The Principles of Thermodynamics Are Not In Dispute, As Far As I’m Aware
I get a bit puckish in my writings in the evening, perhaps because I typically have a martini as I make dinner for the Shields family.
Here, I respond to a friend who claims to have observed an engineering breakthrough by which an adjustment in a permanent-magnet motor creates a scenario in which the rotor does not slow down, even with a load applied to it, as it’s able to draw energy from the magnets. I’m reminded of other friends who wish me to create a device that taps the energy in gravitation, or other phenomena that don’t contain energy. I write:
Well, I have to say that I’m dubious. Here’s my understanding of what you’re talking about. You propose to violate the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics with heretofore-unseen energy that is contained in magnets. Magnets don’t contain energy; they propagate magnetic fields, just like charged particles, like electrons, which propagate electric fields. If you want to move two like magnetic poles closer to one another (or two like-charged electric particles), you do work, i.e. you add energy. If you allow them to push each other apart, the energy you have added is then re-released.
To say that magnets contain energy is not correct.
If you thought you saw a working model of a motor speeding up without external energy being applied, you are incorrect.
I love you like a brother, but I would bet heavily that you are… incorrect.
Boltzman is my man, as I express in this post about thermodynamics — correctly. 🙂
Now, having used the word “correct” more often than I should have, please feel free to correct me where you think I’m wrong.
I love you like a brother, but I would bet heavily that you are… incorrect.
Even if magnets did contain energy, they could not be used as a lasting source of energy since as energy is withdrawn from them, it would not be replaced and would eventually be used up. It would be similar to using a tank of compressed air to operate an air motor; it would work for a while, but stop working as the air pressure dropped.
The laws of thermodynamics have been known for more than 100 years. It’s unfortunate that basic physics is not a requirement in all high schools and more advanced physics is not required at the college level. A person who lacks an understanding of basic physics cannot claim to have a broad-based liberal education.
Recently someone told me that we should be harnessing dark energy. Whether such a thing would be possible is questionable, but if it were possible, probably it would be too diffuse to be practical.
I will drink to that. The bubble existed because people believe in fantasy. We want, we believe we help each other (co-dependance) (Congress the voters). TV and the viewer, so on. The store Forever 21, vicarious relationships, etc. The difference between a dream and a night mare is just reality. I am not really being dark, I am just suggesting my world of reality does not include Hollywood and I am very happy with the moment being 56 and bald. I am not looking for youth, I do look at it, but for it. Energy is spent as is life. The only thing I know of that lives on is the Sun. it is almost timeless. We could look to it for Power light “Perpetual motion” but all those other gadgets are just illusion. Sorry to get esoteric but realistically people want fantasy and will do almost anything for it.
To be pedantic, magnets do actually contain a lot of energy, about 11 billion KWh/lb of magnet, but of course it has nothing to do with magnetism, just ‘m’, i.e. e=mc2.
However based on the difficulty scientists are having extracting this energy from normal nuclear fuels I don’t think we’ll be tapping into this source of energy any time soon, not only that, even if you could as you used the energy your motor/magnets would gradually disappear!
You allow bad science to dictate your good science understanding. You can get energy from gravity, its called ‘falling water’.