# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/101 "2007-07-03T14:38:19Z")
[QUOTE=truthpizza] I am very suspicious of this quote in **Khadaji** ’s link that says There is a toy in which a wheel rolls back and forth on a track (the middle is lower than the ends, so it rolls down one side and back up the other) and it will run for months on a 9-volt battery hidden in the base. This suggests to me that the amount of air and mechanical friction that has to be overcome in a properly designed device is small enough that keeping this thing going for a week would be trivial with a fairly small battery. My money is on “hidden battery.” [/QUOTE] Wait a minute … I had a link? Damn I’m gettin’ senile! I don’t recall that at all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/102 "2007-07-04T15:16:43Z")
If anyone’s interested, the demo is meant to be launched at 6pm BST tonight, that’s a little under two hours. Allegedly the webcast will be at [Steorn - Informasi Teknologi Terkini dan Terbaru](http://www.steorn.com/orbo/demo) but this currently gives a 403 error. Depending on my workload I’ll try and head over there at lunchtime tomorrow (and look for the telltale extension cord snaking out of the display case 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/103 "2007-07-04T17:56:02Z")
Looks like it’s now 6PM ET (USA, I presume): > [@](#): > > View the online demonstration here at 6pm Eastern Time (ET). > **[Steorn - Informasi Teknologi Terkini dan Terbaru](http://www.steorn.com/)** > > Steorn merupakan situs yang memberikan Informasi teknologi terbaru dan terupdate Their streaming video page (cameras not yet running): [http://www.astream.com/live/steorn/camera4.html](http://www.astream.com/live/steorn/camera4.html) ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/104 "2007-07-04T22:33:00Z")
Delayed: > [@](#): > > Due to technical difficulties we will now be live from London on the 5th July. > **[Steorn - Informasi Teknologi Terkini dan Terbaru](http://www.steorn.com/)** > > Steorn merupakan situs yang memberikan Informasi teknologi terbaru dan terupdate ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/105 "2007-07-04T22:51:53Z")
[QUOTE=toadspittle] Delayed: [/QUOTE] Technical difficulties? With a perpetual motion machine? Gosh! [The camera](http://www.astream.com/live/steorn/camera4.html) is currently displaying live pictures of Big Ben and a commentary advertising the streaming company. ---
**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 5, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/106 "2007-07-05T00:02:17Z")
Technical difficulties - i.e. _it doesn’t work._ ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/107 "2007-07-05T09:43:06Z")
> [@](#): > > “We are experiencing some technical difficulties with the demo unit in London. Our initial assessment indicates that this is probably due to the intense heat from the camera lighting. We have commenced a technical assessment and will provide an update later today. As a consequence, Kinetica will not be open to the public today (5th July). We apologise for this delay and appreciate your patience.” Absolutely classic scam material… as noted upthread, there will now be a constant stream of missed deadlines, promises that “it’s coming soon, just need to fix a minor problem”, and “it’s always worked in our offices”. :dubious: I reckon a sweepstake is needed on the types of excuses they come out with… next they’ll say the awful summer weather has blocked the vibrations in the ether, or something. ---
**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 5, 2007, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/108 "2007-07-05T09:53:14Z")
I am sticking to my prior post that it’s gonna be Performance Art. The game is going to be seeing how long they can string everyone along, like that deal where you get people to look up at a building until dozens of people are looking at nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/109 "2007-07-05T10:17:22Z")
Ha! The museum isn’t even going to be open today. I rather suspect that this is the end of Steorn’s little adventure. It appears they didn’t even build the test unit until yesterday. They’re not even attempting to look professional. As one comment on the Steorn forum puts it, the company’s approach is “Leap off the cliff and build your wings on the way down.” 😛 ---
**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 5, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/110 "2007-07-05T11:51:05Z")
I find myself wondering: is it possible that they built and tested all of their prototypes in one geographical location? Maybe an office with overhead power lines? ---
**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:** [July 5, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/111 "2007-07-05T12:14:28Z")
[QUOTE=e-logic] Absolutely classic scam material… “it’s coming soon, just need to fix a minor problem”,… [/quote] Like repeal some laws of nature? It would make everything so easy if that’s all it took. Like maybe if we could repeal the law of gravity over, say, just parts of Florida…rockets could be sent into orbit a lot faster. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/112 "2007-07-05T12:14:58Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I find myself wondering: is it possible that they built and tested all of their prototypes in one geographical location? Maybe an office with overhead power lines? [/QUOTE] Or their Dublin office is sitting on top of a massive lump of meteorite… ---
**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:** [July 5, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/113 "2007-07-05T12:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=e-logic] Or their Dublin office is sitting on top of a massive lump of meteorite… [/QUOTE] Or Kryptonite? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/114 "2007-07-05T12:35:00Z")
[QUOTE=e-logic] Or their Dublin office is sitting on top of a massive lump of meteorite… [/QUOTE] Actually, I think I may have found the geographical quirk responsible for their unusual findings. [Here](http://www.steorn.com/about/contact/) is the contact page on their website, complete with directions for how to reach their offices. And what’s the final step of the directions? > [@](#): > > From here it is approximately a 10 minute walk on the right hand side, **just past the Sea Bank House pub**. :dubious: ---
**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 5, 2007, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/115 "2007-07-05T12:53:45Z")
That could be it. I’ve heard that the drinks they serve in pubs can make things seem to spin around without stopping. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/116 "2007-07-05T13:17:12Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] That could be it. I’ve heard that the drinks they serve in pubs can make things seem to spin around without stopping. [/QUOTE] And, if you drink enough of them, they can be observed to _defy gravity_ and reappear shortly after drinking. Clearly these guys need to be watched. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/117 "2007-07-05T13:49:23Z")
If anyone still cares, the [cameras](http://www.astream.com/live/steorn/camera1.html) are up and streaming, but not much is going on. I am not sure if this disc shown in camera one is meant to be part of the device, but it has a strange similarity to an [overbalanced wheel](http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/overbal.htm) set-up… ---
**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 5, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/118 "2007-07-05T14:17:36Z")
I don’t think that can be the whole device - there’s almost nothing there. Maybe they’ve removed it to [del]replace the battery[/del] ‘realign the fields’. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingCowOfDoom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyingcowofdoom/32/21776_2.png) [@FlyingCowOfDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingCowOfDoom)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/119 "2007-07-05T14:52:12Z")
I was just watching the “Live” video feeds, and I noticed that there was a person near the clear box that contains the device on camera 1, but not on camera 3 or 4. I switched back and forth a few times to make sure. The cameras cannot all be live and directed at the same location. They’re either in different rooms or playing back a recording. I still can’t figure out why these people would drag this out so long. I don’t see how they’re making money from this scam. –FCOD ---
**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 5, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373/120 "2007-07-05T14:54:32Z")
[QUOTE=FlyingCowOfDoom] I was just watching the “Live” video feeds, and I noticed that there was a person near the clear box that contains the device on camera 1, but not on camera 3 or 4. I switched back and forth a few times to make sure. The cameras cannot all be live and directed at the same location. They’re either in different rooms or playing back a recording. I still can’t figure out why these people would drag this out so long. I don’t see how they’re making money from this scam. –FCOD [/QUOTE] I saw someone moving about on camera 1, but it takes so long to switch between views that they might be moving out of shot before I look on the other camera. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-up-with-steorns-orbo-free-energy-perpetual-motion-promises/407373.md?page=7)