow had an excellent way of remem-bering the three laws: 1. You cannot win.2. You cannot break even.3. You cannot get out of the game.

• Research the three laws of thermo-

dynamics. Write down at least two different wordings for each law, then write the laws in your own words (like C.P. Snow did).

• Explain why the quest for per-petual motion and free energy is outside the laws of physics.

Measuring energy

Energy is defi ned as the ability to do work (bring about a change). Energy in foods can be measured in a unit called a calorie. A calorie is the amount of heat required to raise one gram of water through one degree Celsius. The accepted unit of measurement for energy is now the Joule.

• Find two different defi nitions for a Joule

• How many calories are there in one

Joule?• After whom was the Joule named?

Energy Conversions

There are many different types of en-ergy. Brainstorm as many as you can think of and write them down.

• What is meant by the term ‘potential energy’? How many different forms of potential energy can you think of?

Many machines convert energy from one form into another:

• Show the energy conversions that take place in the following machines by completing Table 01 (also include all ‘wasted’ energy that you can think of).

Machine Converted from Mainly to Wastede.g . Hair dryer electrical Heat, kinetic soundInternal combustion engine (car)BatteryTelevisionToasterWind generatorSolar cellBicycleA pendulum clock 5

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Fossil Fuels

In the documentary, the narrator states that: ‘The (perpetual motion) machine is a real threat to those individuals, companies and countries whose for-tunes have been underpinned by gas, oil and coal plus perhaps, others who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.’

Research fossil fuels:

• Why are coal, oil and natural gas called fossil fuels?

• What are the main countries that produce fossil fuels?

• What does OPEC stand for?• What are the main uses of fossil

fuels?• What are greenhouse gases?• What is the relationship between

greenhouse gases and fossil fuels?• Why are fossil fuels considered

non-renewable resources?

Economy of oil

• Discuss what you think is meant by the term ‘the economy of oil’.

• Use your energy bills, transport costs and petrol costs to estimate how much your household spends directly on energy per week.

• List the indirect energy costs that you meet each week.

• List the problems that might be solved if all energy was free.

• What are the problems that might be caused if all energy was free?

• Some people contend that wars have been fought to protect dif-ferent countries’ interest in the fossil fuel industry. Research and discuss. (Watch Michael Moore’s film Fahrenheit 9/11 and discuss his contentions about the USA’s involvement in wars in the Middle East.)

Free energy

The use of ‘renewable’ energy sources is becoming more common. Sunlight and wind are ‘free’ sources of energy. Solar water heaters are supplementing or replacing conventional hot water services in many places. Solar cells are being used to generate electricity in many places, especially in remote locations where powerlines are una-vailable. The erection of banks of wind generators (wind farms) is causing controversy in many coastal areas.

• Research solar cells. Explain how they work, the recent improve-ments in their efficiency and com-mon applications.

• Research the arguments for and against wind farms. Justify your opinion on wind farms.

Electricity and magnetism

A number of the examples of free energy machines use magnetism and electricity, which are closely related. Electrical energy can be used to make a magnet and a magnet can be used to make electrical energy.

Make an electromagnet

WHAT YOU NEED:• A large nail or bolt• A long piece of insulated wire• 2 x 1.5 volt batteries (D cells)• A packet of paper clips

WHAT TO DO:Strip the insulation from each end of the wire. Wind the wire around the nail at least 15 times, leaving at least 10cm of wire free at each end. Connect the two stripped ends of the wire to the opposite ends of the battery. Hold the nail close to a small pile of paper clips. Record the number of paper clips you were able to pick up. Now change the number of coils of wire and note how this affects the number of paper clips you can pick up. Try connecting two batteries and see how this affects the electromagnet. (DO NOT leave the electromagnet connected to the battery for extended periods as it may become quite hot.)

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Generate some electricity

WHAT YOU NEED:• A solenoid (wire coil)• A galvanometer• A bar magnet• Wires for connecting the circuit

WHAT TO DO:Connect the solenoid to the galva-nometer. Quickly move the bar magnet in and out of the solenoid several times. Note down the current that reg-isters. What happens if you move the magnet more quickly or slowly? What happened if the magnet is inserted the other way around?

Storing electrical energy

Some of the inventors of ‘over unity’ machines claim that they use batteries to power machines which, in turn, can recharge batteries leaving you with as much or even more energy than you started with.

Batteries are devices that change chemical energy into electrical energy, and electrical energy back into chemi-cal energy if they are rechargeable.

Make a lemon battery

WHAT YOU NEED:• A voltmeter

• Connecting wires• Lemons• Copper strips• Zinc strips

WHAT TO DO:Insert a copper strip into one end of the lemon and a zinc strip into the other end. Use the wires to connect the metal strips to the volt meter and measure the electrical potential. Try connecting several lemons in a series circuit and measure the potential. (It is recommended that it takes about twenty lemons to light a small globe!) Try other fruit and vegetables.

Measure battery life

WHAT YOU NEED• Several different AAA batteries

(long life, expensive, cheap, alka-line, etc)

• A voltmeter• Connecting wires• A clock• A light globe

WHAT TO DO:Note down the cost of each battery. Connect each battery up in a circuit with the light globe and the voltmeter. Take the voltage reading every five minutes until the battery goes flat. Graph your results. Which battery lasted the longest?

For each battery work out the value for money by dividing the time it lasted (in minutes) by the cost (in cents). Which battery was the best value for money?

Rechargeable batteries

Car batteries are rechargeable. They are used to produce the electricity needed to start a car and to run the electrical appliances in your car. The movement of the car’s engine is used to generate extra electricity to re-charge the batteries.

• What equipment in you car runs on electricity?

• Investigate lead acid accumula-tors (car batteries) and explain how they work.

• If car batteries are constantly being recharged, explain why they even-tually go flat.

Perpetual motion and art

Ryder Findsrud designed his rolling ball machine as a piece of art. The Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher de-signed many visual illusions including a famous waterfall that appears to be in perpetual motion.

http://www.worldofescher.com/gal-lery/A63L.html

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Design and draw your own perpetual motion machine (it can be as fantastic as you wish). Explain how it might work. How would it change the world?

Believing the unbelievable

In the documentary there is discus-sion about whether the people who are endeavouring to find a perpetual motion or free energy machine are real scientists or merely ‘crackpots’.

It is stated that Royal Society presi-dent William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, (1897-9) made the following predic-tions:

- Radio has no future- X-rays are clearly a hoax- Heavier than air flying machines

are scientifically impossible.

• Use the Internet to make a list of other predictions that were found to be way off course. Note down who made them and when.

• ‘Great inventions often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.’

Historically there have been people who were ridiculed or persecuted for their new ideas—ideas that are now accepted in mainstream science. For example, Copernicus and Galileo were unable to publish their ideas about astronomy for fear of persecution from the Catholic Church.

• Write a short summary of the issues, including previously held ideas and the evidence for the changed viewpoint. Comment on the politics of the issue. Find out more at:

http://home.cwru.edu/~sjr16/pre20th_europe_church.html http://www.2020site.org/galileo/church.html or read Brecht’s play entitled Galileo.

Nikola Tesla is called the father of radio and television, ideas for which he was ridiculed because he was so ahead of his time, but he did also propose a system of supplying power through the air using radio waves which was never implemented.

• Write a short biography of Nikola Tesla. Comment on his inventions, including those that we use today,

and those that ‘failed’. He is some-times called a ‘man out of time’. What do you think this means? Are the inventors in the documentary ‘out of their time’?

Find out more at:http://nickf.com/tesla.htm http://pbs.org/tesla/tt/index.html

Skeptics

Eric Krieg is a sceptic. He does not believe that perpetual motion is pos-sible and he is so convinced that he is offering a $10,000 prize to the first person who can demonstrate such a machine to him.

• Discuss what you think is meant by the term ‘healthy scepticism’.

• Do you think Eric Krieg was con-vinced by any of the machines that he saw?

• Were you convinced by any of the machines you saw?

In Australia and many other countries there are Associations of Skeptics.

• Find out about the activities of the Australian Skeptics.

• What is their ‘$100,000 psychic challenge’?

Find out more at:http://www.skeptics.com.au/features/challenge.htm

General resources

The Perpetual Motion Page http://manor.york.ac.uk/htdocs/per-petual/perpetual.html

Eric’s History of Perpetual Motion http://www.phact.org/e/dennis4.html

A description of perpetual motion http://www.kilty.com/pmotion.htm

The Museum of Unworkable devices http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/mu-seum/unwork.htm

Finsrud Perpetual motion machine http://www.keelynet.com/energy/fin-srud.htm

Strange Machines http://home.xnet.com/~blatura/skep_8.html

John Searle http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/articlejohnsearle.shtml

Tilley and Kibbey http://www.greaterthings.com/News/Tilley/fraud/index.html

Redheffer’s machine http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/redheffer.html

Finsrud machine http://www.theverylastpageoftheinter-net.com/magneticDev/finsrud/finsrud.htm

Pennie Stoyles has had 12 years experi-ence teaching all aspects of science in secondary schools. Currently she manages the provision of education programs at Scienceworks museum in Melbourne. She has a strong inter-est in science communication and has published two series of science library books for school aged children.

This study guide was produced by ATOM. For more information about ATOM study guides, The Educa-tion Shop, The Speakers’ Bureau or Screen Hub (the daily online film and television newsletter) visit our web site: www.metromagazine.com.au or email: damned@netspace.net.au

Notice: An educational institution may make copies of all or part of this Study Guide, provided that it only makes and uses copies as reasonably required for its own educational, non-commercial, classroom purposes and does not sell or lend such copies.

A Machine to Die For is distributed by ABC Video Program Sales Phone: 1300 650 587 Fax: 02 8333 3975 email: progsales@your.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au/programsales8

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