JOSEPH NEWMAN (INVENTOR)

'Joseph Westley Newman' is an inventor. He is known as the creator of a "free energy" machine, which, he claims, produces more energy than it consumes. While perpetual motion machines cannot exist according to the laws of physics (especially the second law of thermodynamics, which states that some form of energy has to be irreversibly consumed in order to produce work), Newman has claimed that his machine violates no physical laws because it converts part of its mass to energy.

Contents

Machine description

Claims about free energy

Media Coverage

References

External links

Optimistic Sources

Skeptical Sources

Machine description

Newman has made many versions of his machine. The earlier versions tended to be very large and heavy (thousands of pounds), but he has been focusing on smaller versions recently.
The device essentially consists of a voltage source, a commutator mechanically connected to a rotating permanent magnet, and a coil of wire around the external stationary housing.
The voltage source is typically a battery pack that has consisted of 9-volt batteries, AA batteries, or car batteries, etc. These are typically arranged in series to increase the voltage. According to Newman, that high voltage is more relevant than high current for the operation of the device.
A more recent version replaces batteries with a capacitor and solar panels.^[1]
The commutator configurations may also vary, and the placement, timing, and number of interrupts determine its generated torque and/or current. According to The Newman's Energy Machine V1.0 by JLN Labs, the modes of operation are 'motor', 'generator', or 'motor-generator'. Sophisticated tuning of the firing pulse is needed to obtain a particular mode.

Claims about free energy

"A system for generating obvious work motion, or electromagnetic energy (fields of force) or electric current utilizing the electromagnetic energy which makes up matter and results in a greater output of energy, than the initial input of conventional energy means and teachings..."^[2]
In the 1980s Newman performed several public demonstrations, on television and in the Superdome, that garnered much media attention.
Newman demonstrates his machine by starting it manually with an initial push. Once going, the batteries provide voltage tension to keep it going. Power output is apparently larger than the obvious inputs, because the batteries supposedly do not lose strength, but rather gain strength. Conventional instruments do not seem able to detect the source of this energy. However, several tests have been done with oscilloscopes, and have revealed large back-emf spikes^[3][4].
Physicists and engineers were invited to test Newman's machines (with mixed results), and Newman also shipped a machine to the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) for testing. The NBS concluded that the machine did not produce over-unity energy. Newman countered that he was barred from observing the test and that the NBS failed to unfasten a key component that had been grounded to the frame for shipping — implying that the test would have worked had he been allowed to participate.
Physicist Roger Hastings, Ph.D., submitted a statement dated July 30, 1986 to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Energy, Nuclear Proliferation and Government Processes. The statement consisted of three sections: Section 1: Background (on Dr. Hastings); Section 2: Newman's Device (a technical description); Section 3: An Evaluation of National of Bureau Standards Testing. In Section 3, Conclusion, Dr. Hastings wrote: "In conclusion, the N.B.S. failed to measure the output of the Newman motor, and instead measured the output of parallel resistors. In addition, the primary r.f. energy generated by the machine was shunted to ground."
According to the well-known skeptic and debunker James Randi, who visited Newman to investigate his claims, the inventor made up excuses and did not want to concede the possibility of connecting the power output back to the input, which would produce a positive feedback loop and avoid further need for batteries as an external energy source. Newman alleged that the machine produces significant RF energy rather than electrical current and therefore connecting output to input is not straightforward. Newman also pointed out that the principles underlying the machine had to do with magnetic particles and vortices, an idea conceived (and then rejected) by the 19th century physicist James Clerk Maxwell, and that those vortices were also responsible for such things as earthquakes and ESP. Randi concluded that Newman was a crackpot.

Media Coverage

Newman's quest for a free energy device was featured in the Discovery Channel programme titled ''Beyond Invention''.

References

1. God Inspired Miracle Solar Energy Machine
2. Patent Document: "Energy Generation System Having Higher Energy Output Than Input" WO 830/0963 (17 March 1983) http://v3.espacenet.com/pdfdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=WO8300963
3. WWL Engineers, Channel 4 Eye Witness News Documentary (ca. 1982). See this in the first part of "Cut the cost of oil 2" video http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1610087835473512086
4. JL Naudin/M.David, JLN Labs (06/18/98) "The Newman's Energy Machine V1.0" http://jnaudin.free.fr/html/qm11tun.htm

External links

★ Joseph Newman's personal website

★ Patent Document WO 830/0963 (17 March 1983) "Energy Generation System Having Higher Energy Output Than Input"

★ Fact sheet from the 1986 NBS report

Optimistic Sources

★ The Newman's Energy Machine V1.0 from JL Naudin Independent testing. Includes full video, blueprints, pictures, patent references, and measurement results.

Skeptical Sources

★ Report of Tests on the free-energy device, by the National Capital Area Skeptics

★ Joe Newman's Free Energy Claims - are they valid?

★ James Randi's comment after a visit to Newman

★ Straight Dope article on Newman