Nexus - 0703 - New Times Magazine-pages

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naval background, his first ideas were for ships. Very soon, he escape route. Glossop was sceptical and bet him it wouldn't work. had a revolutionary marine propulsion concept using ferrofluids. But within two days, Cuthbert had the demonstration. He stuck Again, he can't afford to patent the idea, but is happy to explain it | magnets onto the caterpillar tracks of a wind-up toy tractor, and to anyone who will listen. painted ferrofluid up a wall. The tractor climbed the wall with "Magnetise the hull of a ship. Take a few hundred litres of ease. "It was the nicest £100 I ever parted with," says Glossop. ferrofluid and stick it to the hull. Being superparamagnetic, it will Last year, however, much more of his money went to finance naturally form itself into a thick film on the surface of the hull. another Cuthbert idea, even though most conventional engineers The trick to turn it into a propulsion system is to put a magnet on would rate it on the loony tunes scale as highly melodious. a track just inside the hull and move the magnet from prow to Cuthbert calls it the Gravity Engine. stern." He does a rough sketch of a ship and draws a fin-like "Ever since my days in the navy, I've always been interested in shape on the hull opposite the magnet. "The magnetic field will getting power for nothing,” says Cuthbert. "I know theoretically create a bump on the side of the ship, and by altering the field I it's impossible because of the law of conservation of energy, but can make a bump of any shape I want—like a fin or an oar. If I there are always ways round things." move the magnet sternwards inside the hull, the bump will travel He had built lots of over-unity devices in the previous 20 years, down the ship and propel the ship forward. Obviously, in a real based on various principles, but without success. application you wouldn't move a magnet; you'd use a solid-state "When I started observing the strange properties of ferrofluids, linear motor. That would let you have multiple bumps along the something clicked," he recalls. "It suddenly occurred to me that, hull and make it a continuous process—like with ferrofluids, the source of power for a the fins on a fish, only much more efficient, free-energy machine could now, probably with hundreds of them." for the first time ever, be gravity." Never one to come up with an idea without There were two key insights behind testing it, Cuthbert built a small-scale proto- Cuthbert's creative leap. The first is sim- type, using a tin can, an electric motor, a piece | [pn theory, this should be a ple; in fact, any child playing in the bath ihe contapion in his bath "andi went'zhipp: | CONStantly self-propelling, | ern air nan in water and hollow objects through the water". "That was a useful one- free-running system— are lighter in water than in air. As every the Following day he was down at the | "NOt a perpetual motion | fore than air iat is responsible for these butcher's, buying a cow's heart. He wanted to machine, an idea which everyday phenomena. But what few of us yout aoe fea appiation for | wuld send any | wild av hs vo el at "Existing artificial hearts are very reasonable scientist ed to make a "gravity engine". p complicated things with lots of moving running for cover," he is Cuthbert's second insight came eo T wondered: how about using ggg quick to point out, "but a fo his experimental metal separator ferrofluids to power a real heart?" He device to extract usable idea. He discovered that magnetic energy from Earth's gravitational field." picked up the inert lump of cow's heart liquid could be held in a hollow tube and injected ferrofluid into the muscle. by surrounding it with a magnetic He placed a rotating magnet next to it and field, and that this would in turn the heart started pumping. He is clearly support a whole column of water proud of having invented something with above. Poking a pencil up through the potential to save lives. "Imagine, you the magnetic liquid into the water, he could have an artificial heart made of real was surprised to discover that the heart tissue which would never clog up," pencil went in very easily and yet the he says, "or you could inject a damaged ferrofluid seal was so tight that not a heart and encourage the muscle to drop of water escaped. regenerate." In a flash, Cuthbert put insights one and two together, and the Gravity Engine was born. He saw that, with ferrofluid acting as CUTHBERT'S GRAVITY ENGINE the interface between water and air, he could pass a hollow ball Mike Glossop of Ferrofluidics has a soft spot for Cuthbert. up into the water from below, let it float to the surface, drop it "Many people Tony meets think he's a bit like a mad professor. I down through air and reintroduce it into the water. In theory, this might use the same term myself, but I would use it as a term of should be a constantly self-propelling, free-running system—"not endearment rather than [in the sense] that he's some sort of loony a perpetual motion machine, an idea which would send any rea- tune. He's a combination of an old-fashioned type of experimen- sonable scientist running for cover," he is quick to point out, "but tal physicist and an extraordinary lateral thinker. Ideas come out _a device to extract usable energy from Earth's gravitational field. of him in torrents. It is possible many of them will be disproved. In its crudest form, a series of balls on a string should be able to But I've got too much respect for him to dismiss any of them out _go endlessly round and round, powered by the difference between of hand." the density of water and air. It's easiest to imagine it working Glossop admits recently losing a small, friendly bet with Tony with balls that float in water, but balls of any density should pro- over an idea that he felt couldn't possibly work. Cuthbert pro- duce the same result." posed used ferrofluids as a sort of vertical magnetic track. Paint a Cuthbert knew the problem was going to be whether the energy wall with a strip of liquid magnetic paint, he said, and it could be produced by the system would be enough to pull the balls through used as a track to take firehoses up skyscrapers, or even as a fire the ferrofluid seal. He decided to put it to the test in an energy from Earth's gravitational field." CUTHBERT'S GRAVITY ENGINE Mike Glossop of Ferrofluidics has a soft spot for Cuthbert. "Many people Tony meets think he's a bit like a mad professor. I might use the same term myself, but I would use it as a term of endearment rather than [in the sense] that he's some sort of loony tune. He's a combination of an old-fashioned type of experimen- tal physicist and an extraordinary lateral thinker. Ideas come out of him in torrents. It is possible many of them will be disproved. But I've got too much respect for him to dismiss any of them out of hand." Glossop admits recently losing a small, friendly bet with Tony over an idea that he felt couldn't possibly work. Cuthbert pro- posed used ferrofluids as a sort of vertical magnetic track. Paint a wall with a strip of liquid magnetic paint, he said, and it could be used as a track to take firehoses up skyscrapers, or even as a fire APRIL — MAY 2000 NEXUS - 57