It doesn't surprise me in the least that I'd find this hogwash here. Neatorama is a good blog for funny, interesting news and little tidbits from around the web, but fails utterly whenever hard science is the topic.

As for the "What ifs"... If the LHC produced a black hole it would evaporate almost instantaneously. It would most certainly not pose a threat to mankind or the planet earth. Trying to bend physics to your imagination doesn't work, folks. Please, leave the science to those who understand it and learn from them, okay? (There are many well intentioned idiots out there who have been told, falsely, by their mothers that they're smart and special and wonderful, which has unfortunately led to may people who completely ignore experts in various fields who's statements are back by hard evidence because they (The unfortunate idiots)have a "feeling" about something or other.)

I sew, and I use french curves all the time when drafting or altering patterns. Of course, the one I usually use is 2 feet long, but the smaller ones are invaluable for creating curved darts and other interesting details.

Those "things" are, in fact, dogs. This pic, or one remarkably like it, has circulated before.

*shrug*

There really isn't much of a difference between eating a dog or a horse or a rabbit. (Expect, perhaps, flavour and texture.) It's really not very shocking or gross if you've ever eaten meat before.

Hahahahaha! Love the Xbox idea!

I'm not dismissing it. Nowhere did I say it was bunk.

I objected to your choice of words and I objected to the tone of your piece.

I pointed out that the particular point you wanted to make was severely damaged by your confrontational stance, a stance taken all too often by the woo-meisters.

I pointed out that you did not mention what it was that had the MIT prof so interested: Acceleration, not perpetual motion. The title of your entry is misleading, and should someone not link through to the other articles, they would not have a true understanding of the issue.

These are not the acts of a scientist, Alex. They are the acts of a sensationalist.

If you are genuinely interested in this invention and it's implications for science then please edit or append your entry to reflect the truth of the matter and remove the inflammatory language at the end of the piece. It adds no value to you writing, and only serves to make it appear that you are attempting to quash any discussion of the veracity of the inventor's claim.

Both thegiantsnail and Dus make excellent points.

Magnets do decay. So this is most certainly NOT perpetual, a fact which any good scientist would be able to confirm for you using really cool graphs and charts. The thing that has the MIT prof stunned, (according the article you yourself have linked to...) is the acceleration.

Another Gem from the article: "There's no talk of perpetual motion. No whisper of broken scientific laws or free energy. Zahn would never go there -– at least not yet. But he does see the potential for making electric motors more efficient, and this itself is no small feat."

As for what Dus said:

Yes, Alex, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. You have pulled out the poorest argument for giving intant scientific merit to untested ideas and have tried to give it some sort of authority because you're stunned into stupidity by a spinning motor.

If you want to hype this, by all means do so. Just leave the supposition on it's scientific veracity to actual scientists, please. You know, the kind that don't go around spouting off about how "They laughed at Einstein"... The kind that don't use sensational language and make inflammatory statements in a poor effort at squashing free discussion. You know... real scientists. The kind concerned with truth.