Perhaps the most persistent nonsense in physics: the perpetual motion machine. Bad ideas come and go in physics. But there’s one bit of nonsense that is perhaps more persistent than all others: the ...

A wheel weighted with swinging mallets. A cylinder rotating in a sealed, water-filled container. A siphon that transfers liquid back and forth in a seemingly endless loop. These may sound like the ...

Receive emails about upcoming NOVA programs and related content, as well as featured reporting about current events through a science lens. “Nature of Reality” blogger ) Frank Wilczek has gone public ...

I think every engineer at one time or another has considered seriously the possibility of perpetual motion. It seems so logical: Connect a motor to a generator that provides the power that drives the ...

A wheel weighted with swinging mallets. A cylinder rotating in a sealed, water-filled container. A siphon that transfers liquid back in forth in a seemingly endless loop. These may sound like the ...