VI. NORMAN SELPE. 



persons, however, in criticising this claim in the scientific 

 journals, have fallen into errors themselves, and others would, 

 probably, say, " It is impossible, because it would be perpetual 

 motion, or the production of energy from nothing." A little 

 consideration of the latter proposition, however, will show us 

 that such critics might be wrong as to their reasons, even if they 

 were correct as to their view of the facts, because the operation 

 might come under one of chese classes of perpetual motion which 

 are improperly so called. Perhaps it may be worth while here 

 to devote a few minutes to the consideration of the almost 

 tabooed subject of perpetual motion. 



Every one present has, no doubt, in his time been brought 

 face to face with one or more of those absurd and impossible 

 projects for producing perpetual motion, or " gaining power/' 

 examples of which are continually being patented, or brought 

 into notice, in Sydney, just as in other parts of the world. 



In these types something is intended to be obtained for 

 nothing, and they should not be confounded with other projects 

 which only seek — in a novel way — to utilise natural energy. In 

 the former types it is often "wonderful mechanism," which 

 always wants the one little finishing touch to make it go, that is 

 employed in the futile attempt to make the descent of a lesser 

 weight lift a greater one to the same height. Sometimes the 

 inventor does not believe in the weight of the atmosphere, or 

 the effect of gravity, or something else of the sort, and thousands 

 ot such machines appear to have been actually constructed. I 

 have had at least a score of such projects brought under my 

 notice at different times by as many would-be inventors ; of 

 course, the missing link necessary to make them go is never 

 forthcoming. 



Then there are the Perpetual Motion Frauds, which really do 

 go ; but go only by means of a concealed storage of power. Of 

 such was the celebrated Keeley Motor, on which hundreds of 

 thousands of pounds were sunk, and which was operated by 

 highly compressed air supplied through apparent wires that were 

 really tubes. Some forty years ago I was the possessor of a 



