A newsroom is often a place of diverse opinions and lively discussion. We try to support our co-workers, but that hardly means we're always in agreement on things.

Several months back, I got a call from two gentlemen who claimed to have invented a new type of automotive engine. They stopped by the newspaper and I sat down to interview them. I quickly realized that what they were describing was a "perpetual motion machine," a machine that supposedly keeps running on its own power without the need for additional energy. Perpetual motion machines don't exist. They are a violation of the laws of physics.

If there were no such thing as friction, you could create a machine that, once it started running, would continue to run forever. But friction exists, and friction diverts some of the energy from the operation of the machine, eventually causing it to slow down and stop. Because of this, the only way to keep an engine running is to put energy into the system -- by burning fuel, or using electrical power, or what have you. There is no free lunch, and you can't get something for nothing. You canna' change the laws of physics, as Scotty used to tell Captain Kirk.

I didn't know whether the "inventors" are fooling themselves or trying to fool someone else, but I know that the machine could not possibly work the way they described it to me. I'm not an engineer, and I'm not qualified to look at the machine and tell you exactly what it's doing, or not doing, but I know the underlying scientific principle. I told them I wouldn't do the story.

Unfortunately, they called back on another day when I wasn't present and talked one of my co-workers into doing a story. I believe that this was a bad idea. Eventually, the inventors will have to have actual scientists or engineers look at their machine, and they will figure out what is really going on. I just hope that innocent people don't lose any money in the meantime.

John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government and other topics. His home page is lakeneuron.com.