I've always been fascinated by this. These guys claim to have found a way to get a machine to output more energy than is put in, thereby creating limitless energy. Of course this is absolutely impossible, but I've never understood how everyone gets duped into it EVERY time.
For those not versed in physics, here's your summary:
Conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy (often expressed as the sum of kinetic energy and potential energy) in an isolated system remains constant. In other words, energy can be converted from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed.
So, IN THEORY, you can put energy in and the most you can ever get out the other side is the exact same amount of energy, never more. Of course, we live in the real world with friction and resistance and other unsavory characters which means even getting out 100% of the energy you put in is impossible.
But what always stuns me is how everyone always reacts like this time is the one time we can do it. These Irish guys are "scientists" yet they violate the fundamental laws because this time they've figured out a way. The press looks at it with skepticism, but they still give these guys coverage. And people read these stories and say "fine, all those other times, people were wrong... but THIS time, this is it!". Well I haven't looked at these folks invention, but I can tell you this much. They're wrong.
