# Not cold fusion, but a perpetual motion battery? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2001, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784 "2001-03-13T07:51:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zenkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/439d5e/32.png) [@zenkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenkat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/1 "2001-03-13T07:51:51Z")
Several years ago, I watched an episode of ABC’s Nightline that featured a scientist in Florida that had invented something akin to a perpetual motion battery. It was made of little metal balls and salt water. The inventor was a chemist that made a fortune from developing the process to produce the little metal balls, so he wasn’t a total quack. When an electric current was run through the battery, it allegedly produced more BTU’s of heat than could be produced by the current itself. The man’s grandson was going to start a company to find practical applications for the device. I have searched the internet for news or stories of this battery, but have found none. Has anyone else ever heard of this? I seem to recall that the inventor lived in Sarasota. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/2 "2001-03-13T13:03:11Z")
I know what you are talking about, but I, too, forget the inventor’s name. Robert Park, of the American Physical Society dealt with this issue in his recen book, [_Voodoo Science_](http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=57QLHGWQQM&mscssid=VB8NDJXTGRJF8P8N2KFP34XD8C500439&isbn=0195135156). I don’t happen to have my copy at hand, but perhaps, if no one else comes along to answer this today, I can dig up the story later. As and alternative, you might want to try searching Bob Parks; newsletters at the APS site, [http://www.aps.org/index.html](http://www.aps.org/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/3 "2001-03-13T13:34:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zenkat \* > **Several years ago, I watched an episode of ABC’s Nightline that featured a scientist in Florida that had invented something akin to a perpetual motion battery.** Which once again points to the terrifying scientific illiteracy of (most) Journalists. > [@](#): > > **The inventor was a chemist that made a fortune from developing the process to produce the little metal balls, so he wasn’t a total quack.** Everything else aside, this really doesn’t mean anything. He made a fortune, so he wasn’t a total quack? Ironically, the majority of scientists who invent useful, real items never see a fortune their whole lives. That aside, this is what you are referring to: > [@](#): > > THE PATTERSON POWER CELL > By David Sunfellow > > GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and NIGHTLINE have all reported on a remarkable new energy device that claims to produce more energy than it uses. Dubbed the “Patterson Power Cell” after its inventor, James Patterson, the device consists of a cannister of tiny metal beads coated with layers of copper, nickel, and palladium. When ordinary water and a small electric charge are run through the cell, enormous amounts of heat are produced. > > Sounds impressive, but is it for real? Well, THE U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, which has flatly said that cold fusion, like perpetual motion, is impossible and unpatentable, has issued a patent on the gadget. The new energy machine has also been boldly demonstrated at three technical conferences in the last nine months-- a significant accomplishment because most cold-fusion contraptions are so unstable they don’t work on command. > > The folks behind the Patterson Power Cell are so confident of their invention that they are seeking to develop various commercial applications for the technology, such as industrial heat/power generation equipment, residential hot water heaters, continuous battery charging units, and other commercial and industrial products. > > Only one problem: they’re not sure how the darn thing works. > > * * * > > Clean Energies Technology, Inc. (CETI) > > email: [ceti@onramp.net](mailto:ceti@onramp.net) > WWW: [http://www.cleanenergy.com/ceti/](http://www.cleanenergy.com/ceti/) > Phone: (214) 983-8340 > > Lincoln Center One > 5400 LBJ Freeway > Suite 950 > Dallas, TX 75240 > > Margo Isbell or Andy Zmugg > Meltzer & Martin Public Relations > (214) 953-0808 Now, let me take some choice quotes here: > [@](#): > > GOOD MORNING AMERICA, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and NIGHTLINE have all reported on a remarkable new energy device that claims to produce more energy than it uses. None of which is anything close to a reputable source. > [@](#): > > …the device consists of a cannister of tiny metal beads coated with layers of copper, nickel, and palladium… OK, here’s the first test - does the device include that miracle energy cure-all, palladium? If so, it is 95% likely it is another “Cold Fusion” scam. > [@](#): > > Well, THE U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, which has flatly said that cold fusion, like perpetual motion, is impossible and unpatentable, has issued a patent on the gadget. BFD! The US Patent Office would patent my buttcheeks if I wrote the proper forms up. Repeat after me - **a device need not exist or work at all to be patentable.** > [@](#): > > The new energy machine has also been boldly demonstrated at three technical conferences in the last nine months-- a significant accomplishment because most cold-fusion contraptions are so unstable they don’t work on command. Double-BFD! So? I demonstrated my latest software at several conferences around the World **before it actually worked** - no one knew the difference. > [@](#): > > Only one problem: they’re not sure how the darn thing works. Ah…good plan then. They are not sure how it works, yet are ready to go full-scale commercial. Well, maybe it will sell well in Clearwater if they sell it to Scientologists (Xenu[sup]TM[/sup] Inside!). Anyhow…thanks for stopping by the Straight Dope! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/4 "2001-03-13T14:18:50Z")
[_tearing mind away with difficulty from mental image of paperwork required to patent Una’s buttcheeks_] Um. In which we discuss the Patterson Power Cell. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54774](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=54774) [_would you have to moon yourself in a Xerox machine, or what? Maybe a plaster cast? Or a polyester resin reproduction?_] ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2001, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/5 "2001-03-13T21:46:52Z")
> [@](#): > > BFD! The US Patent Office would patent my buttcheeks if I wrote the proper forms up. Repeat after me - a device need not exist or work at all to be patentable. I think that a perpetual motion machine is the only machine that you have to prove to work to patented ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/6 "2001-03-14T02:12:55Z")
quote I think that a perpetual motion machine is the only machine that you have to prove to work to patented \*\* [/QUOTE] How long does the test take? ---
**Author:** ![Brennan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Brennan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brennan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/7 "2001-03-14T06:26:57Z")
One of the most important parts of getting a patent is “enablement”. A person skilled in the art has to be able to make the device in question. One of the other criteria is that the invention must do something. Thems the rules. B ---
**Author:** ![dave99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@dave99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dave99)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2001, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-cold-fusion-but-a-perpetual-motion-battery/57784/8 "2001-03-14T07:09:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Booker57 \* > \*\* > quote > I think that a perpetual motion machine is the only machine that you have to prove to work to patented \*\* How long does the test take? \*\* [/QUOTE] Well, you start it up and leave it on a shelf at the patent office. Then you come back a year later, and if it’s still running, you get your patent. That was a clever joke, **Booker** , but IIRC that is the real answer.