Municipal educational institution Gymnasium No. 7

Physics Research Paper

Is it possible to create a perpetual motion machine?

Completed by: 10th grade student “A”

Zhuk Daria

Head: Dobrodumova Nadezhda Petrovna

physics teacher

Relevance

Nowadays, human life is filled with various technologies that make our lives easier. With the help of machines, people cultivate the land, extract oil, ore, and other minerals, move around, etc. The main property of machines is their ability to do work. A perpetual motion machine is an imaginary mechanism that continuously moves itself and, in addition, does some other useful work (for example, lifts a load). That is why for many centuries humanity has been trying to create a perpetual motion machine. But, unfortunately, due to the large number of applications by inventors for patents for the non-working perpetual motion machines they invented, a number of national patent offices and academies of sciences of foreign countries decided not to accept applications for inventions of an absolute engine at all, since this contradicts the law of conservation energy.

Target

Study the possibility of creating a perpetual motion machine, using examples of non-working models of a perpetual motion machine.

Tasks

1) Study the literature on the chosen topic

2) Study the most famous models of perpetual motion, find out the reasons for their fragility

3) Draw a conclusion based on the selected material.

Introduction, or the meaning of creating a perpetual motion machine

What is a perpetual motion machine?

Types of perpetual motion models, techniques and their combinations on the basis of which perpetual motion machines are constructed

17 most famous models of perpetual motion machines and why these engines do not work

Laws of nature that exclude the possibility of creating a perpetuum mobile

Attempts to create a perpetual motion machine often lead to fruitful discoveries

Perpetual motion machine is an existence that scientists do not deny

Conclusion, or my attitude towards the raised goal

Bibliography

Introduction, or the meaning of creating a perpetual motion machine

Modern human life is impossible without the use of a wide variety of machines that make his life easier. With the help of machines, people cultivate the land, extract oil, ore, and other minerals, move around, etc. The main property of machines is their ability to do work.

Here is how the remarkable French engineer, Sadi Carnot, wrote about the importance of a perpetual motion machine for humanity: “The general and philosophical concept of “perpetuum mobile” contains not only the idea of ​​motion, which after the first shock continues forever, but the action of a device or some collection of such , capable of developing an unlimited amount of driving force, capable of consistently bringing all bodies of nature from rest, if they were in it, breaking the principle of inertia in them, capable, finally, of drawing from itself the necessary forces to set the entire Universe in motion, maintaining and continuously accelerate its movement. This would really be the creation of a driving force. If this were possible, it would become useless to look for motive force in currents of water and air, in combustible material; we would have an endless source from which we could endlessly draw."

In the XII-XIII centuries, the Crusades began, and European society began to move. The craft began to develop faster and the machines that set the mechanisms in motion were improved. These were mainly water wheels and wheels driven by animals (horses, mules, bulls walking in a circle). So the idea arose to come up with an efficient machine driven by cheaper energy. If energy is taken from nothing, then it costs nothing and this is an extreme special case of cheapness - for nothing.

The idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine became even more popular in the 16th-17th centuries, during the era of the transition to machine production. The number of known perpetual motion projects has exceeded a thousand. Not only poorly educated artisans dreamed of creating a perpetual motion machine, but also some prominent scientists of their time, since at that time there was no fundamental scientific prohibition on the creation of such a device.

Already in the 15th-17th centuries, visionary naturalists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Girolamo Cardano, Simon Stevin, Galileo Galilei formulated the principle: “It is impossible to create a perpetual motion machine.” Simon Stevin was the first who, based on this principle, derived the law of equilibrium of forces on an inclined plane, which ultimately led him to the discovery of the law of addition of forces according to the triangle rule (addition of vectors).

By the middle of the 18th century, after centuries of attempts to create a perpetual motion machine, most scientists began to believe that this was impossible. It was just an experimental fact.

Since 1775, the French Academy of Sciences refused to consider perpetual motion projects, although even at that time French academicians had no solid scientific grounds to fundamentally deny the possibility of drawing energy from nothing.

The impossibility of obtaining additional work from nothing was firmly substantiated only with the creation and approval of the “law of conservation of energy” as a universal and one of the most fundamental laws of nature.

First, Gottfried Leibniz formulated the law of conservation of mechanical energy in 1686. And the law of conservation of energy as a universal law of nature was formulated independently by Julius Mayer (1845), James Joule (1843–50) and Hermann Helmholtz (1847).

What is a perpetual motion machine?

A perpetual motion machine (lat. perpetuum mobile) is an imaginary but unrealistic engine that, after being put into operation, performs work for an unlimited time. Each machine operating without an influx of energy from the outside, after a certain period of time, will completely use up the energy reserve it has to overcome the forces of resistance and must stop, since continuing to work would mean obtaining energy from nothing.

Many inventors tried to build a machine - a perpetual motion machine, capable of doing useful work without any changes inside the machine. All these attempts ended in failure. The perpetuum mobile is the magical idea of ​​reproducing this perpetual motion in an artificial structure and making it work like a genie out of the bottle. It is not surprising that the idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine has a magical appeal even today. Perpetual motion projects seem internally obvious to an ordinary person, especially if he himself came up with them.

Types of perpetual motion models, techniques and their combinations, on the basis of which perpetual motion machines are constructed.

Perpetual motion machine of the first kind- an imaginary, continuously operating machine that, once started, would do work without receiving energy from the outside. A perpetual motion machine of the 1st kind contradicts the law of conservation and transformation of energy and is therefore unfeasible.

Perpetual motion machine of the second kind an imaginary heat engine, which, as a result of a circular process (cycle), completely converts the heat received from any one “inexhaustible” source (ocean, atmosphere, etc.) into work. The action of a perpetual motion machine of the 2nd kind does not contradict the law of conservation and transformation of energy, but violates the second law of thermodynamics, and therefore such an engine is not feasible. It can be calculated that by cooling the world's oceans by just one degree, it is possible to obtain energy sufficient to meet all the needs of humanity at the current level of consumption for 14,000 years.

Perpetual motion machine of the “third kind”. The scientific term “perpetual motion machine of the third kind” does not exist (this is a joke), but there are still inventors who want to extract energy from “nothing”. Or from almost nothing. Now "nothing" is called "physical vacuum", and they want to extract an unlimited amount of energy from the "physical vacuum". Their projects are not inferior in simplicity and naivety to the projects of their predecessors who lived centuries ago. The new perpetual motion machines are called “Vacuum-energy installations”; inventors report fantastic efficiency of such engines - 400%, 3000%! They are trying to create them now, unfortunately, in respected design bureaus, which indicates insufficient training of modern engineers in the field of physics. A discussion of why this happens is beyond the scope of our poster. But these engineers are at least conscientiously mistaken. Unfortunately, there is another category of creators of perpetual motion machines. These are hoaxers, cunning people and swindlers. Let's give just two examples:

1. Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great artist, but also an engineer, organizer of holidays and amusement rides. He also stubbornly tried for several years to create a perpetual motion machine and came to the conclusion that it was impossible. Here are his words, very important for understanding the problem of perpetual motion, spoken at the end of the 15th century: “The search for the design of a perpetual wheel - the source of perpetual motion - can be called one of the most senseless misconceptions of man. For centuries, everyone who dealt with hydraulics, military machines and other things spent a lot of time and money searching for a perpetual motion machine. But the same thing happened to all of them as to the gold seekers (alchemists): there was always some little thing that interfered with success. My little work will benefit them: they will no longer have to flee from kings and rulers without fulfilling their promises.” Despite such a clear understanding of the impossibility of creating a perpetual motion machine, there are lines in Leonardo’s notebooks that say that he was ready to present to the public a supposedly “working model” of a perpetual motion machine. In a commentary on a drawing of an imaginary perpetual motion machine, Leonardo wrote: “Make a model in great secrecy and widely announce its demonstration.” This perpetual motion machine was based on Archimedes' law and, knowing that the engine would not work, Leonardo intended to organize an imperceptible flow of “living water” (that is, to drive the engine with an imperceptibly organized external flow of water). Historians speculate why Leonardo da Vinci resorted to hoaxes, but the fact remains a fact. Even great naturalists are often driven by non-scientific motives. What can we say about ordinary engineers who, wholeheartedly believing their hunch, are drawn into a dangerous game with the powers that be, trying to get from them funds to develop their own, in this case unrealistic, devices. Often they must "flee from kings and rulers without fulfilling their promises."

2. Here is the story of Peter the Great, who almost bought a supposedly perpetual motion machine for a lot of money. Peter I was an outstanding organizer of industrial production and shipbuilding. He delved into the technical details of most projects and, naturally, he was also concerned about the problem of perpetual motion. In 1715–22, Peter spent a lot of effort to buy Dr. Orfireus's perpetual motion machine. Orfireus's "self-propelled wheel" was probably the most successful hoax of a perpetual motion machine. The inventor agreed to sell his car only for 100 thousand efimki (thalers), which was then a huge amount. At the beginning of 1725, the Tsar wanted to personally inspect the perpetual motion machine in Germany, but Peter soon died. This is the typical path of a successful engineer who, I would like to believe due to circumstances, becomes a swindler. Orfireus was born in Germany in 1680, studied theology, medicine, painting and, finally, began to invent a “perpetual” motion machine. Until his death in 1745, he lived on a decent income, which he received by showing his car, first at fairs, and then with powerful patrons, such as the Polish king and the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. The Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel arranged serious tests for the Orfireus perpetual motion machine. The engine was locked in the room and started, and then the room was locked, sealed and guarded. Two weeks later the room was opened, and the wheel was still spinning “with unrelenting speed.” Then the Landgrave arranged another test. The machine was started again, and now no one entered the room for forty days. After opening the room, the machine continued to work. The rogue inventor received a paper from the Landgrave, which stated that the “perpetual motion machine” makes 50 revolutions per minute, is capable of lifting 16 kg to a height of 1.5 m, and can also operate a blacksmith’s bellows and a grinding machine. That's why Peter the Great became interested in the wonderful machine. But not everyone believed Orfireus. Anyone who caught him cheating was offered a very large prize of 1000 marks. But, as often happens, Orfireus became a victim of a domestic squabble. He quarreled with his wife and her maid, who knew the secret of the “perpetual motion machine.” It turns out that the “perpetual motion machine” was really set in motion by people who imperceptibly pulled a thin cord. These people were the inventor's brother and his maid. Orfireus was indeed a very good inventor and a risky man if he could hide these people in a closed room of the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel for several weeks. After all, they had to not only eat something, but also just go to the toilet. It is characteristic that Orfireus persistently asserted that his wife and servants reported on him out of malice: “the whole world is filled with evil people who are very impossible to believe.” The envoy of Peter the Great, the librarian and scientist Schumacher, who was preparing the deal with Orfireus, wrote to Peter that French and English scientists “respect all these perpetual mobiles for nothing and say that they are against mathematical principles.” This suggests that already one hundred and thirty years before the formulation of the law of conservation of energy, most scientists were convinced that it was impossible to create a perpetual motion machine.

Perpetual motion machines are usually constructed using the following techniques or combinations thereof:

1). lifting water using an Archimedean screw;

2). rise of water using capillaries;

3). use of a wheel with unbalanced loads;

4). natural magnets;

5). electromagnetism;

6). steam or compressed air.

17 most famous models of perpetual motion machines and why these engines do not work

Project 1. Wheel with rolling balls

Inventor's idea: A wheel with heavy balls rolling in it. Whatever the position of the wheel, the weights on the right side of the wheel will be further from the center than the weights on the left half. Therefore, the right half must always pull the left half and make the wheel turn. This means the wheel must rotate forever.

Although the weights on the right side are always further from the center than the weights on the left side, the number of these weights is smaller just enough so that the sum of the gravitational forces of the weights multiplied by the projection of the radii perpendicular to the direction of gravity on the right and left are equal (FiLi = FjLj) .

Project 2. Chain of balls on a triangular prism

Inventor's idea: A chain of 14 identical balls is thrown through a trihedral prism. There are four balls on the left, two on the right. The remaining eight balls balance each other. Consequently, the chain will go into perpetual motion counterclockwise.

Why the engine does not work: The loads are moved only by the component of gravity parallel to the inclined surface. On a longer surface there are more loads, but the angle of inclination of the surface is proportionally less. Therefore, the gravitational force of the goods on the right, multiplied by the sine of the angle, is equal to the gravitational force of the goods on the left, multiplied by the sine of the other angle.

Project 3. “Hottabych’s Bird”

Inventor's idea: A thin glass flask with a horizontal axis in the middle is sealed into a small container. The free end of the cone almost touches its bottom. A little ether is poured into the lower part of the toy, and the upper, empty part, is pasted over the outside with a thin layer of cotton wool. A glass of water is placed in front of the toy and tilted, forcing it to “drink.” The bird begins to bend over two or three times a minute and dip its head into the glass. Time after time, continuously, day and night, the bird bows until the water in the glass runs out.

The bird's head and beak are covered with cotton wool. When the bird “drinks water”, the cotton wool becomes saturated with water. As water evaporates, the temperature of the bird's head decreases. Ether is poured into the lower part of the bird’s body, above which there are ether vapors (the air has been pumped out). As the bird's head cools, the vapor pressure at the top decreases. But the pressure at the bottom remains the same. The excess pressure of ether vapor in the lower part lifts the liquid ether up the tube, the bird's head becomes heavier and tilts towards the glass.

As soon as the liquid ether reaches the end of the tube, the vapors of warm ether from the lower part will fall into the upper part, the vapor pressure will equalize and the liquid ether will flow down, and the bird will again raise its beak, while capturing water from the glass. The evaporation of water begins again, the head cools down and everything repeats. If the water did not evaporate, the bird would not move. Evaporation from the surrounding space requires energy (concentrated in water and ambient air).

A “real” perpetual motion machine must work without the expenditure of external energy. Therefore, Hottabych's bird is not actually a perpetual motion machine.

Project 4. Chain of floats

Inventor's idea: The high tower is filled with water. A rope with 14 hollow cubic boxes with a side of 1 meter is thrown through pulleys installed at the top and bottom of the tower. The boxes located in the water, under the action of the Archimedes force directed upward, must sequentially float to the surface of the liquid, dragging the entire chain with them, and the boxes on the left descend down under the influence of gravity. Thus, the boxes alternately fall from air into liquid and vice versa.

Why the engine does not work: Boxes entering the liquid encounter very strong resistance from the liquid, and the work to push them into the liquid is no less than the work done by the Archimedes force when the boxes float to the surface.

Project 5. Archimedes screw and water wheel

Inventor's idea: The Archimedes screw, rotating, lifts water into the upper tank, from where it flows out of the tray in a stream that hits the blades of the water wheel. The water wheel rotates the grindstone and at the same time moves, with the help of a series of gears, the same Archimedes screw that lifts water into the upper tank. The screw turns the wheel, and the wheel turns the screw! This project, invented back in 1575 by the Italian mechanic Strado the Elder, was then repeated in numerous variations.

Why the engine does not work: Most of the perpetual motion machines projects could actually work if it were not for the existence of friction. If this is an engine, there must also be moving parts, which means that it is not enough for the engine to rotate itself: it also needs to generate excess energy to overcome the friction force, which cannot be removed in any way.

Project 6. Brownian-based movement of gas molecules.

Inventor's idea: The ratchet wheel is mounted on the shaft, and a small latch (pawl) is pressed against it with a spring. At the other end of the shaft, four blades are mounted, which are located in a vessel with gas. It is implied that the device is very small, molecular scale, from the field of nanotechnology. Gas molecules continuously and chaotically bombard the blades, causing the shaft to jerk in one direction or the other. But the ratchet can only turn in one direction, since the pawl prevents it from turning in the other direction. It turns out that the wheel will constantly rotate due to the Brownian motion of gas molecules. This perpetual motion machine does not violate the law of conservation of energy. It simply uses the energy of thermal motion of molecules.

Why doesn't the engine work?: violates the second law of thermodynamics.

Project 7. Magnet and gutters

Inventor's idea: A strong magnet is placed on the stand. Two inclined gutters are leaning against it, one below the other, and the upper groove has a small hole in its upper part, and the lower one is curved at the end. If, the inventor reasoned, a small iron ball B is placed on the upper chute, then, due to the attraction of magnet A, the ball will roll upward; however, having reached the hole, it will fall into the lower chute N, roll down along it, run up the curve D of this chute and end up on the upper chute M; from here, attracted by the magnet, it will roll up again, fall through the hole again, roll down again and again find itself on the upper chute to start moving again from the beginning. Thus, the ball will continuously run back and forth, performing “perpetual motion”. The design of this magnetic perpetuum mobile was described in the 17th century by the English bishop John Wilkens.

Why the engine does not work: The inventor thought that the ball, having rolled down the groove N to its lower end, would still have a speed sufficient to lift it up along the curve D. This would be the case if the ball rolled under the influence of gravity alone: ​​then it would roll at an accelerated rate. But our ball is under the influence of two forces: gravity and magnetic attraction. The latter, by assumption, is so significant that it can force the ball to rise from position B to C. Therefore, along the groove N the ball will roll not accelerated, but slowly, and even if it reaches the lower end, then, in any case, it will not accumulate the speed necessary to rise along the curve D.

Project 8. “Eternal water supply”

Inventor's idea: The water pressure in the large tank must constantly force water through the pipe into the upper container.

Project 9. Automatic watch winding

Inventor's idea: The basis of the device is a large-sized mercury barometer: a bowl of mercury suspended in a frame, and a large flask of mercury tilted over it, neck down. The vessels are strengthened movably relative to each other; When atmospheric pressure increases, the flask lowers and the bowl rises; when the pressure decreases, the opposite is true. Both movements cause a small gear to rotate, always in one direction, and the clock weights are lifted through the system of gears.

Why is this not a perpetual motion machine: The energy required to operate the clock is “drawn” from the environment. In essence, this is not much different from a wind engine - except that it is extremely low in power.

Project 10. Oil rising through the wicks

Inventor's idea: The liquid poured into the lower vessel is lifted by wicks into the upper vessel, which has a trench for draining the liquid. Along the drain, the liquid falls onto the wheel blades, causing it to rotate. Then the oil that has flowed down again rises through the wicks to the upper vessel. Thus, the stream of oil flowing down the chute onto the wheel is not interrupted for a second, and the wheel must always be in motion.

Why the engine does not work: Liquid will not flow down from the upper, bent part of the wick. Capillary attraction, overcoming the force of gravity, lifted the liquid up the wick - but the same reason holds the liquid in the pores of the wet wick, preventing it from dripping from it.

Project 11. Wheel with folding weights

Inventor's idea: The idea is based on the use of a wheel with unbalanced loads. Folding sticks with weights at the ends are attached to the edges of the wheel. In any position of the wheel, the loads on the right side will be thrown further from the center than on the left; this half, therefore, must pull the left and thereby cause the wheel to rotate. This means that the wheel will rotate forever, at least until the axle wears out.

Why the engine does not work: The weights on the right side are always further from the center, however, it is inevitable that the wheel will be positioned in such a way that the number of these weights is less than on the left. Then the system is balanced - therefore, the wheel will not rotate, but will stop after a few swings.

Project 12. Installation by engineer Potapov

Inventor's idea: Potapov hydrodynamic thermal installation with an efficiency exceeding 400%. An electric motor (EM) drives a pump (PS), which forces water to circulate along the circuit (shown by arrows). The circuit contains a cylindrical column (OK) and a heating battery (WH). The end of pipe 3 can be connected to the column (OK) in two ways: 1) to the center of the column; 2) tangent to the circle forming the wall of the cylindrical column. When connected according to method 1, the amount of heat given off to the water is equal (taking into account losses) to the amount of heat emitted by the battery (BT) into the surrounding space. But as soon as the pipe is connected using method 2, the amount of heat emitted by the battery (BT) increases 4 times! Measurements carried out by our and foreign specialists have shown that when 1 kW is supplied to the electric motor (EM), the battery (BM) produces as much heat as it should have if 4 kW was consumed. When the pipe is connected according to method 2, the water in the column (OK) receives a rotational movement, and it is this process that leads to an increase in the amount of heat emitted by the battery (BT).

Why the engine does not work: The described installation was actually assembled at NPO Energia and, according to the authors, it worked. The inventors did not question the correctness of the law of conservation of energy, but argued that the engine draws energy from the “physical vacuum.” Which is impossible, because the physical vacuum has the lowest possible energy level and it is impossible to draw energy from it.

A more prosaic explanation seems most likely: the liquid is unevenly heated across the cross-section of the pipe and, as a result, errors occur in temperature measurements. It is also possible that energy, against the will of the inventors, is “pumped” into the installation from the electrical circuit.

Project 13. Connections between a dynamo and an electric motor

Inventor's idea: The pulleys of the electric motor and the dynamo are connected by a drive belt, and the wires from the dynamo are connected to the motor. If the dynamo is given an initial impulse, then the current generated by it, entering the motor, will set it in motion; the energy of the motor movement will be transferred by the belt to the dynamo pulley and will set it in motion. Thus, the inventors believe, the machines will begin to move one another, and this movement will never stop until both machines wear out.

Why the engine does not work: Even if each of the connected machines had a hundred percent efficiency, we could make them move in this manner without stopping only in the complete absence of friction. The combination of the named machines (their “unit”, in the language of engineers) is essentially one machine that sets itself in motion. In the absence of friction, the unit, like any pulley, would move forever, but no benefit could be derived from such movement: it would be necessary to force the “engine” to perform external work, and it would immediately stop. Before us would be perpetual motion, but not perpetual motion. If there was friction, the unit would not move at all.

Project 14. Based on an Archimedean screw

Inventor's idea: The LM part is a wooden cylinder with a spiral groove cut into it. In the device, this cylinder is closed with tin plates AB. The three water wheels are marked with the letters H, I, K, and the water tank located below is marked with the letters CD. When the cylinder rotates, all the water that rises upward from the reservoir will enter the vessel E, and from this vessel will pour onto the wheel H and, therefore, rotate the wheel and the entire screw as a whole. If the amount of water falling on wheel H is insufficient to rotate the screw, then it will be possible to use water flowing from this wheel into vessel F and falling further on wheel I. As a result, the force of the water will double. If this is not enough, then the water entering the second wheel I can be directed to the vessel G and to the third wheel K. This cascade can be continued by installing as many additional wheels as the size of the entire device allows.

Why the engine does not work: The device will not work for two reasons. Firstly, the water that rises to the top does not form any significant flow, which then rushes down. Secondly, this flow, even in the form of a cascade, is not capable of rotating the screw.

Project 15. Based on Archimedes' law

Inventor's idea: Part of the wooden drum, mounted on an axis, is constantly immersed in water. If Archimedes' law is true, then the part immersed in water should float up and, as long as the buoyant force is greater than the frictional force on the drum axis, the rotation will never stop...

Why the engine does not work: The drum will not budge. The direction of the acting forces will always be perpendicular to the surface of the drum, i.e. along the radius to the axis. From everyday experience, everyone knows that it is impossible to make a wheel rotate by applying force along the radius of the wheel. To cause rotation, a force must be applied perpendicular to the radius, that is, tangential to the circumference of the wheel. Now it is not difficult to understand why, in this case, the attempt to implement “perpetual” motion would end in failure.

Project 16. Based on attracting magnets

Inventor's idea: A steel ball C is constantly attracted to a magnet B, which is positioned so that under its influence a wheel with slots on the rim rotates. (see figure) While the ball is moving, the wheel is also rotating.

Why the engine does not work: gravity and magnetic attraction balance each other.

Project 17. Radiant watches

This "radium clock" was demonstrated to the public in 1903 by John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh). A year later he received the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Inventor's idea: A small amount of radium salt is placed in a glass tube (A), which is coated on the outside with a conductive material. At the end of the tube there is a brass cap from which hang a pair of gold petals. All this is in a glass flask from which the air has been pumped out. The inner surface of the cone is covered with a conductive foil (B), which is grounded through a wire (C).

The negative electrons (beta rays) that radium emits pass through the glass, leaving the central part positively charged. As a result, the golden petals, pushing away from each other, diverge. When they touch the foil, a discharge occurs, the petals drop and the cycle begins again. The half-life of radium is 1620 years. Therefore, such watches can work for many, many centuries without visible changes.

At one time, radium watches were a real perpetuum mobile, since the nature of nuclear energy was not known, and it was not clear where the energy came from. With the development of science, it became clear that the law of conservation of energy still prevails, and nuclear energy also obeys this law, like all other forms of energy.

Why is the engine not used?: The power of this engine per second is so insignificant that no mechanism can be driven. To achieve any tangible results, it is necessary to have a much larger supply of radium. If we remember that radium is an extremely rare and expensive element, then we agree that a free engine of this kind would be too ruinous.

Laws of nature that exclude the possibility of creating a perpetuum mobile

In order for a perpetual motion machine to work, it must provide itself with energy. In other words, he must produce it in sufficient quantities, without having any external source. Imagine that you need to calculate the balance of energy expended to perform a particular type of work, be it moving an ocean liner, or hammering nails, or flying at supersonic speed. In any case, the amount of energy expended must always be equal to the amount of energy produced or released as a result of work. The energy that we vaguely call lost does not actually disappear. It simply transforms into a different form, eliminating the possibility of its further transformation into mechanical or electrical energy. This happens because as a result of friction, heating occurs, and part of the energy is released in the form of heat. And this, generally speaking, is true for losses of any type of energy, because they ultimately always turn into heat. The same idea can be expressed in other words: in all cases, the total final amount of energy is equal to its total initial amount. Energy does not appear or disappear, but passes into another form, sometimes of little use or completely useless. For example, the heat generated in an internal combustion engine is an unnecessary and yet inevitable product of energy conversion. It can be used, say, to heat the interior of a car, but whether we do it or not, part of the work done by the engine will still be spent on heat losses. Everything that was mentioned above represents the essence of the most important law of nature - the law of conservation of energy, or the first law of thermodynamics. We have already said that a perpetual motion machine must perform useful work without having any external sources of energy. Simply put, fuel should not be burned in it and no mechanical forces should be applied to it. There is a number of evidence that it was the search for such an unrealizable machine that laid the foundation of mechanics as a science. The great scientists of the past accepted as an axiom the impossibility of creating a perpetuum mobile and thereby helped the germs of a new science to break through.

Sometimes it is easy to prove the unsuitability of a particular perpetual motion machine project and thereby show that this particular method of its implementation will not lead to the desired result. But this does not mean that the possibility of building a perpetuum mobile by other means is automatically excluded. Therefore, until the law of conservation of energy was clearly formulated, the impossibility of creating a mechanical perpetual motion machine, established by centuries of experience, did not at all mean the impossibility of creating, say, a chemical engine. Of course, the futility of the search for perpetual motion was recognized even before this law became the property of science. However, this opinion was not based on some general principles, but on an analysis of the operating principle of individual “perpetual motion machines.” A careful examination of the next project always revealed some theoretical errors, due to which the engine could not work, and the inventor’s claims turned out to be unfounded.

Philosophers, mathematicians, and engineers contributed to the development of the now generally accepted criterion for the impracticability of perpetual motion, which proclaims the impossibility of creating energy from nothing. The law of conservation of energy became an inevitable obstacle for the inventors of the perpetuum mobile. And all attempts to overcome this obstacle ended in failure. But soon a more general position was formulated, called the second law of thermodynamics. This principle, to put it somewhat simplistically, states that heat cannot increase spontaneously; in other words, if a more heated body is brought into contact with a less heated one, then an equalization of temperatures will be observed, and not an increase in their difference. This phenomenon (temperature equalization) had no theoretical explanation for a long time. First formulated by the German physicist Rudolf Julius Emmanuel Clausis (1822-1888), the second law of thermodynamics was purely empirical in nature. True, an analogy was pointed out between the change in temperature of contacting bodies and the flow of water flowing down under the influence of its own gravity, but the situation was complicated by the fact that it was not possible to establish what external forces control this thermal process. Therefore, although experiment always revealed a decrease in temperature, until the last quarter of the last century doubts were expressed about the universality of the second law of thermodynamics. Moreover, some scientists have tried to prove that there are cases that violate the validity of this principle. In 1875, Maxwell’s famous “Theory of Heat” was published, which stated that the nature of the action of the second law of thermodynamics can be clarified by the following thought experiment. If we imagine some kind of device that would sort molecules by their speed, then it would be possible to heat one half of a certain volume of gas and cool the other without wasting work and without violating the law of conservation of energy. The result of this thought experiment will be an increase in heat in one part of the vessel with gas and a decrease in the other. Modified in this way, the second law of thermodynamics acquired a probabilistic rather than deterministic character. At the end of the last century, physicists Boltzmann and Planck laid the scientific foundations for this issue. Boltzmann, in particular, showed that the spontaneous equalization of the temperatures of two bodies is the result of the transition of the molecules of these bodies from a less probable to a more probable state. A hypothetical transfer of heat in the direction from a less heated body to a more heated one in the light of this evidence is possible, but unlikely. This point can be illustrated with a simple example. The law of gas diffusion is very close to the law of heat transfer, since during the process of diffusion, gas molecules are distributed evenly. If the gas is not influenced from the outside, then there will be a tendency to equalize its density. It would be strange, to say the least, if a gas that initially had a uniform density suddenly began to accumulate in one part of the vessel, leaving unfilled space in another part. A similar, highly unlikely phenomenon would occur with heat moving from a less heated to a more heated body. Let us now suppose that there is a tiny vessel that can hold only two molecules, one in each half of the vessel. These molecules are in continuous motion, hitting the walls and randomly jumping back and forth from one part of the vessel to another. In this case, it is obvious that there are four possible options for the arrangement of molecules in space:

A--B, A--A, AB<--0, 0-->AB.

In two of the four options, a vacuum occurs in one half of the vessel. Therefore, the probability of such an event is 1/2, and we can expect that half the time one part of the vessel will be empty. As the number of molecules increases, the probability of a vacuum occurring drops sharply. Given a total number of molecules equal to n, the probability that half the container is empty is (1/2)n-1. In practice, the number of molecules is huge, so the probability of such an event is close to zero. So, for a real case, when the pressure difference in two halves of one cubic centimeter of gas does not exceed one percent, the probability of a vacuum occurring in any half of this cube is negligible, small; such an event can happen once in 101016 years! And although these arguments look quite impressive, one circumstance still needs to be clarified. We should not think that if the occurrence of a vacuum is such a rare event, then we really will have to wait for its appearance for many millions of years. A vacuum can be created in a minute! Moreover, a vacuum can occur twice within a minute, but for a very short time. Dr. Hale of the US Bureau of Standards suggested that a similar system of evidence could lead us to a similar conclusion about the possibility of spontaneous appearance of a noticeable temperature difference in a certain volume of gas. It is known that temperature is determined by the speed of movement of its molecules. At a temperature that is considered constant, the speeds of individual gas molecules are far from identical. However, they are all statistically distributed around the average value, which always remains unchanged. Let's look again at a microscopic vessel containing only four molecules. Let this time two molecules F1 and F2 be fast, and two other molecules S1 and S2 be slow. Assuming that there is no change in gas density, we get six different options for the arrangement of molecules in the vessel:

F1S1 - F2S2F2S1 - F1S2F1S2 - F2S1F2S2 - F1S1S2S1 - F1F2F1F2 - S1S2

The first four cases are cases when the gas temperature in both halves of the vessel is the same, since modern measuring instruments give its average value. In the last two options there is a temperature difference; the probability of their occurrence for four molecules is 1/3.

As the number of molecules increases, the likelihood of any noticeable temperature difference in the two parts of our hypothetical vessel decreases sharply. It should also be borne in mind that in any volume of gas, the temperature of which we are able to measure or control, the temperature of each individual very small part of it constantly fluctuates relative to the calibration curve of the instrument, and in general the gas is as non-uniform in temperature as the surface of the ocean is not completely flat.

So, the probability of a noticeable temperature difference in the gas is very small. But it still exists, and, therefore, one should not only recognize the possibility of heat transfer from a less heated body to a more heated one, but also agree that such a transition is continuously taking place, although on such a small scale that we are unlikely to be able to do it. observe. Therefore, as the German philosopher Karl Christian Planck (1819-1880) argued, there is a possibility, albeit a very small one, that water will freeze in a kettle placed over a fire.

Scientists' recognition of the possibility, firstly, of the transfer of heat from a less heated body to a more heated one and, secondly, the occurrence of a slight, but still noticeable change in temperature and density, served as the basis for further reasoning. The question arose as to whether it was possible to create a device in which, as a result of such changes, the temperature difference would gradually increase, due to which it would be possible to further perform useful work? This question arose about eighty years ago, and this hypothetical device itself entered science under the name of a perpetual motion machine of the second kind. It received this name because it had to do work without generating energy and contrary to the second law of thermodynamics.

The design of the device was first proposed by the Parisian Lippmann in 1900, and then in 1907 by Svedberg from Uppsala (Sweden). In 1912, Smoluchowski published an extensive theoretical discussion of this problem. He showed that it is hardly worth hoping that with the help of a device containing gas molecules it will be possible to accumulate these so rare “deviations” from the second principle, since any such device will itself be subject to changes at the molecular level. The constantly occurring redistribution of molecular speeds will destroy all temperature differences that were supposed to accumulate in the device and that are fundamentally necessary for its operation.

This evidence seems very convincing, although discouraging. The conclusion that follows from it is remarkable: the second law of thermodynamics for large periods of time is valid only in a statistical sense.

It is interesting that thirteen years later, in March 1925, speaking to employees of the American Bureau of Standards, Professor Debye stated: in order to reconcile the phenomenon of light interference with quantum theory, it is necessary to assume that the law of conservation of energy is true only in a statistical sense. In his opinion, energy can be created in very short periods of time, and over a long period of time its average value will remain unchanged. Debye's assumption contains a hidden hint that perpetual motion of the first kind, that is, the true creation of energy, represents a kind of “scientific probability” and even a “possibility”.

Attempts to create a perpetual motion machine often lead to fruitful discoveries

An excellent example is the way in which Stevin, a remarkable Dutch scientist of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, discovered the law of equilibrium of forces on an inclined plane. This mathematician deserves much greater fame than what fell to his lot, because he made many important discoveries that we now constantly use: he invented decimal fractions, introduced the use of exponents into algebra, discovered the hydrostatic law, which was later rediscovered by Pascal.

He discovered the law of equilibrium of forces on an inclined plane, without relying on the rule of parallelogram of forces, only with the help of a drawing, which is reproduced here.

A chain of 14 identical balls is thrown through a trihedral prism. What will happen to this chain? The lower part, hanging like a garland, balances itself. But do the other two parts of the chain balance each other? In other words: are the right two balls balanced by the left four? Of course, yes, otherwise the chain would forever run by itself from right to left, because in the place of the slipped balls others would be placed every time, and the balance would never be restored. But since we know that the chain thrown in the indicated way does not move by itself at all, then, obviously, the two right balls are really balanced by the four left ones. It turns out like a miracle: two balls pull with the same force as four.

From this imaginary miracle Stevin deduced an important law of mechanics. He reasoned like this. Both chains - the long and the short - weigh differently: one chain is heavier than the other by the same amount as the long edge of the prism is longer than the short one. It follows from this that, in general, two loads connected by a cord balance each other on inclined planes if their weights are proportional to the lengths of these planes.

In the particular case when the short plane is vertical, we obtain the well-known law of mechanics: in order to hold a body on an inclined plane, it is necessary to act in the direction of this plane with a force that is as many times less than the weight of the body as the length of the plane is greater than its height.

Thus, based on the idea of ​​​​the impossibility of a perpetual motion machine, an important discovery was made in mechanics. In addition, Simon Stevin did a lot of deep, pioneering work in physics and mathematics. He substantiated and introduced decimal fractions and negative roots of equations into circulation in Europe, formulated the conditions for the existence of a root in a given interval and proposed a method for its approximate calculation. Stevin was probably the first applied mathematician to translate his calculations into numbers. To solve specific practical problems, he constantly developed applied computing. Stevin also included accounting as a science of rational management, that is, he stood at the origins of mathematical methods in economics. Stevin believed that “the purpose of accounting is to determine the entire national wealth of the country.” He was superintendent of military and financial affairs for the great commander, creator of the modern regular army, Moritz of Orange. His position in modern terms is “Deputy Commander for Logistics.”

An interesting person lives in Samara - inventor Alexander Stepanovich Fabristov, who is now over 80 years old. Even in his youth, he became fascinated by the idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine, composed a lot of its designs, created many samples, but all of them were unsuccessful. And only 10 years ago he finally created a device that he calls a “perpetual motion machine,” and which, he is convinced, is capable of generating “free” energy only due to gravitational forces. Its device is not so sophisticated in design and consists of 8 metal “cups” mounted on a crosspiece, lead angles, ratchets and two gear arches. The “glass” attached to the crosspiece moves in a circle, passes through one arc - the square inside moves and the force arm becomes larger. Passes through another - the square returns to its original place. So, it turns out that the four “glasses” on one side have significantly more mass than the glasses on the other, due to the action of gravitational forces. Unfortunately, his “perpetual motion machine” is not patented or tested, since our Russian Institute of Patent Examination does not accept projects of such engines for consideration. It is beyond the power of a single inventor to create a prototype, and it seems indecent for industrial enterprises to engage in various inventions. But, in theory, this is an environmentally friendly engine that does not spoil the landscape and nature, and does not pollute the atmosphere.

Tracing history, one can notice that some inventors and scientists fervently believed in the possibility of creating a perpetual motion machine, while others stubbornly resisted this, searching for new truths. Galileo Galilei, proving that any heavy body cannot rise above the level from which it fell, discovered the law of inertia. Thus, benefits for science came from both believers and non-believers. The famous physicist, academician Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg believed that, in essence, the idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine was scientific. Whether good or bad, it prepared fertile ground for future natural scientists to comprehend higher truths. As Tomsk professor and philosopher A.K. Sukhotin said well: “... steadily stirring up interest, the idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine has become a kind of ideological engine of eternal combustion, throwing fresh logs into the furnaces of searching thoughts.”

Meanwhile, due to the large number of applications from inventors for patents on the perpetual motion machines they invented, a number of national patent offices and academies of sciences of foreign countries (in particular, the Paris Academy of Sciences adopted a ban back in the 17th century) decided not to accept to consider an application for the invention of an absolute engine, since this contradicts the law of conservation of energy.

The world-famous Soviet academician Boris Viktorovich Rauschenbach in the field of mechanics considers such decisions of scientific organizations to be erroneous and harmful to the further development of science. He argues that science should deeply investigate, prove and patiently explain, and not suppress and, especially, not prohibit any inventions (“not put a bridle on research activity, no matter where it is spent”). It is clear that the principle of conservation of energy cannot be shaken by any designs of perpetual motion machines, but clarifications are possible, clarification of the scope of its application and intersection with other physical principles. It was discovered, for example, that this law is combined with the law of conservation of mass, and this manifestation benefited a deeper understanding of these two laws.

Perpetual motion machine, the existence of which scientists do not deny

There is one real perpetual motion machine, the presence of which is not denied by science. This is the Universe itself.

According to modern ideas, the Universe had a beginning. It all started with the Big Bang sometime around 15 billion years ago. What happened before? Science usually answers that this question does not make sense, since time was born simultaneously with the Universe, and for the special point of the Big Bang there is no concept of “earlier,” just as there is no concept of “further south” for the South Pole. This answer may not satisfy you. Then we will have to send you to St. Augustine. They say that when asked by those of little faith what God did before he created time, St. Augustine answered that God designed a special hell for those who would subsequently ask such questions.

After the Big Bang and until now, the Universe is expanding all the time. During this expansion, the energy of all particles in the Universe decreases. It can be seen like this. Let's select a very large “cosmic cell” and see how it expands. It will be influenced by the rest of the Universe, since, for example, the light emitted by these parts will, after some time, come to our cosmic cell. How to take this influence into account? On large scales the Universe is homogeneous. This means that the light emitted by the other cells is no different from what is emitted in our cell (like any other form of energy). Therefore, you can mentally remove all the other cells of the Universe, but imagine that our cosmic cell is surrounded by ideally reflective walls that reflect everything that is emitted or moves inside the cell. Thus, the influence of other parts of the Universe is replaced by the self-influence of the contents of the cosmic cell. If the cell is large enough and the Universe is homogeneous, this replacement is justified.

But radiation exerts pressure on the walls of the cell and does work during expansion. Consequently, the inhabitants of the space cell lose energy, just as gas molecules lose energy when they push a piston out of a cylinder. But there is a big difference. The energy of the molecules is converted into the kinetic energy of the cylinder. And in the case of the Universe, the same thing happens in all cells, they all lose energy. Where does this energy go? Nowhere. It is believed that the law of conservation of energy does not apply to the Universe as a whole.

However, this may simply mean that our knowledge about the Universe is incomplete. Some scientists believe that the lost energy turns into gravitational energy and the total energy of the Universe is still conserved. However, determining the gravitational energy of the Universe is not so simple and is still hotly debated.

Conclusion, or my attitude towards the raised goal

Perpetuum mobile - a perpetual motion machine - a romantic dream of ascetics who tried to give humanity unlimited power over nature, a coveted source of enrichment for charlatans and adventurers; hundreds, thousands of projects that were never implemented; ingenious mechanisms that seemed about to start working, but for some reason remained motionless; the broken destinies of fanatics, the disappointed hopes of patrons... But why did all this happen? Because of ignorance of elementary physical laws, because of the desire to get everything out of nothing. Until now, patent offices receive applications for devices that are essentially perpetual motion machines. Apparently, there is some kind of secret hidden in the very idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine, something that makes people search and search for its secret. But apparently this is how man works...

Personally, I believe that creating an absolutely perpetual motion machine is impossible due to the elementary rules of physics. But creating an engine that will work non-stop for at least a century, in my opinion, is quite an interesting and solvable problem.

Bibliography

1. Ihak-Rubiner F. Perpetual motion machine. M., 1922.

2. Kabardin O. F. Physics: Reference materials. M., 1991.

3. Brief Polytechnic Dictionary. M., 1956.

4. Ord-Hume A. Perpetual motion. M., 1980.

5. Perelman Ya. I. Entertaining physics. M., 1991.

“Principles of Thermodynamics” - The amount of heat required for heating. Energy. Thomson. Isoprocesses are a special case of a polytropic process. Formula. Law of energy conservation. Thermal machine. Performing work by gas. Efficiency of the Carnot cycle. Isoprocess. Let's add two equations. Isobaric process. Equilibrium state.

“Second Law of Thermodynamics” - Reverse Carnot Cycle. Thermal efficiency of direct Carnot cycle. Two provisions of the second law of thermodynamics. Heat obtained by the work of compression. To implement a circular process, three elements must be present. Quantity of heat. Second law of thermodynamics. Refrigeration coefficient. Direct Carnot cycle.

"Applying the First Law of Thermodynamics" - Enthalpy Change. Entropy. Piston. The amount of heat supplied. Two principles of the first law of thermodynamics. Extension work. First law of thermodynamics. Internal energy of gas. Enthalpy of gas. Entropy of gas. Estimated values. Gas expansion work.

“Thermodynamic and statistical methods” - State of a thermodynamic system. Absolute zero temperature is unattainable. A unit of quantity of a substance. Clayperon-Mendeleev equation. Average kinetic energy of molecules. Corollaries from the Clausius equation. II beginning of thermodynamics. Statistical method. Molecular kinetic theory of ideal gas.

“Work program on thermodynamics” - Operation of a steam turbine. Contents of this development. Efficiency. Internal combustion engine. Reducing the oxygen content in the air. Technologies used, methods, forms of organization of activities. Training and metodology complex. Developmental tasks. Development of a lesson on the topic “Heat engines”.

“The Invention of Perpetual Motion Machines” - Imaginary mechanism. Perpetual motion machine in theory. Ball clock. Wheel of Bhaskara. Ancient model. Perpetual motion machine of Orfireus. Arabian irrigation wheel. Arabian perpetual motion machines. Greinacher engine. Barometric perpetual motion machine. Invention of perpetual motion machines. Hollow tanks. Drinking duck.

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MBOUSOSH No. 11

Presentation for the lesson on the topic: “Perpetual motion machine”

Completed by: physics teacher

Glushkova Tatyana Aleksandrovna.

Novocherkassk

GOALS

EDUCATIONAL

EDUCATIONAL

DEVELOPING

Educational:

Involving the student in an active cognitive process on the topic “Perpetual motion machine”. Formation of skills for studying physical concepts in this topic.

Educational:

Fostering an attentive, friendly attitude towards the answers of your classmates, fostering personal responsibility for performing collective work.

Developmental:

Developing the skills and abilities of students to work independently or in a group, broadening their horizons, increasing erudition, developing interest in physics.

During the classes:

It has long been known that the idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine is not feasible, but it is very interesting and educational from the point of view of the history of the development of science and technology. Indeed, in the search for a perpetual motion machine, scientists were able to better understand the basic physical principles. Moreover, the inventors of perpetual motion machines are shining examples for studying certain aspects of human psychology: ingenuity, perseverance, optimism and fanaticism.

Perpetual motion machine ( from Greek perpetuum mobile, perpetual motion machine)

Perpetual motion machine ( Perpetuum mobile) – a device based on mechanical, chemical, electrical or other physical processes. Once started, it can work forever and will stop only when influenced from the outside.

Currently, India is rightfully considered the ancestral home of the first perpetual motion machines.

The circuits of the first perpetual motion machines were built on the basis of simple mechanical elements and even in later times included levers that were fixed around the circumference of a wheel rotating around a horizontal axis.

• Lifting water using an Archimedean screw;
• Rise of water using capillaries;
• Using a wheel with unbalanced loads;
• Natural magnets;
• Electromagnetism;
• Steam or compressed air.

Errors of "perpetual" engines

The change in the internal energy of a system during its transition from one state to another is equal to the sum of the work of external forces and the amount of heat transferred to the system and does not depend on the method in which this transition is carried out. (First law of thermodynamics)

“A circular process is impossible, the only result of which would be the production of work by cooling the thermal reservoir”

(Second beginning

thermodynamics)

It is a postulate that cannot be proven within the framework of thermodynamics. It was created on the basis of a generalization of experimental facts and received numerous experimental confirmations.

Perpetual motion machines are divided into two large groups:

Perpetual motion machines of the first kind do not extract energy from the environment (for example, heat), while the physical and chemical state of its parts also remains unchanged. Machines of this kind cannot exist based on the first law of thermodynamics.

Perpetual motion machines of the second kind extract heat from the environment and convert it into energy of mechanical movement. Such devices cannot exist based on the second law of thermodynamics.

The earliest information about perpetual motion machines.

Attempts to study the place, time and reason for the emergence of the idea of ​​a perpetual motion machine are a very difficult task. The earliest information about the perpetuum mobile is the mention that we find in the Indian poet, mathematician and astronomer Bhaskars . Thus, Bhaskara describes a certain wheel with long, narrow vessels attached diagonally along the rim, half filled with mercury. The principle of operation of this first mechanical perpetuum mobile was based on the difference in the moments of gravity created by the liquid moving in vessels placed on the circumference of the wheel. Bhaskara's justification for the rotation of the wheel is very simple: "The wheel thus filled with liquid, being mounted on an axle lying on two fixed supports, rotates continuously on its own."

• Indian or Arabic perpetuum mobile.

• Indian or Arabic perpetual motion machine with small obliquely fixed vessels partially filled with mercury.

A variant of a perpetual motion machine of eastern origin.

A variant of a perpetual motion machine of eastern origin. The author relied here on the difference in the specific gravities of water and mercury.

A wheel with levers is a typical element of perpetual motion machines.

The wheel with flexible articulated arms is a typical element of perpetual motion machines, which were subsequently offered in many different variants based on this Arabian design.

European perpetual motion machines

The first European to author the idea of ​​a “self-propelled machine” is considered to be a medieval French architect Villard d'Honnecourt originally from Picardy. His model of a perpetual motion machine is a hydraulic saw with automatic wood feeding. Villar proceeded from the effect of gravity, under the influence of which the counterweights reclined.

Villard d'Honnecourt water saw with automatic wood feed

Inventor's idea: A strong magnet is placed on the stand. Two inclined gutters are leaning against it, one below the other, and the upper groove has a small hole in its upper part, and the lower one is curved at the end. If you place a small iron ball on the upper chute, then due to the attraction of the magnet it will roll upward, however, when it reaches the hole, it will fall into the lower chute, roll down it, rise along the final curve and again fall on the upper chute. Thus, the ball will run continuously, thereby achieving perpetual motion.

The device would work if the magnet acted on the metal ball only while it was being lifted onto the stand along the upper chute. But the ball rolls down slowly under the influence of two forces: gravity and magnetic attraction. Therefore, by the end of the descent, it will not acquire the speed necessary to rise along the curve of the lower chute and begin a new cycle.

Attempts to create a perpetual motion machine were made by inventors in subsequent times. In many projects, perpetual motion machines rely on gravity.

Wheel with rolling balls

Inventor's idea: A wheel with heavy balls rolling in it. Whatever the position of the wheel, the weights on the right side of the wheel will be further from the center than the weights on the left half. Therefore, the right half must always pull the left half and make the wheel turn. This means the wheel must rotate forever.

Why the engine does not work: The engine will not work because such mechanisms can only perform work due to the initial reserve of energy imparted to them at start-up; when this reserve is completely used up, the perpetual motion machine will stop.

Chain of balls on a triangular prism

Inventor's idea: A chain of 14 identical balls is thrown through a trihedral prism. There are four balls on the left, two on the right. The remaining eight balls balance each other. Consequently, the chain will go into perpetual motion counterclockwise.

Why the engine does not work: The loads are moved only by the component of gravity parallel to the inclined surface. On a longer surface there are more loads, but the angle of inclination of the surface is proportionally less. Therefore, the gravitational force of the goods on the right, multiplied by the sine of the angle, is equal to the gravitational force of the goods on the left, multiplied by the sine of the other angle.

Wheel with folding weights

Inventor's idea: The idea is based on the use of a wheel with unbalanced loads. Folding sticks with weights at the ends are attached to the edges of the wheel. In any position of the wheel, the loads on the right side will be thrown further from the center than on the left; this half, therefore, must pull the left and thereby cause the wheel to rotate. This means that the wheel will rotate forever, at least until the axle wears out.

Why the engine does not work: The weights on the right side are always further from the center, but it is inevitable that the wheel will be positioned in such a way that the number of these weights is less than on the left. Then the system is balanced - therefore, the wheel will not rotate, but will stop after a few swings.

• The planets revolve around the Sun for billions of years, an example of perpetual motion. This was noticed a long time ago . Naturally, scientists wanted to repeat this picture on a smaller scale, trying to create an ideal model of a perpetual motion machine. Despite the fact that in the 19th century the fundamental impracticability of a perpetual motion machine was proven, scientists created thousands of inventions, but were never able to make the dream come true.

• Ihak-Rubiner F. Perpetual motion machine. M., 1922.
• Ord-Home A. Perpetual motion. The story of one obsession. M.: Knowledge, 1980.
• Michal S. Perpetual motion machine yesterday and today. M.: Mir, 1984.
• Perelman Ya. I. Entertaining physics. Book 1 and 2. M.: Nauka, 1979.