Perepiteia

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Perepiteia is purportedly a new kind of generator developed by Thane Heins. He has been given access to equipment to demonstrate it by professor Riadh Habash of the University of Ottawa, who says of it, "It accelerates, but when it comes to an explanation, there is no backing theory for it. That's why we're consulting MIT. But at this time we can't support any claim."^[1]. Heins has filed for a Canadian patent^[2] and founded Potential Difference Inc, the website of which contains a series of videos of the inventor demonstrating the machine^[3]. The patent application has been denied.^[4]

The invention could not be explained right away by MIT professor Markus Zahn, who refused to call it perpetual motion but said it might be a more efficient motor.^[5][6]. The claimed unique quality of the Perepiteia machine is that instead of maintaining a certain state of motion, it appears to generate acceleration.^[7] Heins has recently stated that he is unsure whether or not the machine really produces energy, but in communications with science writer David Bradley of ScienceBase, Heins made claims of up to 7000% efficiency for a bi-toroidal transformer.^[8]

The device is named after the Greek word for peripety, a dramatic reversal of circumstances or turning point in a story.^[9]

[edit] Theory and criticism

Mechanically, the device appears to be an induction motor with a magnetic material placed inside the rotor core.^[10] Heins believes that the device's potential may rest in its atypical manipulation of back EMF. A more detailed description of the device may be found in the patent application, minus supporting figures.^[2]

Critics of the system have pointed out that the system described by Heins simply demonstrates a change in the motor's hysteresis drag, increasing the speed of the rotor but not producing any energy.^[11] In other words, when the rotor exhibits acceleration following a specific electrical short-out, the device is merely more efficiently converting the input electricity to mechanical energy than in the other test configurations.^{[12] [13]} One claim made in his video casts grave doubt on the science behind the device. He claims a steel rod, that appears to be several inches long, 'conducts the back emf (flux)'. The magnetic permeability of steel and circuit design is such that almost no flux would follow this path, in reality.

[edit] References