In short, the Big Freeze is essentially a time of eternal, unending, utterly still darkness. Fortunately, it's not set to happen for another 100 trillion years or so. Unfortunately, thanks to the fundamental physics of our universe, perpetual motion machines are impossible.

Perpetual motion is the motion of bodies that continues forever in an unperturbed system. A perpetual motion machine is a hypothetical machine that can do work infinitely without an external energy source. This kind of machine is impossible, as it would violate either the first or second law of thermodynamics, or both. [2] [3] [4] [5] Perpetuum Mobile of Villard de Honnecourt (about 1230). The "Overbalanced Wheel", annotated with distances of the weights from the centreline showing that the torques on both sides even out on average Roy, Bimalendu Narayan (2002). Fundamentals of Classical and Statistical Thermodynamics. John Wiley & Sons. p.58. Bibcode: 2002fcst.book.....N. ISBN 978-0470843130. So, if you happen to be able to build one, you will need energy to start the motion. This is the only energy that you will be able to harvest, since, as stated previously, energy cannot be created. Kind of a pointless device, really. Maxwell's demon: This was originally proposed to show that the Second Law of Thermodynamics applied in the statistical sense only, by postulating a "demon" that could select energetic molecules and extract their energy. Subsequent analysis (and experiment) have shown there is no way to physically implement such a system that does not result in an overall increase in entropy.Perpetual motion, on season 8 , episode 2". Scientific American Frontiers. Chedd-Angier Production Company. 1997–1998. PBS. Archived from the original on 2006-01-01.

Akshoy, Ranjan Paul; Sanchayan, Mukherjee; Pijush, Roy (2005). Mechanical Sciences: Engineering Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics. Prentice-Hall India. p.51. ISBN 978-8-12-032727-6. Perpetual Motion Machine" redirects here. For other uses, see Perpetual Motion Machine (disambiguation). Robert Fludd's 1618 "water screw" perpetual motion machine from a 1660 wood engraving. It is widely credited as the first attempt to describe such a device. [note 1] [1] Something for Nothing (1940), a short film featuring Rube Goldberg illustrating the U.S. Patent Office's policy regarding perpetual motion machines (and the power efficiency of gasoline) In flywheel energy storage, "modern flywheels can have a zero-load rundown time measurable in years". [38] These laws of thermodynamics apply regardless of the size of the system. For example, the motions and rotations of celestial bodies such as planets may appear perpetual, but are actually subject to many processes that slowly dissipate their kinetic energy, such as solar wind, interstellar medium resistance, gravitational radiation and thermal radiation, so they will not keep moving forever. [6] [7] Examination of Applications II. UTILITY - 706.03(a) Rejections Under 35 U.S.C. 101". Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (8ed.). August 2001.A perpetual motion machine of the second kind is a machine that spontaneously converts thermal energy into mechanical work. When the thermal energy is equivalent to the work done, this does not violate the law of conservation of energy. However, it does violate the more subtle second law of thermodynamics in a cyclic process (see also entropy). The signature of a perpetual motion machine of the second kind is that there is only one heat reservoir involved, which is being spontaneously cooled without involving a transfer of heat to a cooler reservoir. This conversion of heat into useful work, without any side effect, is impossible, according to the second law of thermodynamics. If you aren't aware, the Big Freeze is the theoretical end of, well, everything. It is the point at which the universe has expanded so much that it reaches a state of zero thermodynamic free energy. In other words, it is the point at which the cosmos, as a whole, will be unable to sustain motion. All of spacetime will be at absolute zero (the coldest known temperature, where all movement stops). The Work-Energy Principle is wrong. OK, this isn't very likely. We have used this principle for a long time and it always works. It would be crazy to have a stupid wood-and-ball toy prove that energy isn't conserved.

A perpetual motion machine of the third kind is defined as one that completely eliminates friction and other dissipative forces, to maintain motion forever due to its mass inertia ( Third in this case refers solely to the position in the above classification scheme, not the third law of thermodynamics). It is impossible to make such a machine, [20] [21] as dissipation can never be completely eliminated in a mechanical system, no matter how close a system gets to this ideal (see examples in the Low Friction section). Another theoretical machine involves a frictionless environment for motion. This involves the use of diamagnetic or electromagnetic levitation to float an object. This is done in a vacuum to eliminate air friction and friction from an axle. The levitated object is then free to rotate around its center of gravity without interference. However, this machine has no practical purpose because the rotated object cannot do any work as work requires the levitated object to cause motion in other objects, bringing friction into the problem. Furthermore, a perfect vacuum is an unattainable goal since both the container and the object itself would slowly vaporize, thereby degrading the vacuum. Take the longer of the two vertical panels and place the two side panels into it. There is a notch halfway down which should be secured tightly. It is easiest to align these first and then rotate the panel into place through the top two notches.Buoyancy is another frequently misunderstood phenomenon. Some proposed perpetual-motion machines miss the fact that to push a volume of air down in a fluid takes the same work as to raise a corresponding volume of fluid up against gravity. These types of machines may involve two chambers with pistons, and a mechanism to squeeze the air out of the top chamber into the bottom one, which then becomes buoyant and floats to the top. The squeezing mechanism in these designs would not be able to do enough work to move the air down, or would leave no excess work available to be extracted. Harmor, Greg; Derek Abbott (2005). "The Feynman-Smoluchowski ratchet". Parrondo's Paradox Research Group. School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Univ. of Adelaide. Archived from the original on 2009-10-11 . Retrieved 2010-01-15.

The principles of thermodynamics are so well established, both theoretically and experimentally, that proposals for perpetual motion machines are universally met with disbelief on the part of physicists. Any proposed perpetual motion design offers a potentially instructive challenge to physicists: one is certain that it cannot work, so one must explain how it fails to work. The difficulty (and the value) of such an exercise depends on the subtlety of the proposal; the best ones tend to arise from physicists' own thought experiments and often shed light upon certain aspects of physics. So, for example, the thought experiment of a Brownian ratchet as a perpetual motion machine was first discussed by Gabriel Lippmann in 1900 but it was not until 1912 that Marian Smoluchowski gave an adequate explanation for why it cannot work. [26] However, during that twelve-year period scientists did not believe that the machine was possible. They were merely unaware of the exact mechanism by which it would inevitably fail. FOLLOW-UP: What is the 'zero-point energy' (or 'vacuum energy') in quantum physics? Is it really possible that we could harness this energy?". Scientific American. 18 August 1997. As a perpetual motion machine can only be defined in a finite isolated system with discrete parameters, and since true isolated systems do not exist (among other things, due to quantum uncertainty and Tarski's/ Gödel's theorems), "perpetual motion" in the context of this article is better defined as a "perpetual motion machine" because a machine is a "A device that directs and controls energy, often in the form of movement or electricity, to produce a certain effect [37]" whereas "motion" is simply movement (think Brownian Motion). Distinctions aside, on the macro scale, there are concepts and technical drafts that propose "perpetual motion", but on closer analysis it is revealed that they actually "consume" some sort of natural resource or latent energy, such as the phase changes of water or other fluids or small natural temperature gradients, or simply cannot sustain indefinite operation. In general, extracting work from these devices is impossible.

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Weisberg, J. M.; Nice, D. J.; Taylor, J. H. (2010). "Timing Measurements of the Relativistic Binary Pulsar PSR B1913+16". Astrophysical Journal. 722 (2): 1030–1034. arXiv: 1011.0718. Bibcode: 2010ApJ...722.1030W. doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/722/2/1030. S2CID 118573183. Insert the 4 steps onto the cam shaft, they should be free to rise and fall. If they are stiff then you may want to sand the sides of the steps slightly. Patents Ex parte decision (O/044/06)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27 . Retrieved 2013-03-04.