| Perpetual motion machine: Motionless electromagnetic generator |
|
|---|---|
| Disciplines | physics and electrical engineering |
| Core Tenets | Device started from an external pulse, then powered directly from the device's generated electricity and the surrounding environmental vacuum energy. |
| Year Proposed | c. 2002 |
| Original Proponents | Thomas E. Bearden |
| Current Proponents | Researchers of "free energy", energy that may be directly utilized (and returned) by a device from the surroundings |
| Theory violation | First law of thermodynamics |
The motionless electromagnetic generator (MEG) is a proposed device which claims over-unity operation, which would violate the first law of thermodynamics. Allegedly, the device can eventually sustain its operation in addition to powering a load without application of external electrical power, by extraction of vacuum energy from the immediate environment. U.S. Patent 6,362,718 was issued to inventors Thomas E. Bearden, Stephen L. Patrick, James C. Hayes, James L. Kenny, and Kenneth D. Moore in 2002.
The MEG has never been independently verified and there is no known working prototype.[1] Skeptics point out that the device strongly resembles a standard transformer, with the exception of a permanent magnet and two actuator coils being included in the design. They also strongly criticize Bearden's methods and concepts in general.[1]
In 2001, Bearden predicted that the first commercial products based on the MEG would be "rolling off the production lines in about one year",[2] and as early as 2002 claimed to have a prototype of the device that produced "100 times more power out than was input".[3] It was promoted through JLNlabs,[4] Cheniere.org,[5] and an Egroup called "MEG Builders".[6] In May 2008, with the MEG still not in production, Tom Bearden claimed he needed about $11 million to develop it to a viable commercial form.[7] Bearden also admitted he had no working prototype, stating the 'last working demonstrator was promptly destroyed'.[8] In 2009, he claimed that development was "on hold" pending the release of funds from the UN.[9] As of 2011, the MEG is still not in production. Bearden has given no details as to what further development is needed.
Bearden has little formal training in physics and one analysis of these theories describes them as "full of misconceptions and misunderstandings concerning the theory of the electromagnetic field".[10] At his website and in correspondence, Bearden identifies himself as "PhD"[11] and claims he received a doctorate for "life experience and for life accomplishment".[12] The Skeptical Inquirer, among others, revealed that he purchased his Ph.D. from Trinity College and University, which the magazine describes as "a British institution with no building, campus, faculty, or president, and run from a post office box in Sioux Falls, South Dakota".[13]