Free energy

[Just thinking]

The plan was to assume a frictionless bearing. Thus, you'd pay a one-time startup cost to spin it up, but (assuming no opposing force (torque really, I suppose)) then it would carry on for ever. But I claim it won't work as a free energy machine, even with frictionless bearings.

I suppose we would have to see if magnetic shielding material is itself magnetic -- but even if not, it's still likely metallic. Which means that rotating it in a magnetic filed (even only covering part of the disc) might induce a current (in the disc) with its B field opposing that of the inducing B field. Sort of making the whole thing a form of magnetic brake. The energy extracted from the falling an rising cylndrical magnet in the tube would never be enough to override the torque resistance I just mentioned (I suspect).

 

[epepke]

i'm not very sure why it's impossible to build a free energy machine. Isn't the gravitational forces an infinite amount of energy? Force is energy or it is not?

You are correct. Force is not energy. Energy can be described in various ways, but one of the ways is force through distance.

One of the most intriguing ways I've seen in SF of generating energy is to get a black hole and throw things down it, generating energy from the downward motion. That would work, but we don't have any handy black holes.

 

[L7Cz]

Not handy??? ... but but but, what about the quantum black hole at the center of the Earth, whose event horizon radiation provides light and energy for the advanced civilization whose members are living inside the hollow Earth held against the outside of the speroid by the centripetal force of the Earth's rotation, and coming out only at night in their advanced disc-shaped spacecraft to carefully select individuals from our race to enlighten with their advanced knowledge and perform unspeakable medical experiments upon, and and and ...

Oops, sorry, wrong thread. Can anyone direct me to the Hollow Earthers Convention? The map said to turn right at Albuquerque... or was it the third star from the left and straight on until morning?