Storing Cookies (See : http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/basics/legal/cookies/index_en.htm ) help us to bring you our services at overunity.com . If you use this website and our services you declare yourself okay with using cookies .More Infos here:
https://overunity.com/5553/privacy-policy/
If you do not agree with storing cookies, please LEAVE this website now. From the 25th of May 2018, every existing user has to accept the GDPR agreement at first login. If a user is unwilling to accept the GDPR, he should email us and request to erase his account. Many thanks for your understanding

User Menu

Custom Search

Author Topic: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon  (Read 28434 times)

ZL

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 95
A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« on: May 11, 2018, 04:13:58 PM »

While searching for something else, stumbled across this interesting and very convincing scientific paper about a device that can extract electric power from low grade ambient heat at room temperature. Unlike heat engines, this doesn't require temperature gradient. The basic principle is quite simple: the thermal energy (Brownian motion) in the depletion zone of a special diode creates a potential difference, which charges a capacitor. The capacitor is then discharged utilizing the converted heat energy. Then the cycle starts over again.

The basic cell is microscopic, the power converted by a single diode is also minuscule (Pcell=0.5e−9 – 5e−9 W), but if you calculate the power density that can be extracted from a huge array of these units (like in an IC or MEMS) is remarkably large Pv=0.5 GW – 5 GW/m^3. Of course this is just a theoretical value, assuming that there would be a continuous input of heat power into that volume equal to the extracted electrical power in order to maintain the temperature at a reasonably high level. This heat supply system would consume some extra volume, diluting the quoted enormous theoretical power density. But if a practical embodiment of this converter array could achieve even a tiny fraction of this power density, it could be still used as a very compact refrigerator-electric generator that produces electric power, instead of consuming it.

The paper can be downloaded from:
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.361.6283&rep=rep1&type=pdf

This is not the subject of my focus right now, but if there are people on this forum who are looking for FE principles that really work (or at least make sense, and have scientific basis) then this one deserves your attention.

Zoltan


memoryman

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 758
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2018, 05:31:12 PM »
Watch Dr. Daniel Sheehan on youtube; challenges to the second law...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBp_SPJAOJc
He also has an interesting talk about a computer that recovers its own heat and uses that to power itself.
A friend of mine is trying to make a practical device that converts infra red radiation directly into electricity.

ZL

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 95
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2018, 01:35:15 PM »
The paper is quite convincing and the theory looks plausible, but that doesn't mean one should blindly believe it is absolutely correct, just because it was written by a scientist with a Ph.D. Blindly believing scientific “authorities” in FE research can be very misleading, and can cause losses (speaking from personal experience). While it is good to see that this subject has broken into the official scientific literature (which is weird on its own), something doesn't feel right around this invention. We have to use our own discernment and critical thinking to find out whether this is just another trap, or it is real. A bit of detective work would get us closer to the truth.

The video “SSE Talks - Challenges to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics - Daniel Sheehan” was recorded 8 years ago, and no sign of new developments. Nobody promotes it, or talks about this thing any more. There were at least 2 websites associated with this invention www.paradigmenergy.com and www.alternative-renewable-energy.com and both have disappeared about 4 years ago, or earlier.

He also has an interesting talk about a computer that recovers its own heat and uses that to power itself.

Do you have the link to that talk?

Does anybody see any reason why this invention would be a fallacy?

Let me play the devil's advocate just for a minute, and present another paper that attempts to debunk this invention. It was written by Germano D’Abramo who works for “Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133, Roma, Italy”. The title of the paper is “A Note on Solid-State Maxwell Demon” and can be downloaded from:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47817342_A_Note_on_Solid-State_Maxwell_Demon

His arguments are not valid though. Can anybody see the fallacy in his debunking?

memoryman

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 758
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2018, 05:38:04 PM »
What Dr.Sheehan di was to make an device to prove his theory; this may never become a practical product.
Here is the video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgBnMFvZSXc
Same thing; just because it can be done does not mean that it can be made into a successful product.
What my friend is doing is similar; it has been proven in a lab but now needs to be scaled up.

ZL

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 95
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2018, 11:23:38 AM »
What Dr.Sheehan di was to make an device to prove his theory; this may never become a practical product.

That is one possible explanation. Another more probable version is that his websites have disappeared exactly because this invention, and the underlying principle can be made into practical products that are too disruptive to publish in detail for the whole world. This could be also the reason why no further developments are being published.

Even though his websites have been taken offline, you can still find traces of them at archive.org (make a search and see). When you display the page of  www.alternative-renewable-energy.com as it has been (allegedly) archived on 30.10.2008:

https://web.archive.org/web/20081030015646/http://www.alternative-renewable-energy.com:80/
(backed up also at http://archive.is/y2YuY)

you will see a weird occurrence. On this snapshot of the page that supposed to have been taken in 2008, you can see also posts made in 2009, 2010, and 2012. If it was really archived in 2008, then how come it has posts made at later dates?

ZL

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 95
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2018, 08:42:56 PM »
Let's put the significance of this discovery/invention into perspective. People in general don't talk about it, because only an insignificant percent knows it even exists. The mass media didn't inform the public about this (as far as I know). The representatives of the public (you) who are interested in FE research, read websites of FE researchers, and forums like this one are looking for something they can build themselves, and understand how it works. Inventions that don't fit this profile are generally ignored, just like this one has been ignored. This is how real FE inventions get swept under the rag, and prevented from freeing and enriching the commoners.

If you want to oppose this process, then you personally have to find, recognize, and understand such inventions (or develop your own, if you can), and talk about them everywhere you can. Make it viral. If this is not our responsibility, then who's is it? If enough people learn about it then there is a good chance that those who hide it, will have to at least acknowledge its existence, or even better, start mass producing it for the public. If you have doubts about the correctness of the basic principle presented by the inventors, then discuss it, research it until it gets confirmed or eliminated. Right now I don't see any scientific reason why this should not work as claimed. No new foggy theories have been introduced, only plane, old fashioned science of semiconductors, electrostatics, and mechanics.

Why would you be interested in contributing to the successful mass production of this invention? The most obvious reason is that converting ambient heat into useful work provides unlimited free energy for all. But there is an even more disruptive and sensational utilization of this principle in computer industry. The power consumption of the microprocessors and microchips represents a major obstacle for designing supercomputers for mass production. Its not only the price of the consumed electric power (and its limited availability) that is the problem, but also the cooling of chips. This is why microprocessors have to be relatively thin, so that the dissipated heat can be conducted away in a practical and economic way. The cooling system and the limited thickness of the chips dilute the density of electronics built into a single chip, its computational power, speed, and memory.

The invention of Dr. Sheehan at. al. can overcome both limitations. Microprocessors of insane density could be built that not only don't require external power supply, but don't produce waste heat either. No cooling required. Imagine a supercomputer that has got a processor of 1L volume (or more)! The computational power of such computers could jump to 1000 (or more) times the the speed and capacity of our PC's. This performance jump could enable design engineers to run realistic simulations of multi-physics processes of very high resolution and large size that are impossible today, due to speed and memory limitations. Such simulations could exponentially speed up the design of new technology in all fields of science, and lead to an avalanche of new discoveries and inventions. Bitcoin could be mined much more cheaply. There could be a major breakthrough in AI, which could further speed up the technology development by automating most of the related work that does not require human intuition and creativity. Much of today’s science fiction could become reality within a few decades instead of centuries etc.

I hope that now you realize why this discovery has been swept under the rag. The shadow government wants to use it for themselves against the “useless eaters”, and against other countries to establish the one world government. Hopefully, this will give you enough incentive to do something about it, before it is too late. This post was not directed to Memoryman specifically, but to everybody who reads it, and who is interested in FE.

memoryman

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 758
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2018, 11:59:17 PM »
This 'invention' may never become a practical product; not everything can be scaled.
Just because something is possible inn theory does not mean it is practical (or even useful).
My friend is working on doing this but is limited in resources. His progress is slow; expects a small sample this year.
Nothing has been swept 'under the rug" (not rag). Stop looking for conspiracies; ineptitude is far more common.

ZL

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 95
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2018, 09:18:09 PM »
This 'invention' may never become a practical product; not everything can be scaled.

This is an unsubstantiated personal opinion expressed as vaguely as possible, like politicians do. Why are you putting the word invention between apostrophes? Are you suggesting that the devices presented by Dr. Sheehan are not inventions? Or is this an attempt to belittle their significance?

“...may never become...” is this just a guess, or do you have scientific reasons that prevent this from becoming a practical product (besides the opposing financial interests)? If you have such facts, then please explain them in detail. I am very curious exactly why do you think this can not be mass-produced?

“… not everything can be scaled.” Ahem… Who said everything can be scaled? This is a straw man argument, usually used by people who pursue nefarious agendas (like those who try to debunk any reference to conspiracies that really exist). Exactly how do you think scaling is a prohibitive obstacle here? The prototype built by Dr. Nihat Okulan (Advanced NanoStructures) and measured by Dr. Sheehan and his team is already at the right target scale of few microns, which places it into the size range of MEMS devices. Here is a photo of the gap between the PN terminals with the scale marking on it - see attachment.

Here is the progress report with some more pictures: https://web.archive.org/web/20110210183734/http://www.alternative-renewable-energy.com:80/progress-reports/june-2010/

“Stop looking for conspiracies; ineptitude is far more common.”

So, you are implying the ineptitude of Dr. Sheehan and his team, right? Don't you think you are getting increasingly arrogant here? Are you trying to forbid me pointing out conspiracies that really exist? You could not make it more obvious that you are part of the controlled opposition, who poses pro-alternative energy, but in reality works to debunk and oppose any such grass roots development (no matter whether it's a hoax perpetrated mainly by disinfo agents; or it is real, like this one).

If anybody is seriously interested in finding out the truth about this subject, it is highly recommended that you read the archived website, especially the progress reposts:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110211112149/http://www.alternative-renewable-energy.com:80/category/progress-reports/

The measurements have confirmed the validity of the claims presented in the paper of Dr. Sheehan.

memoryman

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 758
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #8 on: May 20, 2018, 10:07:21 PM »
I have no interest of getting into a pissing match.
I am a great fan of Dr. Sheehan and hope that he or someone else will make this into a product.
I also cannot predict the future, so I make none. If you don’t like it, just stop responding.
Have a great day.

vasik041

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 209
    • FE R&D
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2018, 08:21:00 PM »
 Thank you for sharing this information.
 I have no doubt that it can be developed in practical product...but it probably require huge investments.
It would be interesting to know about Dr. Sheehan progress with this device as last video from 2013 …


BR.
-V.


 

Nonlinear

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 20
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2018, 09:44:10 PM »
Gentlemen, I rarely comment here because honestly, I don't find looking for a perpetuum mobile to be a rewarding hobby. But this case puzzles me enough to make an exception. You seem to be confident that the theory of Sheehan is correct and the provided photos and videos are credible proof for this. Did you ever consider the possibility that the measurement claims could be inaccurate? Mr. Sheehan has got a Ph. D. and you trust him for that, but so does Mr. D'Abramo. He has got very solid academic credentials too, look here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germano_D%27Abramo and here https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Germano_Dabramo.

From Wikipedia “Germano D'Abramo (born 25 May 1973) is an Italian mathematician, physicist and discoverer of minor planets.[2]”
And Researchgate claims he is a physics professor at a university in Italy “Current institution: Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca | MIUR Rome, Italy. Current position: Physics Professor”

In his paper “A Note on Solid-State Maxwell Demon” that was mentioned in the first post he has offered two different arguments that prove there is no violation of the second law of thermodynamics. He mathematically demonstrates that there can't be an external electric field between the open terminals of the np semiconductor. I am not a physicist and don't have a Ph. D. but reading his explanation I can't find the error in his arguments. Can somebody explain why you are ignoring his paper and get excited over Mr. Sheehan's diode? What is wrong with Germano's explanations?

memoryman

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 758
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2018, 11:04:46 PM »
Nonlinear.
I am not familiar with Dr. D'Abramo, but will read it.
Dr. Sheehan's work I can understand (I am not a physicist).
The vast majority of discoveries do not result in products, simply because they don't scale.

ZL

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 95
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2018, 06:53:33 PM »
Thank you for sharing this information.
 I have no doubt that it can be developed in practical product...but it probably require huge investments.
It would be interesting to know about Dr. Sheehan progress with this device as last video from 2013 …

You are welcome. Right now I can not see any reason why this principle could not be developed into practical products. The theory is solid and correct. The required technology to manufacture MEMS and microchips already exists, and they are well advanced. The design engineers don't even have to build countless, very expensive prototypes in order to know how they would work. New MEMS designs can be simulated using multi-physics finite element analysis software like COMSOL, ANSYS, ELMER, FENICS etc. and analyse their behaviour even before they get built. In fact even I could do such simulations, even though I am not getting paid for such work.

The only thing required is investment for production that only the richest can afford. This is a huge problem for the 'commoners' who don't belong to the top 1%, because you can be sure that the elite never misses the opportunity to profit from revolutionary new inventions. They have a rule: “never let a crisis go to waste”. If they always turn even a crisis into their own advantage, then why would they let a golden opportunity like this go to waste? They are not really against FE inventions, as many people think. They are happy to use them for their own enrichment, and probably just sell us the power, as long as they can do that without the danger of leaking the technology to the people. Why is this a huge problem for us? Because the larger is the gap between the technology available to the elite 1%, and the technology available to us, the more oppressed and enslaved we become.

The US patent office constantly filters the patent applications and appropriates those that they deem to threaten their power structure and financial interests (or blocks them for years). Of course, they do that under the excuse of “protecting national security”, but that is just dust thrown into your eyes, so you shouldn't see the truth. Here is an essential reading for those who don't know what is really going on: “Government Secrecy Orders on Patents Have Stifled More Than 5,000 Inventions”
https://www.wired.com/2013/04/gov-secrecy-orders-on-patents/

If you want to know the current status of the related research and development, the most straightforward thing to do would be to simply send an email the Dr. Sheehan and ask him, right? But if a secrecy order has been put on his invention (which is almost certain), then he would be forbidden to tell you the truth. So you would either not get a response at all, or get some evasive false reply. Even the fact of it being under secrecy order is a secret, so in that case all he could do is to lie. It might be worthwhile to try contacting him, but I wouldn't really trust the response.

I have made a patent search under Sheehan's name as inventor and found some, but those are not about this diode. There is nothing about this invention in the patent office, which is simply unbelievable. The only reasonable explanation is that it is under secrecy order. If that is true, then people won't see this coming to the market any time soon unless Russia or China starts mass producing and selling it to the whole world. Even that is improbable, because the same power structure rules those countries as well, and they are not interested in empowering their subjects.

ZL

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 95
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #13 on: May 22, 2018, 06:58:15 PM »
Can somebody explain why you are ignoring his paper and get excited over Mr. Sheehan's diode? What is wrong with Germano's explanations?

Certainly. Memoryman is going to read it, according to his promise. Let's give him a chance to shine, show the errors in Germano's paper, and clear your doubts. ;) If he (or some other volunteer) can't do it, or the explanation is incomplete, then I will tell you my take on Germano's arguments.

I appreciate critical thinking, and the desire to correctly understand the theory, because besides spreading the information, that is almost the only thing we can do in this case. But in order to confidently spread this information, one has to have a solid conviction that this works as claimed, and also understand why it can't work any other way. If such a solid base is missing, the attackers (whether out of ignorance, or out of intent to suppress) would quickly debunk your presentations.

vasik041

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 209
    • FE R&D
Re: A Solid-State Maxwell Demon
« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2018, 07:50:59 PM »
Thank you for detailed answer ZL!
I do not think that it is good idea to send emails to somebody I am not familiar with. It would create distraction.Russia depends heavily on oil and natural gas sales, there are many suppressed FE inventions there also.It is unlikely that it going to help people get FE .
I do not know about China, but it seems to be even worse regime... nobody going to help us except ourselves :)

BR,-V.