See below (from msnbc.com). Anyone have additional info to share?
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Robert Cohen; rcohen@po-box.esu.edu; http://www.esu.edu/~bbq
Physics, East Stroudsburg Univ, E. Stroudsburg, PA 18301
A COLD stone house on a windswept Irish hillside may seem an unlikely
setting for the birthplace of such an epoch-making discovery, but it is here
that an Irish inventor says he has developed a machine that could change the
world.
The 58-year-old electrical engineer, who lives in the Irish republic and
intends - for "security and publicity-avoidance reasons" - to keep his
identity a secret, has spent 23 years perfecting the Jasker Power System.
It is an electromechanical device he says is capable of replenishing its own
energy source.
AWASH WITH SPECULATION
The Irishman is not alone in making such assertions. The Internet is awash
with speculation about free or "zero point" energy, with many claiming to
have cracked the problem using magnets, coils and even crystals.
"These claims come along every 10 years or so, and nothing ever comes of
them. They're all cases of 'voodoo science,'" said Robert Park, professor of
physics at the University of Maryland.
The makers of the Jasker - a name derived from family abbreviations - say it
can be built to scale using off-the-shelf components and can power anything
that requires a motor. They see the first practical application of their
technology as a stand-alone generator for home use, although the automotive
industry could also be a near-term target.
"The Jasker produces emission-free energy at no cost apart from the
installation. It is quite possibly the most significant invention since the
wheel," Tom Hedrick, the only person involved with the machine willing to
give his name, told Reuters.
Hedrick, chief executive of a company set up with a view to licensing the
device in the United States, said the technology shattered preconceived laws
of science.
"It's a giant leap forward. The uses of this are almost beyond imagination."
RED HOT WITH CONTROVERSY
Not surprisingly, this topic is red hot with controversy - sharply dividing
a world scientific community still on its guard after the "cold fusion"
fiasco of 1989, when a group of Utah researchers scandalized the scientific
world with claims that the long-sought answer to the problem of
room-temperature fusion had been discovered. The claims were quickly found
to be unsupported, although hard-core researchers are still pursuing the
cold-fusion dream.
Experts contacted by Reuters about the Jasker device were wary, citing the
first law of thermodynamics - which, in layman's terms, states that you
can't get more energy out than you put in.
"I don't believe this. It goes against fundamentals which have not yet been
disproved," said William Beattie, senior lecturer in electrical engineering
at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
"These people (Jasker) are either Nobel prize-winners or they don't know
what they're dealing with. The energy has to come from somewhere."
UNDAUNTED BY CRITICS
Undaunted, the inventor says that once powered up, his device can run
indefinitely - or at least until the parts wear out, adding that he has
supplied all his own domestic power needs free for 17 months.
But he is keen to head off the notion that he has tapped into the age-old
myth of perpetual motion. "Perpetual motion is impossible. This is a
self-sustaining unit which at the same time provides surplus electrical
energy," he said.
In a demonstration for Reuters, a prototype - roughly the size of a
dishwasher - was run for around 10 minutes using four 12-volt car batteries
as an initial power source. Emitting a steady motorized hum, the machine
keptthree 100-watt light bulbs lit for the duration. A multimeter reading
of the batteries' voltage before the device started up showed a total of
48.9 volts. When it was switched off, a second reading showed 51.2 volts,
indicating that the voltage had not run down.
The machine went on to run for around two hours while photographs were
taken, with no diminution in the brightness of the light bulbs, which
remained lit during a short power cut.
"The draw on the batteries was estimated at more than 4.5 kilowatts. With
any existing technology the batteries would have been drained flat in one
and a half minutes," the inventor said.
FRINGE THEORIES
Modern theories of zero point energy have their roots in quantum physics and
encompass "antigravity machines"and "advanced propulsion" research.
Contributors to the debate range from serious exponents of quantum science
to those who insist free-energy secrets have been imparted to them by
aliens. Still others seem convinced the U.S. government is conspiring to
suppress such discoveries.
Nick Cook, aerospace consultant to Jane's Defense Weekly and author of "The
Hunt for Zero Point," is not as quick as some to dismiss the possibilities.
"Zero point energy has been proven to exist," he told Reuters. "The question
is whether it can be tapped to provide usable energy. And to that end, I
think it's possible, yes. There are a lot of eminent scientists now involved
in this field and they wouldn't be if there wasn't anything to it. "In my
experience opinion in this field is extremely polarized ... people either go
with this area of investigation in their minds or they don't, and if they
don't they tend to pooh-pooh it vehemently. It's very difficult to get an
objective assessment," he said.
"Basically, no one wants to be the first to stick his head above the
parapet."