Is this Pulsed Plasma Electric Motor on eBay a legitimate invention or a scam?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2193742726&category=14431

I was going to post this in engineering, but I think this is more suitable. Can someone take a look at this page real quick? It sounds pretty cool, like something from star trek, so I'm pretty sure it needs to be debunked.

Its weird though, the seller has 100% positive feedback.

Originally posted by megashawn
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2193742726&category=14431

I was going to post this in engineering, but I think this is more suitable. Can someone take a look at this page real quick? It sounds pretty cool, like something from star trek, so I'm pretty sure it needs to be debunked.

Its weird though, the seller has 100% positive feedback.

Well, here's a start:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=ptxt&s1=6,271,614&OS=6,271,614&RS=6,271,614

I have posted the EBay page and the patent in the Particle
Physics forum. Perhaps we can get a pro to review the patent and the claims.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6384

If nothing else, Gotta love those magnets...

"made of high BH.sub.max permanent magnets"

The person on E-Bay is not selling the motor, just copies of the patent.

From the patent abstract it seems that what is unusual about this motor is that instead of a carbon on copper commutator the current travels across an air gap via plasma.

Possible reason this is of interest is that there are no brushes to wear out.

Originally posted by zoobyshoe
The person on E-Bay is not selling the motor, just copies of the patent.

Signed copies!

I pretty much assumed that he's asking for donations. If this device is so promising, then why does he need donations?

I'm still curious about the technical potential.

Originally posted by Ivan Seeking
Signed copies!

Hell, why not?

I pretty much assumed that he's asking for donations. If this device is so promising, then why does he need donations?

I'm not so sure I'd call this a solicitation for donations. Depending on the quality of the copies (If they're not just xeroxed) it will have cost him something to have them made. Therefore it is more likely that he's simply trying to advertise his motor and get interested parties to pay for the advertising.

The majority of inventors who are not already employed by a large company will never see their inventions manufactured and marketed. There are millions of cool inventions sitting dead in the patent office. I used to go through the patents at the library and couldn't believe some of the neat stuff I found that never went anywhere. Most of Tesla's and Edison's patents never went anywhere.

Once in a while an inventor is lucky and a big company will buy the rights to his patent, but for the most part they prefer to do their own R+D or steal the idea if they think they can get away with it. There was a famous case a few years back where Ford or someone had stolen some inventors new windshield wiper idea, and it resulted in a protracted court case. (I don't remember the outcome).

I'm still curious about the technical potential.

Impossible to tell. Apparently it's supposed to be super efficient. He's done away with all ferous metals in the armatures to prevent heating and hysteriesis and claims to be recycling what EMF there is that doesn't get converted to torque. Or something like that. (Patents are hard to follow, sometimes, and I couldn't get access to the drawings.)

Many have called this a Free Energy device, yet all New Technology takes time for proper classification. This device is simply a Breakthrough Pulsed Micro Plasma Technology that that does not conform to all the current rules of physics. Our knowledge level is constantly changing and transforning each and every day, and this is just another day. If this was not true - all our physics texts would all be copyrighted 1880 and we would not have nuclear reactors, because in 1880 - it WAS impossible to split the Atom

*Consults crackpot index*

Originally posted by russ_watters in the particle physics section

But here's the dead giveway: note, the last few words: "furthermore is the unique presence of system negative entropy." Negative entropy in a closed system? Uh, no. So he pulled a fast one on the USPTO. They are swamped and it happens more than you might think. If I had to guess, this is another copy of the Farnsworth tabletop fusion reactor that Greg made a thread about; repackaged with enough technobabble to fool a patent evaluator.