demo is free

Sometimes it works. Crack for the demo is free too if you know where to look 

Hans von Lieven

Do you know how much energy is between a proton and an electron 1 meter appart?

 That's a foolish question.
 The MeV of an electron in a hydrogen atom is the equivalent to the energy potential of the proton.
 Once the elctron has reached it's MeV, then it is a free radical.
 Of course, you have ignored the question. You see, in every example you gave, people did more than talk about something. They did try something. Even with solar panels, they have tried variations to see if different metals/alloys perform better. This means that they needed to collect data to compare variations. Once they were able to accomplish this, then they could either try some more variances or try to refine thier idea by combining different efforts or modifying the parameters.
 Even water wheels required some refinement. Just as was done with windmills. After all, they both were used to power grinding mills that required the use of heavy stones. There must have been a substantial amount of resistence considering they lacked bearings.
 It has been found that those that are unwilling to learn, usually will not.