In a public relations catastrophe, Steorn has for the second day in a row failed to produce the working demo of Orbo that they’ve promised to the media and the world. Here’s their latest statement:

We are experiencing some technical difficulties with the demo unit in London. Our initial assessment indicates that this is probably due to the intense heat from the camera lighting.

We have commenced a technical assessment and will provide an update later today.

As a consequence, Kinetica will not be open to the public today (5th July). We apologise for this delay and appreciate your patience.

Several media outlets have begun reporting on the situation:

ZDNet: Steorn demo fails to appear
Wired Blog: The Perpetual Energy Machine: Art Project?
Science Blogs: Repeat after me: Conservation of energy precludes perpetual motion machines
Silicon Republic: “…the hypothetical perpetual motion machine fell victim to the laws of physics…”

The cameras at Kinetica have been working sporadically, so we can view the mostly empty plexiglass case where Orbo should be. (Cameras 1, 2, 3, 4).

Several pictures of the exhibit space can be found at the Free Energy Tracker blog, here and here, while Steorn employees desperately scramble to get it working here.

My favorite theory so far as to the cause of the problem:

Maybe the Orbo only works back at the lab where there’s some radiation source.
-PaulLowrance

So will this have been no more than a bump in the road, or the moment the skeptics have been waiting for when Steorn finally faces up against the hard reality that what they claim to have can’t possibly work? Only time will tell.