# The next Steorn Orbo? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849 "2012-05-23T16:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/1 "2012-05-23T16:22:47Z")
I don’t know what to make of [this](http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2012/05/blacklight-power-unveils-technology-generates-electricity-water?et_cid=2663230&et_rid=45567818&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ecnmag.com%2fnews%2f2012%2f05%2fblacklight-power-unveils-technology-generates-electricity-water). Sounds like another “free energy” scam, but there is too little information to even call it that. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/2 "2012-05-23T16:31:50Z")
Sure has the earmarks of fakery. Page after page of Google hits all seem to quote or link to the same press release. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/3 "2012-05-23T16:52:43Z")
Absolutely and without any possible doubt, a scam - it fails multiple criteria of the Baloney Detection Kit. There’s a Wikipedia page about it that gives some more details: > **[Brilliant Light Power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklight_Power)** > > Brilliant Light Power, Inc. (BLP), formerly BlackLight Power, Inc. of Cranbury, New Jersey, is a company founded by Randell L. Mills, who claims to have discovered a new energy source from observing that the electron in a hydrogen atom can drop below the lowest energy state and into a "hydrino state". The claims lack corroborating scientific evidence, despite claims of experimental verification, and the proposed hydrino states are unphysical and incompatible with key equations of quantum mecha... ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/4 "2012-05-23T16:59:06Z")
It’s all about the [hydrinos](http://scientopia.org/blogs/goodmath/2011/12/29/hydrinos-impressive-free-energy-crackpottery/). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/5 "2012-05-23T21:58:20Z")
:mad: Laugh all you like! They laughed at the [Dean](http://davidszondy.com/future/space/dean_drive.htm) [Drive!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_drive) Ha! Wait . . . ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/6 "2012-05-23T22:04:51Z")
They laughed at Jerry Lewis too. Well, anyway, in France they laughed at him. But that counts doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/7 "2012-05-23T22:14:54Z")
> [@](#): > > A 100W unit is planned for completion by the end of 2012, and a 1.5 kiloWatt (kW) pilot unit that can serve the residential power market, as an initial target commercial application, is expected to be operational by 2013. So they haven’t built a working unit yet, and the first one they plan to built will (maybe, if it works) power a single 100 watt bulb. Wanna guess that ground-floor dealerships are available for cash money? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/8 "2012-05-24T02:10:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They laughed at Jerry Lewis too. Well, anyway, in France they laughed at him. But that counts doesn’t it? I saw [this French comedy once,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mad_Adventures_of_Rabbi_Jacob) and lost all doubt as to the French appreciating Jerry Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/9 "2012-05-24T02:17:44Z")
I accidentally a whole Blacklight. Is this bad? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/10 "2012-05-24T02:59:31Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I accidentally a whole Blacklight. Is this bad? Yes. It’s missing a verb. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/11 "2012-05-24T03:21:02Z")
The amazing thing is how many entities he’s gotten to give him money despite his claims being a huge pile of scientific nonsense. According to the wiki he’s collected over 90 milion dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/12 "2012-05-24T22:07:39Z")
I think it’s rather telling that the article is in [ECN](http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2012/05/blacklight-power-unveils-technology-generates-electricity-water?et_cid=2663230&et_rid=45567818&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ecnmag.com%2fnews%2f2012%2f05%2fblacklight-power-unveils-technology-generates-electricity-water) which looks suspiciously like a fake copy of [EDN](http://www.edn.com/) (Electronic Design News) which is an old school electronic technology news magazine. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/13 "2012-05-24T22:38:59Z")
> [@astro](#): > > The amazing thing is how many entities he’s gotten to give him money despite his claims being a huge pile of scientific nonsense. According to the wiki he’s collected over 90 milion dollars. . . . ermmm . . . It’s still a dead-end, dammit! It can’t compare or compete with **BrainGlo,** my safe, clean, matter-to-energy direct-converter! Now under development! Get in on the ground floor! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/14 "2012-05-24T22:39:37Z")
ECN and EDN are both real magazines. ECN is Electronic Component News, EDN is Electronic Design News. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/15 "2012-05-24T23:07:54Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > ECN and EDN are both real magazines. > ECN is Electronic Component News, EDN is Electronic Design News. Whoops. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/16 "2012-05-24T23:14:48Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I don’t know what to make of [this](http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2012/05/blacklight-power-unveils-technology-generates-electricity-water?et_cid=2663230&et_rid=45567818&linkid=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ecnmag.com%2fnews%2f2012%2f05%2fblacklight-power-unveils-technology-generates-electricity-water). Sounds like another “free energy” scam, but there is too little information to even call it that. This is a free energy scam that’s been around for over a decade, which has the premise that there is a lower energy state for a single hydrogen atom than the ground state - and there’s plenty of evidence that this is completely ridiculous. \ Over two decades - it started in 1991 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-steorn-orbo/622849/17 "2012-05-25T00:02:39Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > \ Over two decades - it started in 1991 Crazy ideas never die, they just get legs.