I recently saw a video on Youtube about a perpetual motion machine. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS1KXMsE2qk
It's on Robert Boyle's flask.
Where does the energy come from?
[Physics] Does perpetual motion machine really exist
energy-conservationperpetual-motion
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Yes, perpetual motion that does not work is possible, and has been done in a famous Soviet experiment. You put a superfluid in the interior of a macroscopic donut-shaped tube in the normal state, and let the tube spin along the donut axis, fluid plus pipe, then cool the thing down so that it becomes a superfluid. Then you stop the tube from spinning.
The superfluid will spin with no measurable loss essentially forever, even in imperfect conditions. It spun for many years without measurable loss in the actual experiment. This is quantum perpetual motion in your sense, and it doesn't require such an advanced civilization, just mid 20th century humans.
The statement that perpetual motion is impossible is nowadays always interpreted to mean energy producing machine, not a motion that does not decay by friction.
What a beautiful machine! It is obviously radiating away energy, because it is loud.
I actually have a similar machine at my house. It is also a high-Q mechanical resonator with a very narrow frequency acceptance; I have compared it to standard frequency references and I believe its stability is $\Delta f/f \approx 1\times 10^{-4}$. Here's a photo of it:
I've even opened up the door so that you can see there is nothing fishy, or hidden, or even complicated.
You're welcome to come and film it for three days; just give me a call first so I can wind it up clean the house.
Best Answer
I was surprised to see an effect that's actually real, and not a hidden motor or something like that. I believe this experiment can feasibly be repeated. The principles behind it make sense.
The driving force comes from the density difference in the cup versus in the pipes. The cup has very few bubbles in it compared to the pipe. Why? Because:
If I were recreating this, I would design the pipe to turn horizontal/vertical as close as possible to the bottom of the cup, in order to help maximize the driving pressure. Also, make sure to use the soda/beer right after opening it.
This experiment shows (not perpetual motion) that carbonation contains stored energy in some sense. More specifically, the process of a carbonated drink decaying into un-carbonated liquid and CO2 gas liberates extra energy. A small fraction of that energy is harvested here to drive the flow.
Very good science project.
In order to demonstrate that it is not perpetual motion, either allow it to run to its full conclusion, or try it again with soda that has sat out for a day. The data should support the hypothesis that the driving force to power the flow comes from stored energy in the carbonation.