The idea of Perpetual Motion has intrigued ancient engineers and the somewhat insane for centuries. There are many plans, with one thing in common: They don't work. Physics, Thermodynamics, even outright Math is against such a thing.
And yet, so many people even to this day continue to try. A perpetual motion machine would be producing energy from nowhere, a clear advantage in this modern world. Fascinated by the prospect of endless money and fame, people continue to ignore physics and try anyway. And so, physics teacher Donald Simanek has given me hours of entertainment showing off classic and modern perpetual motion machines, along with information as to what part of the machine won't work and why.
If professor Simanek's little museum amuses you, you may also enjoy crank.net, a large showcase of internet counter-factual belief, sorted by degree of madness, from the slightly bizarre and cranky to the outright illucid. I certainly hope I'm merely bizarre. Entries are also classified by topic: Science, Technology, Math, UFOs, Religion, the various Paranormal studies, Prophecies, and Conspiracy. The "about" section describes the classification system.
Happy reading.
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