LUCK OF THE IRISH?

Solves the world’s energy problems, rewrites the laws of physics!

Irish company challenges scientists to test 'free energy' technology
August 18, 2006 (Yahoo News)

- An Irish company has thrown down the gauntlet to the worldwide scientific community to test a technology it has developed that it claims produces free energy.
The company, Steorn, says its discovery is based on the interaction of magnetic fields and allows the production of clean, free and constant energy -- a concept that challenges one of the basic rules of physics.
- It claims the technology can be used to supply energy for virtually all devices, from mobile phones to cars.
- Steorn issued its challenge through an advertisement in the Economist magazine this week quoting Ireland's Nobel prize-winning author George Bernard Shaw who said that "all great truths begin as blasphemies".
- Sean McCarthy, Steorn's chief executive officer, said they had issued the challenge for 12 physicists to rigorously test the technology so it can be developed.

Reaction from Eric Berger, SciGuy (chron.com):
- The more I think about this I am of two minds:

1. These guys really do think they've succeeded in breaking the laws of thermodynamics.
2. Recall that Steorn is a former e-business company that saw its market vanish during the dot.com bust. It stands to reason that Steorn has re-tooled as a Web marketing company, and is using the "free energy" promotion as a platform to show future clients how it can leverage print advertising and a slick Web site to promote their products and ideas. If so, it's a pretty brilliant strategy.