Outside the box
Our mission
cmc GmbH has a continuing interest in examining subjects that have any influence on the company and its industry. Naturally, we would like to share this ongoing attempt to expand our horizon with you, and in this way share our most interesting topics and insights, for example the perpetual motion machine.
What is a perpetual motion machine?
The term "perpetuum mobile" derives from the Latin and means "something that moves without stopping". Creating such a device – one which, once set in motion and without adding energy from the outside, never stops – has inspired science from time immemorial. This is borne out by historical records, such as those made by the Indian astronomer Lalla in the year 748.
Our work is focused on the continuous operational availability of wind turbines. A perfect turbine would therefore be one which, once commissioned, would produce electricity continuously and with absolutely no maintenance. But this has been proven to be a utopian pursuit.
Time and again, researchers and thinkers have used the most eccentric theories in attempts to prove the opposite of what we today consider to be certain: A perpetual motion machine is physically impossible to build because its function violates the laws of thermodynamics.
And yet the fascination of perpetual motion endures to this day...
We will present you a few famous models on our website, and we have to admit: We, too, have fallen under this idea's spell.
William Congreve
5/20/1772 – 5/16/1828
William Congreve's approach is one of hydraulic perpetual motion, but he only completed his design on paper. The round objects are sponges which soak up water in the basin and are then squeezed dry by the wheel mechanism. According to Congreve's theory, this would create a continuous cycle.
James Cox
approx. 1723 – 1800
A clock that runs without human intervention – the British clockmaker James Cox created this astounding invention in 1760. But it is not a closed system at all: Atmospheric pressure changes are converted into energy to wind the mainspring by the inner workings of the clock, which contain a mercury barometer. In the 1930s, the Atmos clock was redesigned with a pressure chamber in place of the barometer. The chamber reacts to changes in temperature. A change of just two degrees Celsius is enough to keep the clock operating for 48 hours.
Paul Carl Wilhelm Scheerbart
1/8/1863 – 10/151915
Scheerbart, an author and visionary, devoted 2.5 years of his career to the construction of a perpetual motion machine based on a system of wheels, levers and loads – unfortunately to no avail. Scheerbart strived to prove to physicists everywhere that the impossible was possible, to turn our picture of the world on its head.
Johann Ernst Elias Bessler
1681 (baptized on May 6) – 11/30/1745
Johann Ernst Elias Bessler, who in his day worked as an inventor, physician and clockmaker, eventually changed his name to "Orffyreus", which is why his "Bessler wheel" is also often referred to under that name. His design, driven by the interaction of paired weights and Earth's gravity, still puzzles mankind to this day: According to lore, it actually functioned. And yet, it violates basic physical law.
