Remember Steorn? What was the real motives behind that escapade?

deckstunt

That old Steorn perpetual motion thing came to mind. I know it failed all the credible independent tests to validate their 'invention'... so disregard the invention.

But what I'd like to know is what were the real motives of the people involved? What was it all about?

Bearing in mind the cost and effort involved, it wasn't your ordinary run-of-the-mill practical joke. So has any one come up with a reasonable theory as to what it was really all about?

(a) Publicity: but for what? Along the lines that Steron was really a marketing company or some other PR type company in disguise: 'Look we're able to get the entire world looking at us!'? It's gone on a bit too long for that. They just look like con men. Not really great PR.

(b) Utterly incompetent inventors: Did they actually, truly believe it worked but at the very, very, very last minute (just as the independent validation attempt was taking place) realize that it didn't actually work and are too embarrassed to admit it?

(c) A hoax: But for what? I can't see any benefit for the 'hoaxers' they just look like fools.

Why take out an expensive add in the Economist etc for …. nothing?

deckstunt

Jaysus I must be blind. I didn't see that post http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056052643.

Sorry. The question still stands though



Feel free to move this post to 'conspiracies' or wherever. I didn't know where to post this question.

seamus

Money. Getting investors to give them money.

From wikipedia

On 1 April 2010 Steorn opened an online development community, called the "Steorn Knowledge Development Base" (SKDB), which they said would explain their technology.[31] Access is available only under licence on payment of a fee.[31] Sean McCarthy said that he expected at least 5000 people to pay the €419 licence fee during 2010.[32]

Whatever they're actually doing it seems like they use the "free energy" nonsense to propel themselves into the spotlight and get loose-pocketed investors interested.

deckstunt

seamus wrote: »

Money.

Sean McCarthy said that he expected at least 5000 people to pay the €419 licence fee during 2010

That does have 'con' written all over it in big capital letters. What idiot would hand over €419 for a license fee for a perpetual motion machine? (They took their time about monetizing the scam invention;))


Thanks seamus that has answered that for me.

deckstunt

deckstunt wrote: »

That does have 'con' written all over it in big capital letters. What idiot would hand over €419 for a license fee for a perpetual motion machine? (They took their time about monetizing the scam invention;))


Thanks seamus that has answered that for me.

Well unfortunately not many people have a good grasp of physics, so with some slick advertising and fancy sounding words they can be pretty convincing.

Remember just because we can see plainly that it is a scam, that doesn't apply to everyone. People still do fall for those Nigerian prince emails.

meglome

King Mob wrote: »

Well unfortunately not many people have a good grasp of physics, so with some slick advertising and fancy sounding words they can be pretty convincing.

You're right of course and I'm pretty much one of those people. But my friend who works alongside them says it works. He's a smart guy so I don't know what to think.

deckstunt

King Mob wrote: »

Well unfortunately not many people have a good grasp of physics, so with some slick advertising and fancy sounding words they can be pretty convincing.

Remember just because we can see plainly that it is a scam, that doesn't apply to everyone. People still do fall for those Nigerian prince emails.

True, they'll probably make a nice living out of this. I thought the market for this kind of scam died with the Celic Tiger.

Mucco

I posted this in one of the other Steorn threads:

I wonder where they got their money from:

According to its 2006 accounts, which were provided by the company, Steorn's two directors, CEO Seán McCarthy and Michael Daly, shared over €350,000 in remuneration in 2006. Wages and salaries for 13 staff, including the directors, totalled a further €988,000.
Source: http://www.tribune.ie

AFAIR they got some really big investments to "continue their research".

http://www.tribune.ie/article/2008/aug/10/free-energy-firm-generated-8m-in-funding/

Capt'n Midnight

It's just another example of the almost complete lack of financial regulation in this country. If not fraud then it must at least be reckless trading since I can't see how they could make a profit in the long term.


If they had produced a self powered device that offered benefits over solar power,long life lithium batteries or radiothermal they could name their price and the military would pay it for remote sensors. The US has been using infra-red sensors since Vietnam as a way of augmenting patrols.

I'm sick of pointing out that for most applications they would have to make a device that offers a better power to price ratio than solar panels ( $2 per Watt). Actually if they could make a device that offers better power to weight ratio they would be on to a winner as communications satellite cost about €30,000 per Kg that gets to GEO. Or if they produce a device that offers a worse power to weight ratio but a longer life as one of the limiting factors on the life of satellites is that the solar panels wear out , so if the device existed and could work in the dark it could easily double the lifespan of a billion dollar comms satellite.

On the subject of satellites, if this technology worked you could use it to power UAV's that would fly 20Km up acting as a very high antenna , so instead of spending hundreds of millions or billions on comms satelites you could spend hundreds of thousands to provide a similar service with far more bandwidth and needing much smaller dishes for the consumer.

Capt'n Midnight

http://atlasobscura.com/place/oxford-electric-bell
battery powered clock - same battery since 1840 , eat your heat out Mr Duracell bunny


there are also clocks powered by changes in atmospheric pressure

zod

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/29/steorn-peddles-orbo-development-kit-snake-oil-optional/