Steorn

[[File:Steorn cancellation.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A Steorn Orbo exhibition poster with cancellation notice from 2007. Oops!]]
{{pseudosciencenav}}
'''Steorn''' was a Dublin-based [[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] private limited company founded in 2001 by CEO Sean McCarthy as a dot-com business that "[provided] programme management and technical assessment advice for European companies engaging in e-commerce projects". In 2006 it changed its business model from e-commerce to <strike>handheld portal guns</strike> [[perpetual motion]], and gave cagey demonstrations of various devices for ten years without publishing any [[peer review|peer-reviewed]] papers.

In 2016 the company closed its doors, its CEO saying "We took their [[money]]. We raised their expectations and it fell flat on its fucking face. They've a right to be angry about that." before taking up a career as a professional online poker player.<ref>[http://dispatchesfromthefuture.com/2016/11/steorn-liquidates/ Steorn Liquidates] by Michael Ferrier (November 13, 2016) ''Dispatches from the Future''.</ref>

==Hello Orbo==
In 2006, Steorn announced to great fanfare with a very expensive full page advert in the ''Economist'' newspaper<ref>[http://dispatchesfromthefuture.com/images/steorn_economist_ad.jpg "All great truths begin with blasphemies"] Steorn advertisement in ''The Economist'' (reproduced on ''Dispatches from the Future'')</ref> that they had developed an [[over unity]] device capable of generating unlimited [[free energy (pseudoscience)|free energy]]. Some vague details were released about the device they were later to dub "Orbo" which, like many such [[crank]] devices before it, was alleged to work using a system of [[magnet]]s and rotors. The advertisement claimed that they were seeking a panel of experts to evaluate their claims.

A flurry of media speculation followed. Many noted that the Steorn company had previously been a design consultancy and that this may have been a highly successful exercise in guerrilla [[marketing]] for something entirely different. However, as time wore on and Steorn broke promises about releasing information and cancelled demos, speculation grew that the company was attempting to run some kind of investment [[scam]].

In June 2009, the panel of experts that Steorn alleged to have recruited turned out to actually exist. They delivered their verdict: the Steorn "Orbo" technology did not in fact produce energy and the claims of the company were unjustified. The conclusion that must be drawn from this is that Steorn themselves must have honestly believed their own claims, and that Orbo was an impressive example of self-[[delusion]]. Steorn issued a press release in the wake of the evaluation panel's report, essentially stating that "well, it works now!", along with a misguided video ad that showed the Orbo happily whirring away as [[Galileo gambit|harsh quotes from the jury were shown]]. Keep reaching for that [[rainbow]], guys.

==(Not-so) Triumphant Return==
After years of relative silence, Steorn made a blip on the news again in January 2015 with an article in the Sunday ''Business Post'', which claimed that despite some €20 million in losses, they'd been chugging away at new inventions (such as the "HephaHeat" overunity water heater, which was eventually taken up by a spinoff company that has been decidedly quiet<ref name=hitmarket>[http://dispatchesfromthefuture.com/2015/10/orbo_said_to_hit_market_in_december_1.html New video reveals internals of Orbo PowerCube] by Michael Ferrier (October 2015) ''Dispatches from the Future''.</ref>) and reworkings of old ones.<ref>[http://www.businesspost.ie/much-scorned-steorn-is-refusing-to-admit-defeat-2/ Much-scorned Steorn is refusing to admit defeat: The Irish technology company ridiculed in the world press for its promise of perpetual free energy is still developing products] by Barry J Whyte (Jan 25, 2015) ''The Business Post''.</ref> McCarthy's Facebook page lit up with new announcements, including a field test for the brand new Orbo Power Cube at a local pub (unsurprisingly, it was cut short due to "too much publicity").

The big news, however, came in October 28<sup>th</sup> of that year on an online webinar/press release. In it, McCarthy stated that the Orbo was ''finally'' going to be for sale that December, with the first units to be shipped before [[Christmas]]. With an initial price tag of €1200, the "Orbo O-Cube" was said to be composed of the Orbo device, a lithium-ion battery that is continually trickle-charged by the Orbo device, and a 2.1 amp USB output. Steorn claimed that the Orbo O-Cube was able to fully charge one tablet or 2-3 smartphones per day.<ref>[http://pesn.com/2015/12/03/9602697_Steorns-Orbo-power-cell_products-available-for-sale/ Steorn's Orbo power cell products available for sale] (December 3, 2015; 21:30 GMT) ''Pure Energy Systems''.</ref> A leaked technical demonstration showed that rather than magnets, the new Orbo was composed of a chemical sandwiched between two "dissimilar" metals (Hey, that sounds like a battery, doesn't it?!), and relied on the system's generation of an electric field in response to heating and cooling.<ref>[http://dispatchesfromthefuture.com/2015/10/new_video_reveals_internals_of_orbo_powe.html New video reveals internals of Orbo PowerCube] by Michael Ferrier (October 29, 2015) ''Dispatches from the Future''.</ref> Steorn's claims were notably more reserved than in the past, including the anticipation of a high failure rate with the first units, and being somewhat pessimistic regarding scalability potential, saying "we don't see a lot of opportunity at the larger scale" and claiming that they were only in the mobile electronics business.<ref name=hitmarket/>

The company was liquidated in 2016.

==See also==
*[[free energy (pseudoscience)|Free energy]]
*[http://www.steorn.com/ Steorn's website]

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

[[Category:Free energy]]
[[Category:Ireland]]
[[Category:Technology]]

Categories: Free energy, Ireland, Technology