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Steorn - FAQ

FAQ - General

  1.  
    Question:
    Why did you not go ahead and start licensing machines; why do you seek scientific approval.

    Answer:
    With a claim as controversial as we are making, we considered it necessary to gain the approval and the acceptance of the Scientific Community. Simply to start to sell technology without this approval can be seen as a potential fraud.
  2.  
    Question:
    Are you aware of the JREF challenge? Do you intend to accept it? (Please give reasons either way).

    Answer:
    Yes we are aware of the JREF challenge. We have no intention of taking part in this challange. Our purpose in having the technology tested is to provide the answer that everyone is asking - does it work? We do not believe that JREF are qualified to make this judgement, and we do not believe that they will be believed by all in the general public.
  3.  
    Question:
    Is any of your work so far published?

    Answer:
    No
  4.  
    Question:
    Will the energy that your machines produce, be freely available to the public; e.g., without monetary costs

    Answer:
    Outside of the cost of purchasing the technology (a one of cost when it is in a laptop for example) there is then no cost for the energy it produces. We expect that the cost of the technology will be in line with existing options (i.e. a similar price to the battery and charger that would currently go with a laptop).
  5.  
    Question:
    One of the reporters in an interview or article said that there was a door behind which the device was situated and he was not allowed through. He went on to say that an agitated Frenchman went through the door while he was there.

    Answer:
    Our office has different security zones. The 'agitated' frenchman was coming from an area where our engineering group work (no external parties are allowed into this area) - he was agitated because I was using a test system to show the reporter something - he was in the middle of a test and was upset about the fact he would have to restart it. Note that we have a visitor test lab, this is where the interview was conducted.
  6.  
    Question:
    Do you have devices operational in France or any other European country?

    Answer:
    The technology is in development in two countries.
  7.  
    Question:
    Are the 3 test systems you have been working with virtual computer models or physical prototypes?

    Answer:
    Our test systems are all physical, we also use simulation software (FEA)
  8.  
    Question:
    I do not quite understand how the analogy about going up and down the hill and suffering a net gain of energy...perhaps a different analogy?

    Answer:
    As everyone knows when you go up and down a hill you lose energy. In many ways our technology is like going up and down a hill (a magnet moves into a magnetic field and out of that field and in doing so gains enery), that was the reason for using the hill analogy - I am sure that there is a better one!
  9.  
    Question:
    How many engineers and scientists are part of the R&D dep. at Steorn?

    Answer:
    The company has 7 engineers qualified to degree or masters level, we have no scientists on headcount but we do work with several scientists under contract.
  10.  
    Question:
    What field of engineering have you (Sean) personally specialized in?

    Answer:
    I have a degree in engineering and worked developing technologies (real time control and process optimization systems) for the energy industry prior to founding the company.
  11.  

    Question 2:
    Who was your inspiration?

    Answer 2:
    We did not set out to develop this technology, we 'stumbled' across it - so there has been no real individual or company that has been an inspiration for the development.
  12.  
    Questions:

    Is this a:
    1. Marketing ploy. Such as "Steorn: Remember what we did with a fake product, think what we can do for your real one."
    2. A scam
    3. You are too weak technically to realize it is not really a free energy device

    Answers:
    1. No
    2. No
    3. The Jury will decide
  13.  
    Question:
    It seems that a man by the name of Carlos Luna signed for Steorn patent applications a while ago. I do not see his name anywhere else on your site. Did the Carlos on the patent his PhD research at the Group of Magnetism and Magnetic Nanomaterials Institute for Materials Science of Madrid, CSIC ?

    Answer:
    Carlos worked for us as a software developer, developing software for anti-counterfiet products. Carlos continues to work in this area for a partner company (he is one of the best software engineers we have ever worked with). He is not the Carlos Luna with a PhD from Madrid.
  14.  
    Question:
    Can you identify a recent technological advance that made this invention possible? In other words, was this machine possible a decade ago, 25 years ago or a 100 years go?

    Answer:
    The Jury process will prove that the technology works; hence it could have worked 25 or 100 years ago. However the internet has played a key part in making this achievable. Instant access to information (real and unreal) is a key tool that we all use. Also the availability of relatively low cost, accurate test equipment combined with the low cost of computational power has made a significant difference. I do not know how someone could go about this 25 years ago.
  15.  
    Question:
    What are the biggest mistakes you have made in the last six months have you any regrets?

    Answer:
    I guess that the only regret that we have is spending so long to come to the point where we decided to put our challenge in the public domain, also doing interviews late at night with a bad cold is a very bad idea!

    And a final regret is using load balancing to host our site instead of a clustered set-up (this was the problem with the forum).
  16.  
    Question:
    Sean did your company make the following statment? "The company would also seek out other interesting technologies and build a portfolio of products, he added."

    Answer:
    Yes, we have worked on a range of technolgies in the past and also invested in companies that are developing interesting technologies.
  17.  
    Question:
    Did you copy your invention from a previous one? I found mention of another irish energy invention here: http://www.devilducky.com/media/27483/

    Answer:
    No
  18.  
    Question:
    If someone tries raise a plaque in your honor, will you let them?

    Answer:
    I hope it’s not a life size representation – they could do themselves damage lifting that! Again it’s a company effort!
  19.  
    Question:
    Is the guy who discovered this happy with the share options you gave him/her?

    Answer:
    Refer to the agitated Frenchman mentioned earlier! Everyone in the company is a shareholder, there is no one engineer who made the discovery, it was a team effort.
  20.  
    Question:
    How do you intend to make this pay? (Interpret as you wish!)

    Answer:
    We intend to license the technology to organizations in the mobile consumer electronics market and the automotive market.
  21.    
  22. Question:
    Is the patent for magnet shield relevant to your invention?

    Answer:
    No
  23.  
    Question:
    In one of the forum posts a retired patent attorney commented on the number of countries and regions for which you had applied for patents. It was his opinion that this patent application cost in the area of $1,000,000. Have or will you spend more or less than that on patents?

    Answer:
    We expect to spend more than this over the life time of the patents.
  24.  
    Question:
    How long before the first applications will be released to a larger audience

    Answer:
    There are multiple patents on the technology (we continue to file patents). I cannot say when these applications come into the public domain, we are not in control of the patent process.
  25.  
    Question:
    Has Steorn made any products before this energy device? Con men usually just sprout out of nothing so If you can show that Steorn is a real company that has developed real, working technology in the past it will add to your credibility.

    Answer:
    We have developed several technolgies for anti-fraud applications including a hologram verification technology and an optical disc finger printing technology.
  26.  
    Question:
    I think I read somewhere that you'd let developing countries use the technology free of charge for making sea water drinkable and such purposes. Is this true? Wouldn't this solve one of the biggest problems in the world?

    Answer:
    Yes it is true (we completed a site survey for a trial project in Africa last week), however the license free use of a technology in itself will not solve any problems - that will require significant commercial and political will power. We simply believe (and are stating up front) that we do not think that profit should be made from such applications in the developing world.
  27.  
    Question:

    Is the story in posting found below is genuine ?
    Hi,

    Let me tell you a little story - I am based in the Phyiscs Dept of a UK Uni (nameless as there are Non Disclosure Agreements in place), but we were asked to test this Steorn system - Now I wasnt working myself on this but was asked to look at the results - Simlpy put there was an "anomaly" in the results that we were at a lost to explain - this "anomaly" was that the design of the test system, (where we were given Steorn designs but purchased all components ourselves, biult it, tested, etc,) was that there appears to be a net energy gain when you move through the magnetics fields... We stated to Steorn that this "anomaly" required further examination. this was 6 months ago and we cannot find where this excess energy in the system is coming from... We are at a lost to explain it... But magnetics is admittently a bit of a grey area, we know the capabilities of electromagnetism but this is an area that hasnt had the same level of academic research as for example DNA sequencing, astrophysics, etc... the scientific community and industry knew how to create electricity and we left it at that - magnetics is a neglected part of our natural world and the Steorn "anomaly" has left our Dept quite baffled as we are left at a loss to explain it in Classical terms...

    I await what the rest of our community says when they have an opportunity to see this Steorn system...

    Answer:
    While several UK Unis have tested the technology I doubt that this posting is true, I have no way to tell.
 
Folks,

Just to let you know that we have mailed everyone who applied to involve themselves in the testing of our technology. We have requested CV's from applicants to aid us in selecting the most qualified. Only CV's received before midnight on 5th October 2006 will be considered for inclusion in the Jury.

Thanks,

The Steorn Team

FAQ - The Jury Process

  1.  
    Question:
    Why can the institutes / names of scientists that did initial tests not be released? Is that a condition of Steorn or of them?

    Answer:
    Prior to any testing done on the technology a mutual NDA was put in place. This NDA requires both the consent of the company and the third party for any details to be released.
  2.  
    Question:
    The scientists that are chosen, are they going to be given a set of instructions on how to build the device so they can go off into a corner and build it from scratch?

    Answer:
    The simple answer is yet, if that is what they want to do. I suspect that they will have it built by third parties, but it is thier call.
  3.  
    Question:
    Are there going to be ANY restrictions? Could they publish a webcam of them building it, with an open blog on the steps, and on what they are doing?

    Answer:
    Yes there are some simple restrictions, for example the testing will be conducted in three phases as outlined on our main site. Also during the testing process for each phase the details will be kept confidential (but they must be released at the end of the process). There will be no webcams, however the process will be filmed for release after validation.
  4.  
    Question:
    What kind of updates can we expect to see once the validation process is underway?

    Answer:
    We will advise of the start of each phase and publish the results at the end of each phase. We have no plans (at the moment) to provide updates during the process itself - we will discuss this with the Jury members to see what (if anything) works in this respect.
  5.  
    Question:
    Are there any concerns of scientist not coming forward in favor of the devices operation?

    Answer:
    We are confident that the tests will prove our claims, whatever is reported will be published (this will be a contractual obligation between Steorn and the Jury members).
  6.  
    Question:
    Are there any legal documentation giving Steorn the right to disclose all details of the results of this validation process including names of the scientist, their credentials, and organizations they work for?

    Answer:
    A contract will exist between Steorn and the Jury members that ensures disclosure at the end of each phase of the process.
  7.  
    Question:
    With whom do you hope that your ‘jury’ will provide validation? (Speaking as an experimental nuclear physicist, I don’t find it an acceptable way to prove your claims. A quick survey of my peers suggests that this is a widely held belief among scientists)

    Answer:
    The reports of the Jury will be placed in the public domain, our purpose in doing this is to prove to the public that our technology does work. I understand your comments about the method that we are using, however we could see no other route (no paper would ever be published for peer review)

FAQ - History of the Company & Technology


  1.  
    Question:
    You say you stumbled upon the principle of this device, can you talk more about that?

    Answer:
    We were working on a security system for ATM monitoring, which involved real time verification of ATM cards coupled with an environmental visual capture facility. The latter required numerous camera combinations and we were investigating way of independently powering these (motivations were convenience for individual camera installations (we don’t like cables!) and security of the system). One of the options we examined was small scale wind generators. Of course been the technologists that we are we had to break open the wind generators and started playing around with them, looking at, (amongst other things), the positioning of the magnets and testing the outputs – one of these configurations produced some strange results… And here we are today!
  2.  
    Question:
    How was it you discovered, I guess, that the device was self powered, or just kept going?

    Answer:
    No - we where measuring net rotation energy (static tests with torque sensors and angle encoders) when we started to notice that certain configurations gave calculated results greater than 100% around a closed loop.

    This is really where this project started, obviously we have significantly advanced the technology with these tests three years ago
  3.  
    Question:
    Clearly, you wouldn't trust yourselves that this thing was real, so I assume you brought in scientists from the local universities or from Europe.

    Answer:
    We spent a long time checking ourselves prior to approaching any third party, the technology has been reviewed and tested not only by universities but also third party engineering companies.
  4.  
    Question:
    What were their qualifications and are they convinced the device is for real?

    Answer:
    Academics with a specialty in Thermodynamics and Magnetics. The tests and analysis performed ultimately take the form of reports, these reports are conculsive with respect to our claim.

FAQ - Technical

Answers to the technical questions will be posted 28th September (these answers need to be run past our IP lawyers)



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