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Why don't perpetual motion machines ever work? - Netta Schramm

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TEDEd Animation

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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.

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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

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