The museum of unworkable devices.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of perpetual motion machines, specifically focusing on a collection of historical examples and their explanations. Participants explore the implications of these devices in the context of physics, particularly in statics and equilibrium.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express enthusiasm for a linked resource detailing various perpetual motion machines and their historical context.
  • One participant notes the educational value of these machines in statics problems, sharing a personal experience with a buoyancy motor concept.
  • Another participant intends to assign the resource as required reading for their students, indicating its perceived value in teaching.
  • There is a humorous acknowledgment of the irony that despite the impossibility of perpetual motion machines, the ideas continue to be revisited.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the historical significance and educational potential of the discussed devices, but there is no consensus on the implications of their continued exploration.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the nature of perpetual motion and its implications in physics remain unexamined, and the discussion does not resolve the underlying principles that invalidate these machines.

matthyaouw
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http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/unwork.htm

A great list and explanation of various types of 'perpetual motion machines' proposed throughout history. You'd be surprised how old some of these ideas are, and yet people are still pushing them...
 
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I love this link! Proving those things are in static equilibrium can make very good statics problems. I came up with a version of the buoyancy motor before (I knew it was impossible, just couldn't see why) and I had to get someone's help to figure out why it wouldn't work. If I ever become a statics teacher one day, I'll give my students some of those problems :wink:.
 
This is top notch! I'm going to assign this as required reading to my students.
 
matthyaouw said:
You'd be surprised how old some of these ideas are, and yet people are still pushing them...

Proving that perpetual motion machines don't work but are perpetual. :biggrin:
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Proving that perpetual motion machines don't work but are perpetual. :biggrin:
ZZZING!:biggrin:
 

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