The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-10-08
PERPETUAL MOTION.

PERPETUAL MOTION.
Insurmountable Obstacles In tho Way ok
| Making an IAsal Machine.
The reply to the question, is perpet-
ual motion possible? depends entirely
upon the limitations put upon the term
perpetual motion" If we understand
these words to mean q machine that
would start itself. furnish power for
doing work and continue in operation
SO long as required or until worn out,
without the assistance of any external
agency, we may say with the utmost
confidence perpetual motion is impossi-
BILE. If, on the other hand, we define
perpetual motion as machine depend
emit for its action upon the variability
of one or more of the forces of nature,
we may say perpetual motion is posi-
Bile The thermal motor, in which ex-
pansion and contraction are produced
by natural changes Of temperature. is
An example of motor of this kind. In
this machine the changes in volume in
body arc made to store energy to be
used in continuous, regular work. A
perpetual clock has been made on this
principle.
Sun motors Of various forms have
been devised, which might be used in
connection with storage mechanism for
furnishing power continuously. A sun
motor of sufficient size with a suita BILE
storage system could furnish power the
year round in almost any part of the
world; success being a question of hours
of sunshine and capacities of mo-
tor and storage system. OF course,
what is said with regard to the sun mo-
tor applies with equal force to water
wheels, windmills, tide and wave mo-
tors Without doubt all of these primo
use rs time advances and storage sys-
TENS are perfected. Still they do not
satisfy the seeker for the ideal perpet-
ual motion. This should fill the con-
ditions first men tioned; but, rs we have
already said, this is an impessibility.
The first and strongest reason for max
ing this positive assertion in regard to
the ideal perpetual motion is found in
the fact that never in the history of
man has he been able to make single
atom of matter or create the smallest
fraction of a unit of energy.
All the works OF man, of whatever
name or nature, have been constructed
of materials already in existence, and
all the work done by man and his en-
ginery has been accomplished by using
current natural forces, such as the
gravitation of water, the power of the
wind and the heat energy of the sun,
or the stored energy of coal and other
fuels, or Of chemicals. Having the
command of some of natures forces,
inventors have sought to circumvent
natures laws so as to make water run
up HILL" to cause masses of matter to
act alternately in accordance with and
in opposition to the law of gravitation;
in short, to deprive matter of gravity
while ascending, and to cause it to act
with the fail force of gravity while de-
scending.
Among perpetual motion devices, Of
this class, proposed and tried, is the one
having weights arranged on a wheel in
such a way as to fall outwardly and in
crease the leverage on one side of the
wheel, while they fold in and diminish
the leverage Of the opposite side of the
wheel. This machine. it is needless to
say, has never moved ON it's own ac-
count although it has become classic.
In this device the superior number Of
weights on the side where the leverage
Is the least exactly balances the weights
at the ends of the extended arms This
is true of all the notifications of this
type of machine.
Although the efforts of inventors in
this direction have been barren of re-
suits of the kind aimed at, yet their La
Dor has not been fruitless; many expert
menters who considered actual trial bet
ter than any amount Of study or calcu-
lation have learned that knowledge
comes of experience" and while discov-
ering the fallacy of the ideal perpetual
motion, they have been led to consider
more practical subjects, making inven-
tons which have proved beneficial to
the world and profitable to themselves.
If the inventor of machines inten ded to
be self-moving will not accede to New
toms statement that ''aetioa and reac-
ton are equal and opposite" third law
of motion), and that there is perfect
and wonderful balance in the forces of
nature, let him thoroughly aequaint
himself with the principles of physics,
and he will ere long be able to say with
certainty just how the balance will oc-
cur in any and every perpetual motion
machine of the ideal kind, and admit
that he has not the power of creating
energy. American