# What's up with Steorn's "Orbo" (free-energy perpetual-motion promises)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 9, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373 "2007-06-09T16:28:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2007, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/181 "2007-07-07T05:51:20Z")
My human side is a bit disappointed. I wanted this to work like I wanted Santa to be real. The realist in me knew it was all phony, and is overjoyed at the opportunity to stick it to the human side. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2007, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/182 "2007-07-07T10:12:17Z")
Well, [here](http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-410336726209552529) is a video of Sean’s talk to the press… not that he says anything interesting, mind. Also, based on claims on their forums, they seem to have gathered at least [€14 million in funding…](http://www.steorn.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=56551&page=1#Item_0) [QUOTE=Chief Pedant] I agree with this sentiment but when I read that they had built the sucker the night before, I went from smelling rat financially to smelling something along the lines of a show. If they had anything at all that was legit, or even a decent fake perpetual motion device, it would have been up and tested and running in the display location days or weeks before it was time to show the world. [/QUOTE] Sean claims in the video that he gave the engineers three days to built the demo prototype; according to their forums, the prototype was to be built from transparent materials in order to avert claims of hidden wires/batteries… I don’t know exactly where that information’s coming from, though. Also, it appears that the ‘continuous motion’-device they were planning to showcase is a relatively recent development, their first device (which they were planning to demo should anything go wrong, but then apparently forgot about or something) was purportedly an apparatus involving a [‘start/stop’-motion thing](http://www.steorn.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=24793&page=1#Item_0)… I’m not quite sure what that’s supposed to mean, but apparently they needed to ‘reset and restart’ the motion in each cycle in order to maintain a constant (as opposed to ever-increasing) cycle speed… So, well, with the 14 mill on the scale, things are leaning heavily towards ‘scam’, I’d say… ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2007, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/183 "2007-07-07T13:35:24Z")
Millions on the financial line. Permanently changing the history of civilization on the line… and three days to build the prototype. I am forced to agree with your logic, **HMHW**. Scam. Bozos, even, which is going to make it very painful for supporters who were not only scammed, but scammed by retards. But I will be hopping back in to take credit for my Performance Art notion if it’s just a joke on me. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/184 "2007-07-07T14:15:37Z")
Randi’s website this week features a play by play of the recent Steorn nonevent. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/185 "2007-07-07T15:28:09Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] Originally Posted by **Colophon** “It appears they didn’t even build the test unit until yesterday.” I had also come across this statement on my own… [/QUOTE] Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/186 "2007-07-16T15:06:55Z")
A final bump… here’s [a report](http://www.eskimo.com/~eresrch/Steorn/final_report.text) from a guy (“drmike”) who was flown over to London at Steorn’s expense to see the “demo”. His opinion is that Steorn, or at least Sean McCarthy, is suffering from delusion. In other words, not scammers or hoaxers, but totally misguided. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/187 "2007-07-16T15:43:19Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] A final bump… here’s [a report](http://www.eskimo.com/~eresrch/Steorn/final_report.text) from a guy (“drmike”) who was flown over to London at Steorn’s expense to see the “demo”. His opinion is that Steorn, or at least Sean McCarthy, is suffering from delusion. In other words, not scammers or hoaxers, but totally misguided. [/QUOTE] Thanks for the bump…I understand how one guy can be delusional but I don’t understand how a whole group can. If there is any further word, please post it. It will be interesting to see if the whole thing just withers with a whimper and it turns out to have been nothing more than incompetent scientists with a lot of enthusiasm but no brains. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/188 "2007-07-16T22:26:48Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] Thanks for the bump…I understand how one guy can be delusional but I don’t understand how a whole group can. [/QUOTE] Dunno - I suppose if he’s really gone completely off the deep end, announced to his workers that they’re going to start building a perpetual motion machine, then spectacularly fired the first few people who said “look, Sean, you’re talking bollocks man”, I could just about believe that the rest of the workforce might keep their heads down and try to ride it through, but even as I’m typing this, my brain is saying “that’s not very likely” - but so it is with every single possible explanation - they’re all not very likely, or that’s how it happens to appear - maybe that’s the real genius here - he’s started something that people just can’t make head or tail of. My money is still on it being a proper scam though - and that there are already lots of people who have parted with money, behind the scenes that we don’t fully know about - and that it’s over - the scam is complete, all bar a few small details. I’m not taken in by the arguments that ‘he seemed so genuine and sincere’ - that’s what scammers are good at. I won’t be at all surprised if McCarthy suddenly vanishes - perhaps making it look like murder/abduction/suicide. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/189 "2007-07-17T04:43:56Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] Thanks for the bump…I understand how one guy can be delusional but I don’t understand how a whole group can. [/QUOTE] I’m not saying I understand it either, but history is full of examples. Jim Jones. David Koresh. JZ Knight. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/190 "2007-07-17T13:02:42Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Dunno - I suppose if he’s really gone completely off the deep end, announced to his workers that they’re going to start building a perpetual motion machine, then spectacularly fired the first few people who said “look, Sean, you’re talking bollocks man”, I could just about believe that the rest of the workforce might keep their heads down and try to ride it through… [/quote] Yes, and it seems that the company is a pretty relaxed and fun place to work at, so if Sean is paying them a decent salary than I can see why they’d keep their heads down, at least for a time. > [@](#): > > I won’t be at all surprised if McCarthy suddenly vanishes - perhaps making it look like murder/abduction/suicide. Yes, I’ve been wondering about this. I wonder if the whole “Sean is delusional / mentally ill” aspect will be played up leading up to such an event. By the way, if you want a laugh, have a read of [this mammoth report](http://www.steorn.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=33141) by a forum member of his trip to Ireland for a Steorn event. I honestly don’t know whether this guy is for real, but the writing style is like nothing I’ve ever read – it’s almost unbelievably hyperpedantic. Here’s a sample: > [@](#): > > Immediately after walking into the airport I went over in my mind the process I would need to follow. First off, I would go to the Delta Ticket Counter with my E-Ticket. However, I did not see it on the first level. I’m not a person that’s afraid to ask directions so I walked to a close by information desk. The lady working at the desk turned and looked at me. I asked her two questions. First was the location of the Delta Ticket Counter and the second was the location of the Currency Exchange Desk. She told me the Delta Ticket Counter was upstairs to the right and they did not have any sort of currency exchange at the airport. I thanked her, followed her directions, and then took an escalator upstairs. Quickly the sign for the Delta Ticket Counter became visible. I walked over and entered in one of the lines. The line was short, but there was apparently a large party of about seven people infront of me. For some reason they were having a difficulty with some issue they were discussing with one of the ticket agents. Finally, they passed by and I walked up to the desk. > > As I walked up I realized that there was a computer and scanner built into the desk. The lady at the ticket counter asked if she could help me. I handed her my passport and E-Ticket and said, “Yes Ma’am, I need to go ahead and get my boarding pass.” She then proceeded to tell me how to use the computer and scanner. However, I was not sure if it printed a boarding pass (no printer was visible) or if she would need to give me one. But once the E-Ticket was scanned she told me I was in the wrong line because my final destination was an international location, and very politely pointed to the correct one. > > I thought that she had pointed to one line, but there were actually two. I entered into the shortest line. There was not a computer or scanner built into this desk due to the fact it was for international flights. I handed the ticket agent my passport and E-Ticket. I waited while she processed my ticket, helped the other ticket agent with some computer related issue, and talked with another ticket agent about how she did not want to ever wear braces on her teeth. Apparently, the ticket agent next to her was told that she would need jaw surgury to complete her orthodontic treatment so she had her braces removed. The reason they were discussing this is because the gentleman in the line beside me getting his boarding pass was an orthodontist. And so it goes on. And on. Pages of it, before his plane has even taken off. And what makes it even more surreal is the comments at the end of that thread from people saying what an excellent writer this guy is. It could almost be a finely crafted spoof… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/191 "2007-07-17T13:21:57Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] A final bump… here’s [a report](http://www.eskimo.com/~eresrch/Steorn/final_report.text) from a guy (“drmike”) who was flown over to London at Steorn’s expense to see the “demo”. His opinion is that Steorn, or at least Sean McCarthy, is suffering from delusion. In other words, not scammers or hoaxers, but totally misguided. [/QUOTE] Reading between the lines, I still think it’s a deliberate scam. drmike’s description of McCarthy is precisely the description I would expect of a flim-flam artist. McCarthy’s selling snake oil, and the fact that he seems very enthusiastic doesn’t mean he doesn’t know it’s snake oil. Groupthink is a powerful dynamic and it’s certainly possible the Steorn folks have deluded themselves, but it still seems unlikely to me that delusion at this scale could go on this long AND be accompanied by such transparently con-artist type moves. Why would self-delusion cause them to not bring a working model, or backup parts, to the public demo? Why would self-delusion cause them to be so cryptic on their own Web site? I know in theory they would not want to release tech details, but they release almost no details about anything at all and rarely update the site - indeed, there is no official word from them since the demo failed. (Last press release is July 6.) Why no release of the names of the scientists on the alleged jury? None of those things are indicative of delusion, they’re indicative of deception. Just to use the recent demo fiasco as an example, let me ask you this; suppose you really had developed a working perpetual motion machine, you planned a public demo, and then for some unfortunate reason the test model you brought didn’t work. What would your damage control be? Steorn’s was to have McCarthy give a couple of pep talks, hand out some swag, and then run away with no word whatsoever of when they’d prove the technology except “stay tuned, it’ll work next time, whenever that is!” - in other words, they did exactly what you would expect of guys who did not, in fact, have a perpetual motion machine. If you REALLY had one, what would you do? You’ve cried wolf and you’re the laughingstock of the world, unless you act fast. So you’d say “We’re so very sorry; this is quite an embarassment and we take full respnsibility for this screwup. I am p[ersonally going to Best Buy to buy some web cams, and then we’re headed back into corporate HQ to set them up around the working model, so we can do our demo that way. Then we will invite you nice folks who came out to see it live to come see it live in our HQ, because it really does work, and by Christ we’re going to prove it.” And you’d follow through on it, and have web site updates three times a day. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/192 "2007-07-17T13:58:13Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I honestly don’t know whether this guy is for real, but the writing style is like nothing I’ve ever read – it’s almost unbelievably hyperpedantic. Here’s a sample: [/QUOTE] Never read anything by Harry Knowles, then? 🙂 -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/193 "2007-07-17T15:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] > [@](#): > > Immediately after walking into the airport I went over in my mind the process I would need to follow. First off, I would go to the Delta Ticket Counter with my E-Ticket. However, I did not see it on the first level. I’m not a person that’s afraid to ask directions so I walked to a close by information desk. The lady working at the desk turned and looked at me. I asked her two questions. First was the location of the Delta Ticket Counter and the second was the location of the Currency Exchange Desk. She told me the Delta Ticket Counter was upstairs to the right and they did not have any sort of currency exchange at the airport. I thanked her, followed her directions, and then took an escalator upstairs. Quickly the sign for the Delta Ticket Counter became visible. I walked over and entered in one of the lines. The line was short, but there was apparently a large party of about seven people infront of me. For some reason they were having a difficulty with some issue they were discussing with one of the ticket agents. Finally, they passed by and I walked up to the desk. > > As I walked up I realized that there was a computer and scanner built into the desk. The lady at the ticket counter asked if she could help me. I handed her my passport and E-Ticket and said, “Yes Ma’am, I need to go ahead and get my boarding pass.” She then proceeded to tell me how to use the computer and scanner. However, I was not sure if it printed a boarding pass (no printer was visible) or if she would need to give me one. But once the E-Ticket was scanned she told me I was in the wrong line because my final destination was an international location, and very politely pointed to the correct one. > > I thought that she had pointed to one line, but there were actually two. I entered into the shortest line. There was not a computer or scanner built into this desk due to the fact it was for international flights. I handed the ticket agent my passport and E-Ticket. I waited while she processed my ticket, helped the other ticket agent with some computer related issue, and talked with another ticket agent about how she did not want to ever wear braces on her teeth. Apparently, the ticket agent next to her was told that she would need jaw surgury to complete her orthodontic treatment so she had her braces removed. The reason they were discussing this is because the gentleman in the line beside me getting his boarding pass was an orthodontist. And so it goes on. And on. Pages of it, before his plane has even taken off. And what makes it even more surreal is the comments at the end of that thread from people saying what an excellent writer this guy is. It could almost be a finely crafted spoof… 😕 [/QUOTE] \*Those who are regular followers of the doings of Arthur Dent may have received an impression of his character and habits which, while it includes the truth and, of course, nothing but the truth, falls somewhat short, in its composition, of the whole truth in all its glorious aspects. And the reasons for this are obvious. Editing, selection, the need to balance that which is interesting with that which is relevant and cut out all the tedious happenstance. Like this for instance. "Arthur Dent went to bed. He went up the stairs, all fifteen of them, opened the door, went into his room, took off his shoes and socks and then all the rest of his clothes one by one and left them in a neatly crumpled heap on the floor. He put on his pyjamas, the blue ones with the stripe. He washed his face and hands, cleaned his teeth, went to the lavatory, realized that he had once again got this all in the wrong order, had to wash his hands again and went to bed. He read for fifteen minutes, spending the first ten minutes of that trying to work out where in the book he had got to the previous night, then he turned out the light and within a minute or so more was asleep. "It was dark. He lay on his left side for a good hour. "After that he moved restlessly in his sleep for a moment and then turned over to sleep on his right side. Another hour after this his eyes flickered briefly and he slightly scratched his nose, though there was still a good twenty minutes to go before he turned back on to his left side. And so he whiled the night away, sleeping. “At four he got up and went to the lavatory again. He opened the door to the lavatory …” and so on. It’s guff. It doesn’t advance the action. It makes for nice fat books such as the American market thrives on, but it doesn’t actually get you anywhere. You don’t, in short, want to know…“What is he, man or mouse? Is he interested in nothing more than tea and the wider issues of life? Has he no spirit? has he no passion? Does he not, to put it in a nutshell, fuck?” Those who wish to know should read on. Others may wish to skip on to the last chapter which is a good bit and has Marvin in it.\*[right]–Douglas Adams, _So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish_[/right] This whole Orbo thing is just ripe for satire, although frankly it’s not much more vaporware than many companies in the height of the [dot.com](http://dot.com) boom. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/194 "2007-07-17T16:57:37Z")
[Engadget interview with Sean McCarthy, CEO of Steorn](http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/17/the-engadget-interview-sean-mccarthy-ceo-of-steorn/). It’s starting to look to me as if they haven’t actually seen a “generating” Orbo at all. See this quote, for instance: > [@](#): > > And after a fairly extended period of testing in different ways – I should make the point that when we discovered this we weren’t generating, the systems didn’t run away with themselves. What we noticed was at certain speeds the speed range for magnetic systems that we were getting substantially different energy results – which is unexpected. In other words, we saw some measurements that weren’t what we expected. Big deal! And then when pressed about the actual efficiency/power output, he seems to switch to total gibberish mode: > [@](#): > > I think the largest efficiency that we would have physically measured would be about 485%. These numbers can be misleading. For example we might be getting 485% per joule, which means were getting 4.85 J out, but there could be a configuration that’s could be delivering 130% efficiency yet delivering 10 joules. So, the technology itself is pretty well researched in terms of punch line efficiency it’s 485%, but that wouldn’t be the optimum output of the system. Obviously we’re more focused on direct power output of a device than the punchline numbers. 485 to 1 is 4.85, but we could easily say, 10 to 12 joules off of a system is going to have a lower punch line efficiency. And power output is obviously the key factor, energy output is obviously the key factor. I’ve read that several times and still can’t figure out what he means. I think that’s his intention, too. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/195 "2007-07-17T17:00:34Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] Thanks for the bump…I understand how one guy can be delusional but I don’t understand how a whole group can. [/QUOTE] A nation of 300 million agreed it was a good idea to invade Iraq, didn’t we? Next to that, a little box with spinning magnets is no biggie. ---
**Author:** ![Dunawake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dunawake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunawake)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/196 "2007-07-17T17:06:30Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I’ve read that several times and still can’t figure out what he means. I think that’s his intention, too. [/QUOTE] It makes sense to me, basically he’s saying the best percentage they can get out of the machine is 485%, but that doesn’t correspond to the best actual output they can produce, it’s only a theoretical maximum rather than useful number. 485% = 4.85 joules vs. 130% = 10 joules. The second settings produces more energy in terms of raw numbers, so that setting is more practical. Rather than having two of the machines running at higher efficiency, you have a single machine running at lower efficiency to produce the same amount of power. That still doesn’t mean any of this is real or actually useful though. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/197 "2007-07-17T17:14:28Z")
[QUOTE=Dunawake] It makes sense to me, basically he’s saying the best percentage they can get out of the machine is 485%, but that doesn’t correspond to the best actual output they can produce, it’s only a theoretical maximum rather than useful number. 485% = 4.85 joules vs. 130% = 10 joules. The second settings produces more energy in terms of raw numbers, so that setting is more practical. Rather than having two of the machines running at higher efficiency, you have a single machine running at lower efficiency to produce the same amount of power. That still doesn’t mean any of this is real or actually useful though. 😛 [/QUOTE] I guess I’m just having trouble relating the concept of “percentage efficiency” to a perpetual motion machine. 😛 So the machine will output 10J at an efficiency of 130%. Which means the input has to be ~7.7J. OK, but now we can use 9J of the output to power the device itself, leaving 1J output, but now the input is 9J and the output is 11.7J… and now we can use 10J to power the machine leaving 1.7J output… and now the output is 13J and we can… and so on and so on until the Earth catches fire (or the device reaches a temperature equivalent to a warmish art gallery and promptly fails, of course!) ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/198 "2007-07-17T23:30:45Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] By the way, if you want a laugh, have a read of [this mammoth report](http://www.steorn.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=33141) by a forum member of his trip to Ireland for a Steorn event. I honestly don’t know whether this guy is for real, but the writing style is like nothing I’ve ever read – it’s almost unbelievably hyperpedantic. [/QUOTE] Quite, quite wonderfully and unintentionally Pooterish. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/199 "2007-07-18T00:04:46Z")
[QUOTE=bonzer] Quite, quite wonderfully and unintentionally Pooterish. [/QUOTE] It reads somewhat like the Asperger’s kid in _The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time_. I wonder if, at any point in his interaction with the citizens of Dublin, babcat felt the need to do ‘rocking and groaning’? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/200 "2007-07-18T20:39:58Z")
The funny part is the guy announces he knows Steorn has a working free energy device because… they were really nice to him at a party. That makes him sure they’ve got a working free energy machine. I don’t think that’s the usual method for testing a hypothesis. I’ll bet anyone on the planet $1000 that they DON’T have a workiing free energy machine. $10,000. I’ll put it in writing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373.md?page=11)