Why don't perpetual motion machines ever work? - Netta Schramm
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Perpetual motion machines — devices that can do work indefinitely without any external energy source — have captured many inventors’ imaginations because they could totally transform our relationship with energy. There’s just one problem: they don’t work. Why not? Netta Schramm describes the pitfalls of perpetual motion machines.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
For more surprising machines that look like they shouldn't be possible check out the double pendulum, sometimes referred to as the chaos machine to get the feel for "quasi-perpetual."
And remember: beware of hoaxes – they all have a hidden engine somewhere!
The photograph of Robert Boyle comes from Wellcome Images, a website operated by Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Netta Schramm
- Director Jeremiah Dickey
- Script Editor Eleanor Nelsen
- Sound Designer Stephen LaRosa
- Associate Producer Jessica Ruby
- Content Producer Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Producer Alex Rosenthal
- Narrator Addison Anderson