Mexico weekly ledger., 1891-04-02
PERPETUAL MOTION.
No Motion Without Friction,
Consequently Perpetual
Motion Cannot Be.

RlIdt - q pci pctual l1Olfohf AS
yet it is but an idea-so much will be
admitted by the most enthusiastic
advocate of its practicabiity. The ut
most claimis that, according to physi-
cal law, it might be; no one claims
that it is or ever has been. But mill
lions of attempts, all ending in failure,
only create a strong presumption that
the thingattempted is an imp~ossibility.
They do not put it absolutely hey ond
doubt. Do the laws of nature make it
eternally impossible?
The evident answer is that nature is
herself a perpetualm motion. The clouds
and the winds, the waves: the flowing
streams and mighty currents of cleo
trical and other forces are in ceaseless
flux and refiux. 1t follows, therefore,
that any machine constantly played
upon~by any d of these perpetual
forces would maintain a perpetual
motion-as for instances paddle-wheel
moved by an unfailing stream of water
the motion continuing till the ma
terials wore out, which fills the condi-
tons of the problem. This much,
then, is conceded /; a machine which
could receive continual aecessions OF
power from sources outside of itself
that il, from the inexhaustible store of
natures dynamics-would be q per-
petual motion.
But this is not what the projectors
mean by their use of the phrase "per-
petual notion Their argument (f
such it may be called) assumes the
possibility of a machine which itself
generates the power that runs it. In
other words, a machine which creates
power-that is, a machine which
generates more power than 1t expends;
namely, power enough to re-supply
the original power and overcome fric-
ton besides. And such a machine is,
by the eternal laws Of physics, an eter-
nal impossibility. No matter how
simple or how complex, no matter how
d~elicately adjusted Or how slight the
friction, this memorable law remains
the force which originally move the
machine must generate another force
equal to itself (for any force less than
that would not keep the machine in
motion) and some additional force to
overcome the friction.
And the law is the same, no matter
what device be adopted. Suppose it
be tas in many attempts 1t has been)
a series of falling weights on n side
ofa wheel /; those weights must rise
exactly as high on the other side of
the wheel, and let the combination be
what it may they must pass through
as many rising curves as falling curves
that is, as many units of movement
against as with gravitation-and the
friction of the wheel be overcome be-
sides. Suppose it were possible to re-
duce friction to a minimum of one unit
in a machine whose power was ten
million units-then the power Of TO-
o66,00o would have to generate TO-
600, 001 to prevent a stoppage.
For further illustration take the de-
vice ola horizontal wheel, the original
power applied at point Il ON its cir
conference; Il moves around to its
original place, there an equal power
must be applied to send it around
again flor, of course, whatever power
sent it around once will be needed for
each successive round), and whatever
extra power is needed to overcome the
friction. Put the original power at
100, then that 100 power must generate
a power equal to 100 plus friction.
Alphabetically stated, your problem is
tomake 100=1O0xG. Ofcourse, + might
be reduced to a very small amount,
and it is barely conceivable that a
place might be found where there Is
nof-but not on this earth.
In a perfect misunderstanding the
production of it to be possible-a top
would run a surprisingly long time,
there being n o friction Oh the air but
it must rest on something, and that
means friction. If a top could be sus-
pended in mid-air, with some attract
i've force above it which exactly bal
anced gravitation, and then set in
motion in a perfect vacuum, the thing
might be accomplished but. such a
condition is obviously impossible, On
this earth there is no molten without
friction, and where there is friction a
perpetual motion is an eternal impos-
sibi,ity.