Let's start with a water wheel in still water with an electric generator hooked up to it. Let's say it has a ratchet wheel so it can only turn in one direction. I want to calculate the probability ...

Perhaps the most persistent nonsense in physics: the perpetual motion machine. Bad ideas come and go in physics. But there’s one bit of nonsense that is perhaps more persistent than all others: the ...

At the turn of the 20th century, the quest for a perpetual motion machine took hold of public imagination. A number of Hoosiers were among those captivated by the idea of creating a perpetual motion ...