With last week’s introduction of Steorn’s revamped site, we learned some more specifics about the series of talks that Steorn plans to hold, around the globe, over the course of this year. The first stop is the small Arab nation of Qatar. The talk, to be held February 18th, has been reported by at least two Arab media outlets, Qatar’s The Peninsula and the United Arab Emirate’s Zawya.
DOHA: The Finland[sic]-based alternative energy company Steorn will kick-start its Middle East ‘face-to-face’ discussions regarding the principles behind its newly-developed controversial Orbo technology, from Doha.
The first leg of its tour is scheduled to start from Qatar University on February 18, before moving on to a number of universities in the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Steorn announced that it will hold a number of presentations throughout the Middle East during the first half of this year. Similar tours across Europe and he US will commence during summer 2009.
Orbo is a technology that creates energy from magnetic interactions. It provides free, clean and constant energy at the point of use. It is a platform technology that can be engineered to power anything from a phone, to a fridge to a car.
However, a section of scientists have challenged this claim saying energy cannot be simply created.
Neither the site for Qatar University nor the site for their College of Engineering mention Steorn on their calendars, though it appears that few events are posted to those calendars at all.
In other news, several sites have posted articles reporting on Steorn’s announcements of last week. These include the following:
Engadget: Steorn returns, promises to open Orbo specs, give you a pony
The tongue-in-cheek approach makes it clear that Engadget gives little credence to Steorn’s claims after 2007’s failed demo.
Rupert Goodwins appears to fall squarely in the ‘scam’ camp on the question of Steorn.
OhMyNews: Steorn Raises the Magnetic Curtain
Of the current batch of media coverage, this is the only one that approaches the topic with a positive bias. The author, a member of Steorn’s SKDB developer forum, seems to take the existence of a working Orbo for granted.
The Young Witness: Everything you need to know about science
A light humor column that lumps Steorn in with with the anti-gravity effect of dropping a cat with a buttered toast attached to its back.
Update 2/15:
Sean McCarthy’s talk has been added to the Qatar University calendar. Available from that page is a 3-sheet PDF with a description of the talk:
The presentation is on the topic of “conservation of energy and specifically our claims with respect to energy in asymmetric magnetic systems.” … The purpose of the presentation is to provide an insight into the principle [sic] theory and possible applications of the technology and is esigned [sic] only to inform and stimulate student engineering and research understanding and interest.