'Perpetual motion machine'
Date
ca.1981
Creator
Unknown, Photographer
Object type
Archive reference number
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height: 210mm
width: 150mm
width: 150mm
Subject
Content object
Description
David Jones' first 'perpetual motion machine' displayed on a table. The bicycle wheel represents the moving element of the machine. Its source of energy is deliberately concealled.
From the David Jones collection. Jones (1938-2017) was a research chemist and science writer. His alter ego, Daedalus, specialised in stretching the limits of science. His fake perpetual motion machines are one example of this.
From the David Jones collection. Jones (1938-2017) was a research chemist and science writer. His alter ego, Daedalus, specialised in stretching the limits of science. His fake perpetual motion machines are one example of this.
Object history
This 'pereptual motion machine' was the first of a series. It was created by Jones on the request of New Scientist Magazine for a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in York, 1981. It was later displayed in the Physical Chemistry Department of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, where members of the public were invited to guess how it worked.
Associated place