Magniwork Perpetual Motion Scam!

Perpetual Motion Impossible

***Update -7/27/09 - I've confirmed with my own eyes that Magniwork is a SCAM! One of the readers was kind enough to share the Magniwork plans with me and they are laughable. The whole "document" is 57 pages long and looks like something a kid in high school put together. The final "generator" is basically a magnet that is 2" high sitting on a turntable that is 4" high! They claim that its output is 24.5 Watts! That is 1/100th of what my house uses when the AC is on. That is nothing! Basically the plans tell you how to make a mini-electrical generator, but they dont even tell you how you are supposed to turn the thing to produce energy! The thing is about the size of your palm, so even if you did find a "free" way to rotate the shaft, it wouldnt put out enough power to light up a standard light bulb. It's completely ridiculous. Please don't even attpempt to build this thing, just look at the plans if you want a good laugh. Here is some text in regards to how the Magniwork is supposed to be powered:

This power source is not predicated on a continuous flow of energy but predicated on the consistency of the transmutation process of the magnetic molecular structures within the Earth's pressure flow.

What does that even mean? By reading the text it doesn't look like it was a native English speaker who wrote the thing. I bet the author has some money they need to wire to you from a Nigerian bank account.

Whatever you do, don't waste your money on this!

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Thanks for reading and learning the truth on this energy scam. Subscribe to Mapawatt RSS Feed or subscribe to MapAWatt by emailto get updated by email when new blogs are posted (about every other day).

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***Update #2 - 7/30/09 - See the Magniwork plans online for free at this site: Magniwork stole the plans from here. Thanks to Ajax Chen for finding the link. While the site is not the exact version of the plans, it looks like the Magniwork authors just copy and pasted (without even bothering to change the images at all) from the site. From now on, don't even bother to ask for a copy of the plans in the comment section, just see the above link!

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***Update #3 - 8/5/09

Since I'm still getting comments from people saying that they will try to build the generator if they see the plans, I realize I just have to post some pictures of the plans. Once you see the ridiculousness of the "machine" there is no way anyone would try and build it. It's like if I told you I knew of a ground breaking way to cool your home for free, then gave you plans to build a standard refrigerator. Would you still try and build a standard fridge? Pictures coming tonight!

Well, here's the picture I promised. The picture below is taken from this site, which Magniwork stole the plans from.

The amazing Magniwork Generator!

I don't know if you can see, but the device will put out an amazing 24.5 Watts. Maybe enough to charge your phone! All you need is a few thousand of these and maybe you can power your house. But wait, what's going to spin them? Who knows.

Also, the only equipment they talk about is a Multimeter and a Soldering Iron. Ha! The only reason I'm not posting the plans is because I'm sure these scam artists would threaten me with a lawsuit and waste my time.

I am really bothered at how many sites there are when you Google "magniwork" claiming it is for real. This just means that these are also scam sites that get a commission for selling the fake plans. Don't trust these sites!

***Update #4 - 8/7/09

It's amazing (and infuriating) how many scam sites come up when you Google "magniwork". They have been able to weasel their way into a high google ranking. The one site with a high ranking that is not a scam is this great article on PESWiki regarding Magniwork. If you don't take my word for it, read their review.

***Update #5 - 8/18/09

Magniwork has been my most popular post by far. There were 210 people who found this post through Google just yesterday, so these scam artists have made their mark on the web. Based on a recent comment, I want to make one thing clear: I am not calling out this scam because it violates laws of physics (which it does). I am calling out this scam because I have seen where they stole the information and read through their laughable instructions that look like they were written by a 10 year old. Even if the generator actually worked, they completely fail to show how it can power anything bigger than a light bulb, much less your home! This was put together by someone who wanted to take advantage of people trying to save energy. I'm sorry if you've been suckered into this. If you really want to save energy at home, spend $15 and buy The Home Energy Diet: How to Save Money by Making Your House Energy-Smart (Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series). It is the most comprehensive analysis of conserving home energy, and it is not a scam! All I can say is follow Mapawatt Blog and hopefully you'll prevent yourself from falling into these scams in the future!

***Update #6 - 8/22/09

I've dedicated a whole post to Magniwork and other Renewable Energy scams . One thing it points out is that Magniwork and Ambigrid are the same thing. It also raises the question, Are Magniwork and Earth4Energy related?

***Update #7 - 9/13/09

Thanks to everyone's help, it looks like our exposure of Magniwork has got them squirming. Seems like they've changed their tune a little bit and are hawking Magniwork with a new name called Magnets4Energy. No, I am not going to link to them, but you can do a Google search for yourself to see how these scammers operate.

***Update #8 - 10/20/09

The guys at off-grid.net have done a great story on the scammers behind Magniwork and a great review of the Magniwork Scam and how it works.

***Update #9 - 01/24/10

I found this great history of perpetual motion machines. Guess what, none of them worked. Reminded me of Magniwork.

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Original Post

I recently added some Google Ads to the site (yes, I am a capitalist) and I ran across this add for a company called Magniwork showing up on my sidebar. They were advertising "free energy" so of course it caught my eye. On their site they say, "How would you like to create a generator which creates free electric energy?" They then show some diagram that is completely useless (and actually includes an diesel generator?) and finally go on to say:

A Zero point magnetic power generator is basically a Free Energy Generator. It uses magnets, and magnetic force to induce perpetual motion. It runs by itself, indefinitely without stopping, thus creating completely free electrical energy, which can fully power your home for free. A Perpetual motion device refers to a machine that runs perpetually i.e. indefinitely, and produces a larger amount of energy than it consumes. Thus, it produces free energy indefinitely, runs by itself, without having to need a third-party device or resource to power it.

Perpetual motion! Woo Hoo! Sounds like a great deal huh? Unfortunately it violates that First Law of Thermodynamics. Physicists and Engineers don't call it the LAW of conservation of energy just to have a clever marketing name.

Why can you never have a perpetual motion machine? Because you will always have friction! Whether it is air friction or friction of a rotating shaft on a bearing, you will always have it! Friction causes things to slow down, so no matter how much energy you start with, friction will slowly eat away at that energy. And this is just a machine that moves forever, not even a machine that has to create electricity with its movement. If you have to create electricity, it requires much more work , so how are you going to overcome natural friction AND create electricity without any losses?

You can have machines that take advantage of wind, solar power, batteries, temperature gradients, etc., but these are not perpetual motion machines. They are just taking energy from one form and converting it to another. You can't create anything from nothing!

The website isn't even selling a machine, but just plans for a machine. Obviously that is a smart idea for an energy scam artist. They can always claim that you just hooked it up wrong. And they claim that the reason you haven't heard of this wonderful device yet is because corporations are suppressing the information. Let me promise you this: If a perpetual motion machine existed that created electricity, it would make a corporation the richest corporation in the world. That's a fact. Corporations would love to sell a machine that created free electricity!

They also have several customer testimonials on the site. As I covered in my article on the Power Factor scam device, never trust customer testimonials on a website. Do you know how easy it is to make one up. Here, let me show you:

John McGillicutty from Kalamazoo, Michigan says, "MapAWatt Blog is the greatest blog in the whole entire world. If you aren't reading this blog you are crazy. Mapawatt has saved me millions in energy bills. Millions I tell you!"

See, I just made that up, but I bet you thought it was real because there was a name and a city attached to the quote. Don't believe customer testimonials on websites that sound like a scam! The website states, "Hundreds of successful magniwork generators have been built around the world, which is a proof that this technology really works!". This means there are many fools that took the bait, not that it works (Thanks Randy for providing this last insight.)

If you are some sucker that got pulled in to trying to sell one of these devices or if you actually bought this, I'm sorry. If you are going to try to argue that it really does work, show me this device hooked up to an energy meter like the TED or any other energy meter. Then prove to me it isn't hooked up to any external power/battery sources. If you can prove that it works, congratulations, you just won the Nobel Prize......

Until then, I'm calling B.S.!

Click here to learn why perpetual motion free energy machines don't work. Make any comments regarding perpetual motion on the post in the link. You can make Magniwork scam comments below.

***Update - 11/03/09 - One of the Mapawatt team members sent me the Mythbuster's Free Energy segment. Guess what? They busted the Free Energy myth!

If you're really interested in creating energy in your home, the best way to do that is install a solar pv system. Click here if you want to get a free quote on a Solar PV system.

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conservation of energy

first law of thermodynamics

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Comments

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/15/2009 - 08:43

Wish I'd found you guys sooner! I spent waaaaay too much time researching this yesterday and bought the plans in the end because of all the affilates out there who kept me from sites like yours. I got suspicious when there were no pictures in the instructions showing how to actually do this, the gramitical errors (watch - I've probably spelled that incorrectly!), and the lack of even an email address - let alone tech support. Finally Googled the right question and found you. Thanks to you, I've applied for a refund (thank goodness for ClickBank). Something else you might want to see - I stumbled across their affiliate site (see below) and was surprised with the phrase, "Try to sound honest and sincere in your review, because it will add credibility in the eye of the potential customer." - Not - "Just be honest and tell your story." Nope! - We've got to "Try to sound honest and sincere." I also found out why everyone so all over this: "Commission: You earn 75% per sale, which equals to around 33$ per sale. Furthemore, with the 37$ backend product that is being offered, you earn an additional 25$ from it. Meaning, from only one conversion, you can earn up to 58$. The pitch page has been thoroughly tweaked and tested so that you get high conversion rates from your promotion." I really wish this had been for real, but am thankful for sites like yours that do the reality wake up call! Wish we could bring back Tesla!

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/15/2009 - 10:37

Shannon, I hope you get the refund and I wish you found us sooner! Did you try googling "magniwork" as we are currently the number one hit on google. The site you listed for the affiliate page is very eye opening. I hope everyone can see that the reason Magniwork is present everywhere is that they are paying people to promote the product even though the people dont know it's a scam. It's basically one massive pyramid/ponzi scheme, just a different format. Hopefully by investigating how scammers like this operate you will know not to fall for this type of scam in the future.

Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/19/2009 - 13:13

Sorry, error in previous link: http://www.magneticenergy.org.uk/Mini%20Romag%20Generator/Mini%20Romag%20Generator.htm And BTW, for those who'll try to build the Romag, use the original plans from my links. Magniwork has changed some of the information (probably to make it look easier to build)including: Magniwork guide: Q: What kind of material should be used for the brass rotor? A: You can use copper, zinc, tin, or lead, we recommend using copper. Original instructions: Q1) What type of brass is used for the rotor? A1) brass rotor made of 83% copper, 3% Zinc, 7% Tin and 7% Lead. and possibly other information as well, haven't checked it all. Roy

Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/19/2009 - 12:54

The plans in the Magniwork book are copied from these two sites, where you can get them free: http://www.magneticenergy.org.uk/Mini%20Romag%20Generator/Mi ni%20Romag%20Generator.htm http://jnaudin.free.fr/html/mromag.htm David Wilson said: "BUT it now appears that they have changed the basis of their plans to another idea altogether. Does this not suggest that the initial plans were in some way incorrect or misleading? To say the least, the sale of these plans were and I’m sure still are, FALSE ADVERSTISING." If they have changed the plans from the Mini-Romag to yet another device, it isn't the first time. Read more about it at Peswiki: http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Magniwork Roy

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/18/2009 - 17:39

I think the air needs to be cleared here. Clickbank have nothing to do with the magniwank plans. Clickbank are not the sellers of the plans. My understanding is that Clickbank is a reputable internet company. Clickbank are NOT scammers. The company Magniwork are the scammers. Ray I hope that after reading the plans you now see that the sale of them is based on misleading information and false advertising. The Romag Generator diagrams - which is what magniwank were selling - is a free internet download. BUT it now appears that they have changed the basis of their plans to another idea altogether. Does this not suggest that the initial plans were in some way incorrect or misleading? To say the least, the sale of these plans were and I'm sure still are, FALSE ADVERSTISING. But i have to say here i am worried that all this debating and chattering about this company and its bogus idea have done nothing but raised the interest of the public.

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/18/2009 - 15:48

Ray, The only reason I have not posted the plans online is because seeing as they were created by a scam artist, I am sure the person would try and sue me. Unfortunately, you will just have to trust me for now.

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/18/2009 - 15:25

Chris, It sounds like you have a leg up on those who have not at least seen the plans. Note that I said it could be a scam and from what you have seen you are convinced that it is. My point was that we should base assertions on facts before vilifying someone. At least you have some facts to go on. My suggestion is that you make the plans on available to individuals that may want to see them if it's not too much trouble for you. (The guy has made quite a few bucks according to Clickbank.) Each person could then have a more solid basis for such strong negative assertions against a person. I think that would be helpful. Your points are well taken. Ray

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/01/2009 - 07:10

The basic problem with all of these "Free Energy" devices is energy isn't free. What thermodynamics is about is noticing energy is neither created nor destroyed- it merely changes form, there is always waste, and the waste is heat. But more importantly, it is possible to see this principle in everyday life. If you press the accelerator on your car, you speed up. What has just happened is energy contained in the fuel was converted to forward motion, rotational motion in the engine, and a large amount of waste heat which comes out in the exhaust and the radiator. So what these plans are showing is taking a part of that machine, the generator, and claiming all you have to do is give it a spin and it will power your house. The problem with this is reality pushes back- literally. Ever use one of those little bicycle light generators? Notice how the bike didn't roll as freely with that on there? The reason is a generator obeys conservation of energy- in order to get 50W out, you have to put in those 50W as well as the energy the device will lose to friction- that's more than 50W. So in other words, the more energy coming out of a generator, the more energy you have to push into it, and the energy pushed into it will always be more than comes out as electricity. This principle is used in hybrid cars as regenerative braking- literally, it uses its motor as a generator (electric motors and generators are the same machines) when you press the brake pedal. The generator is used in this mode to charge the battery, and the energy from the car moving forwards is put back into the battery, with some losses- but the result is you slow down, and quickly. And that's that. If you want energy in a form, you have to ask where it is coming from. In engineering, this is a critical form of analysis of real machines- usually when the question is, "Why isn't this thing more efficient than we thought it would be?" In that case, the usual culprits are heat being lost, friction, and poorly accounted for Carnot Efficiency effects. And that's probably the point of most interest here- the conservation of energy is NOT what limits the efficiency of machines and how much energy we have available; it is a separate ideal efficiency, formulated by a true genius (look up Nicolas Carnot on Wikipedia). Essentially, Carnot efficiency comes from the observation real machine come nowhere close to satisfying 100% energy conversion. For the purposes of a public blog, the non-formula explanation for this is part of the waste heat is needed to push the waste heat away. So, for example, if you have a water wheel driving a mill, you can't actually use all of the energy in the incoming water- you have to leave it with some remaining height so it can flow away from the wheel to make room for new water to flow into it. So in our cars, the engine has to use some of its energy to get rid of its waste heat- it uses energy to drive the cooling system, and it uses energy to drive its exhaust out. That means there is always energy we can't use- not because we are limited in our understanding, but rather it's because you can't dig a hole and leave all the dirt at the height of the hole- you have to lift it higher to get it on the ground around the hole. So what does this mean for Zero Point Energy? Yep- that's right- it's a scientific observation of no practical use- you won't be able to get that energy, because there is no where lower to let your waste drain to. Now, someone pointed out there is a famous relation between matter and energy, E=mC^2. So, couldn't it be possible tiny amounts of mass are being converted to energy? Here is a quick check- what would you say if someone claimed to have a Free Water machine- just hook it to you pipes and let the sun shine on its little solar panel, and it will provide all of the water for your house. It's pretty obvious that isn't going to happen because we all know conservation of mass exists. If you want ten gallons of water, you need to go get ten gallons of water; they won't just come out of nowhere. That is also a Law of Thermodynamics, but one which is so easy to see, the scammers instead flock to Free Energy, which is a bit less obvious. As Free Water won't exist, neither will Free Energy. But it is conceivable we may find inexpensive and readily usable energy sources. But we should all have a little caution on that. For much of history, fairly advanced science and engineering has been available, but it didn't go very far because no one could develop such an energy source until very recently. So, if you want to save money on energy, use less. Get compact fluorescent bulbs- not only do you save the energy of the bulb, you also save another 50% from the energy your air conditioner would have consumed to cool off the heat the conventional bulbs produce. Get your home insulated- that will save lots of energy. Move closer to where you work so you aren't driving so far. If you have a 20 mpg car, cutting this distance to 1/5 the amount you drive now causes you to burn gas at the rate you would if you had a 100 mpg car, and gives you time back, too. See, there are some really potent things we can do. -Rich

Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/17/2009 - 04:15

Just a correction - perpetual motion machines/free energy machines/etc all violate the *second* law of thermodynamics, not the first. The first is - in english - "work is heat and heat is work and both are a form of energy"; or dU=dW+dQ, and the second is that the change in entropy in any thermodynamic process _as a whole_ has positive semi-definiteness (i.e. entropy always increases, although there can be no net entropy change for a perfectly reversible process). Thanks for putting these up - I saw a google ad for "Magniwork" and wondered what the hell it was, and now I know. *Sigh*...

Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 08/16/2009 - 01:29

Hi Chris, Thank sfor your blog....thought this sounded too good to be true. Would it be possible to have a copy of the plans? Rgds, Jac

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