The President of Steorn tries to explain the failure of Orbo

Last week, I wrote about the latest attempt to defy the laws of thermodynamics and make a free energy machine and how it went down in flames. Specifically, I wrote about Steorn, the Irish tech company that announced last August that it had developed technology to produce a free energy machine and more recently announced that it was going to demonstrate its amazing technology at the Kinetica Museum in London on July 4. Not surprisingly, Steorn ended up postponing the demonstration, first for a day, and then indefinitely.

Here's the President of Steorn Sean McCarthy trying to explain what went wrong:

And here's part 2:

Lame. That's all I can say. Very lame. After all that hype, these are the best excuses he can come up with?

More like this

Come on, he's given much worse excuses than those.
"We have measured every energy source that it is possible to measure and hence we are confident in our claim that it is free energy. There is always the possibility that the tech taps ZPE/Dark Energy, but it is just not possible to measure these. Even if we are tapping ZPE/Dark Energy the net result to all of us is the same, the energy is free."

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary excuses.

How can they honestly think that something like this will pass muster with anyone not inside their little clique? Or perhaps they're just hoping for the fad effect and hope to sell millions before anyone realizes it's bunk.

Other free energy scams tend to sell franchises rather than actual product. The excuses are necessary to keep investors forking over the dough.

By Tegumai Bopsul… (not verified) on 10 Jul 2007 #permalink

The fact that they still haven't done a runner leads me to believe that they're basically a cult. I suspect McCarthy will be in a jail cell this time next year.

By Ginger Yellow (not verified) on 10 Jul 2007 #permalink

I'm not sure what it is (bad recording and/or mumbling), but I have a hard time listening.

Did pick up the stuff about ball bearings being damaged by the heat. Must have been really crappy bearings.

"Can someone sum it up for the lazy?"

Company claims to have invented a perpetual motion machine using magnets.
Company claims said device produces excess of energy and so has solved the worlds energy crisis.
Company puts advertisement in 'The Economist' challenging scientists to prove them wrong.
Company claims to have picked a panel of the aforementioned scientists who will adjudicate if the machine does what it says.
Caompany refuses to release details of the device and says that it would not be possible to submit details for peer reviewed publication because it is so challenging to current dogma being such a paradigm shifting discovery.
Company says it will not accept more investment until the machine is proven, to allay fears that it is a scam.
Company accepts 8 million euro in investment from multiple eager investors.
Company announces it will have a public showing of the device in action in London at an art gallery.
Company announces there is a delay with the public showing because they only started to put the machine together three days before the public showing and it got damaged in the rush and didn't work.
Company claims they don't have a video of the device ever working.
Company says it is still certain of the importance of their invention and will put off the public showing till an unspecified later date.
A film crew is following them around documenting the ongoing developments. Waiting for Orbo.

A film crew is following them around documenting the ongoing developments. Waiting for Orbo.

That is going to be a damn interesting film by the time this is done.

How much does this company pay in utility bills every month?

By Tegumai Bopsul… (not verified) on 10 Jul 2007 #permalink

I hope this is at least getting them laid. It's probably good for pulling Irish hippy/new age ladies.

A scam like this might bring in some money, but that can't end up anywhere but civil court, if not the Old Bailey / an iron coffin with spikes on the inside.