As a follow-up to my recent diatribe against “quantum” pseudoscience, here’s a shocking bit of news, reported by the Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe podcast:

Over $18,000 have been raised on Indiegogo to fund James Robitaille’s project to build a perpetual motion machine.

“[…] our designs use high voltage/low current construction, which gives us a HUGE surplus of energy. A portion of the surplus energy is fed back to self-power the motor….”

This machine would generate so much energy, it would feed back onto itself to further generate more energy, so that the machine in the end would consume no energy and be able to provide clean, pollutant-free energy for the whole world! Give money now!

These perpetual motion machines are impossible given the first and second laws of thermodynamics. A reversal of our basic understanding of the laws of physics would be a massive game-changer. We are led to believe that this man, James Robitaille, has discovered that these laws have been wrong all along, which is why he “resigned from the position [he has] held for 26 years with an internationally known motor manufacturer because [he is] confident in [his] ability to bring this technology to people and communities that need it.” He further states that “this is my purpose on Earth at this time.”

This is a recurrent scam. Con artist claims to have found the answer to mankind’s ills. Only needs a bit of money.

The depressing part? 286 people bought this hook, line, and sinker, and donated a total of $18,064. One of the many ways in which pseudoscience is harmful.