History Main / PerpetualMotionMachine

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2966 SCP-2966]] is a subversion of this trope. It is a toilet paper roll capable of producing infinite amounts of toilet paper. However, unlike many SCP objects, it follows the laws of thermodynamics. To produce the toilet paper, it draws energy from its surrounding area for an energy to mass conversion. To power produce even 30 sheets of toilet paper a day, the object has to be powered by an entire nuclear power plant porivin 2.04×10 to the power of 17 joules of heat energy solely to SCP 2966. If the reactor fails or too much toilet paper is taken from the device per day, it will instead draw in the heat energy from its surroundings, causing the temperature of a large area to drop to near absolute zero. Inversely, if no toilet is taken, then the energy in the object with keep rising until it goes critical, potentially detonating in something resembling a nuclear explosion.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2966 SCP-2966]] is a subversion of this trope. It is a toilet paper roll capable of producing infinite amounts of toilet paper. However, unlike many SCP objects, it follows the laws of thermodynamics. To produce the toilet paper, it draws energy from its surrounding . If the reactor fails or too much toilet paper is taken from the device, it will instead draw in the heat energy from its surroundings, causing the temperature of a large area to effectively drop to near absolute zero. Inversely, if no toilet is taken, then the energy in the roll with keep rising until it goes critical, potentially detonating in something resembling a nuclear explosion.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2966 SCP-2966]] is a subversion. It is a toilet paper roll capable of producing effectively infinite amounts of toilet paper. However, unlike many SCP objects, it follows the laws of thermodynamics. To produce even 30 sheets of toilet paper a day, the Foundation had to attach it to a nuclear reactor. If the reactor fails or too much toilet paper is taken from the device, it will instead draw in the heat energy from its surroundings, causing the temperature of a large area to effectively drop to near absolute zero. Inversely, if no toilet is taken, then the energy in the roll with keep rising until it goes critical, potentially detonating in something resembling a nuclear explosion.
** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3238 SCP-3238]], energy drinks that either make the user burst into flames, become highly radioactive, or turn into a projectile that will quickly leave Earth's orbit, comes with the description "energy from all natural yes [[LampshadeHanging obeys]] [[BalatantLies laws of thermodynamics]]

->"This 'perpetual motion' machine that she made today is a joke -- it just keeps going faster and faster[[note]] meaning, based on this description, it is now an incredibly destructive bomb[[/note]]."

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In a world where real magic is thought to be a myth and [[AppliedPhlebotinum Dust]] is becoming increasingly rare, the Rod of Creation stands out. It is a divine artifact that has the ability to keep [[FloatingContinent the entire city of Atlas floating]] for no cost whatsoever. It is specifically mentioned that this mimics the powers of [[GravityMaster Gravity Dust]]; in fact, the cover story is that Atlas uses Gravity Dust instead. The only downside is that the Rod can only be used for one purpose at a time; when they come up with a plan that involves floating a different large object high into the atmosphere, they actually do have to use Gravity dust. Because of this limitation, the full powers of the Rod remain unknown, such as whether it could mimic any other type of Dust.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-2966 SCP-2966]] is a subversion. It is a toilet paper roll capable of producing effectively infinite amounts of toilet paper. However, unlike many SCP objects, it follows the laws of thermodynamics. To produce even 30 sheets of toilet paper a day, the Foundation had to attach it to a nuclear reactor. If the reactor fails or too much toilet paper is taken from the device, it will instead draw in the heat energy from its surroundings, causing the temperature of everything in a large area to effectively drop to near absolute zero. Inversely, if no toilet is taken, then the energy in the roll with keep rising until it goes critical, potentially detonating in something resembling a nuclear explosion.

* The orrery in the Edgewood house in ''Literature/LittleBig'' is apparently a perpetual motion machine powerful enough to supply all the energy needs of the house when no electricity is available. It may or may not technically qualify as one since it's driven by the actual motion of the planets via sympathetic magic, so it breaks the laws of nature but not actually the laws of thermodynamics.

* ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' tested a bunch of free energy devices. [[RealityEnsues All but one of them completely failed]]. The one that produced any energy was a contraption where liquid in a bunch of tubes connected would be heated by the sun, boiling the liquid, and making the wheel spin. However, it only produced a tiny amount of power, and it wasn't a true perpetual motion machine as it got its power from the sun. Effectively it was an overly complicated and inefficient solar panel.

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Alluded to at the end of ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant''. One of the [[{{Magitek}} valuable artifacts]] recovered is a pair of 1cm cubes that rotate in opposite directions about once a minute, ''no matter what.'' It's explained that ancient dwarven civilizations used this minimalist PMM in conjunction with a massive gear and pulley system to power ''absolutely everything.''

->"This 'perpetual motion' machine that she made today is a joke -- it just keeps going faster and faster."

* Creator/LeoTolstoy tells a folk story about a Russian peasant who tried to invent this, but failed. The man was quite capable of building mills and claimed to even have repaired mills where professional engineers failed, but [[BookDumb lacked education]], and so wouldn't know about the laws of thermodynamics.

* The orrery in the Edgewood house in ''Literature/LittleBig'' is apparently a perpetual motion machine powerful enough to supply all the energy needs of the house when no electricity is available. It may or may not technically qualify as one, since it's driven by the actual motion of the planets via sympathetic magic, so it breaks the laws of nature but not actually the laws of thermodynamics.

* In ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' the mechanical energy needed to pump water up one story is only one tenth the amount generated when the water comes back down and powers a water wheel. Power the pump with the water wheel, prime it once with manual labor, and it will endlessly generate power.

* There's a whole ''gallery'' of plans for these machines -- Donald Simanek's [[http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/unwork.htm Museum of Unworkable Devices]]. Some visitors to this site misinterpret Simanek's motivation as "seeking to eliminate the flaws of such machines, so that they can be made workable"; of course, his actual motivation is to educate the public that those flaws are inherent and can ''never'' be eliminated.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'', Protagonist Rudy Tabootie creates one of these for the school science fair using his magic chalk. This wasn't intentional, as he was just in a rush to cheat and succeed, however the government immediately confiscates it upon its discovery in order to figure out how it works. Rudy's solution? Draw a power cord on it, making it so that it's no longer a perpetual motion machine.

* In the frictionless vacuum of outer space it is possible to have an object that will move forever through inertia, as in planetary orbits (which do slow down, but by a negligible amount). Technically, due to conservation of Angular momentum, if you spun a planet in empty space and no force or friction acts against it at all, it would spin forever. However, this is just perpetual ''storage'' of an initial amount of energy. If you hook a generator onto your frictionlessly moving object to achieve the ''production'' of energy that's the whole idea of perpetual-motion machines, all it'll do is tap that initial amount of energy. The object will then slow down, and eventually stop.

* ''[[Series/{{Mythbusters}}]]'' tested a bunch of free energy devices. [[RealityEnsues All but one of them completely failed]]. The one that produced any energy was a contraption where liquid in a bunch of tubes connected would be heated by the sun, boiling the liquid, and making the wheel spin. However, it only produced a tiny amount of power, and it wasn't a true perpetual motion machine as it got its power from the sun. Effectively it was an overly complicated and inefficient solar panel.

* ''[[Series/Mythbusters]]'' tested a bunch of free energy devices. [[RealityEnsues All but one of them completely failed]]. The one that produced any energy was a contraption where liquid in a bunch of tubes connected would be heated by the sun, boiling the liquid, and making the wheel spin. However, it only produced a tiny amount of power, and it wasn't a true perpetual motion machine as it got its power from the sun. Effectively it was an overly complicated and inefficient solar panel.

* ''Series/Mythbusters'' tested a bunch of free energy devices. [[RealityEnsues All but one of them completely failed]]. The one that produced any energy was a contraption where liquid in a bunch of tubes connected would be heated by the sun, boiling the liquid, and making the wheel spin. However, it only produced a tiny amount of power, and it wasn't a true perpetual motion machine as it got its power from the sun. Effectively it was an overly complicated and inefficient solar panel.

* Red Green attempted to make one in the "Handyman's Corner" segment of the GrandFinale of ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'', using only household items. He hooks up a lawnmower to an alternator that powers a ceiling fan located amongst some corn stalks. The fan chops off an ear of corn when the corn gets as high as an elephant's eye, sending the corn into [[KitchenSinkIncluded a sink]] with a garbage disposal also powered by the alternator. The corn then falls into an oil drum where it decomposes into ethanol, where it gets siphoned back into the lawnmower. Meanwhile, the spare corn seeds gathered by the garbage disposal slide down a downspout to where the corn grows, so the corn keeps on coming. However, Red finds one problem in his "ultimate project". The lawnmower won't start. (And, of course, even if it had worked, it wouldn’t have been a true free-energy machine, because it depends on the input of external energy—sunlight—to grow the corn.)

* Red Green attempted to make one in the "Handyman's Corner" segment of the GrandFinale of ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'', using only household items. He hooks up a lawnmower to an alternator that powers a ceiling fan located amongst some corn stalks. The fan chops off an ear of corn when the corn gets as high as an elephant's eye, sending the corn into [[KitchenSinkIncluded a sink]] with a garbage disposal also powered by the alternator. The corn then falls into an oil drum where it decomposes into ethanol, where it gets siphoned back into the lawnmower. Meanwhile, the spare corn seeds gathered by the garbage disposal slide down a downspout to where the corn grows, so the corn keeps on coming. However, Red finds one problem in his "ultimate project". The lawnmower won't start.

Obviously, a Perpetual Motion Machine contradicts the First Law of Thermodynamics, which states, roughly, "[[EquivalentExchange You can't get something from nothing.]]" Of course, this didn't stop some people from believing in a PMM - [[IRejectYourReality they just insist that obviously, the First Law has to be wrong.]]

* The Star Forge from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is essentially this in both function and capability. By harvesting the infinite power of a star, the Star Forge is able to create essentially limitless amounts of droids, fighters and capital ships constantly. It, and everything made with the Star Forge's technology such as the Star Maps that lead to its location, are also capable of complete self-repair. Justified as [[spoiler: It's a mechanical [[EldritchStarship Eldritch Starship]] that is fueled by the Dark Side of the Force itself and heavily implied to be sentient.]]

* The main focus of the first episode of Literature/TheChroniclesOfProfessorJackBaling is what happens to an engineering professor when he encounters a working perpetual motion machine. Specifically, an [[http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/machines/machines.htm overbalanced wheel.]]

[[folder:Anime AND Manga]]

* An 8th grade student in Yevgeni Veltistov's ''The New Adventures of Elektronic'' claims to have created a small device that causes a little light bulb to light up and never go off after you wind the crank once. When the titular android character is asked if such a thing is possible, he simply says that he doesn't know, but that the device doesn't have any moving parts (except, obviously, the crank). The device is put on a shelf in the classroom and forgotten. It's mentioned that it worked without anyone touching it for weeks, but the little light bulb burned out shortly after. Of course, this is the same book where another student from the same class proved FermatsLastTheorem, only to rip up his proof a week later, as he did not want recognition.

* The Ransom Apparatus of ''The Rise of Ransom City'', a machine that utilizes the Ransom Process[[note]] Professor Harry Ransom is, by his own admission, self-centered[[/note]] to "[strip] away the world and [reveal] the energy that lies beneath," generating both light and heat in infinite quantities (among other things, like altering local gravity and creating "ghosts" of people from alternate universes). It only works because it incorporates a [[FunctionalMagic rune]] of the [[MagicNativeAmerican First Folk]] in its construction. Folk magic [[RealityWarpingIsNotAToy not being a toy]], the Process can be very dangerous when it [[GoingCritical melts down]]. While Ransom intended to use it to provide free light to everyone in the West, everyone else is more interested in its applications as a PhlebotinumBomb.