Monday 28 June 2010

Measurement Errors


The above waveform illustrates the fundamental problem facing every Bedini Motor experimenter who needs to measure the extracted BEMF power. The waveform is a representation of the transistor collector voltage.

If a `simple / cheap´ digital meter is used to measure the voltage, such as our unbranded NC72CG, it will measure, not the average but somewhere around the peak voltage - maybe 60 volts or more. Whereas, an analogue voltmeter, like the AVO 8, will read around 15-20 volts; not because of any inbuilt averaging function but purely because of the ballistic response of the meter movement.

Which is correct ? It depends on the definition of voltage in this case. The peak voltage is 70 volts, so our cheap meter displays a more accurate estimate of peak volts than the AVO 8.

For the battery charging enthusiasts, the ultimate question is “How much power is available ?”. Hence neither meter is capable of displaying a correct value of average voltage to permit us to measure power. Even if we could measure the average voltage by integrating the waveform, there remains another measurement - the current. Again, the same problems exist; we need the average current measurement. And another significant problem is that of the phase relationship between the voltage and current - we can not assume that Watts = Volts * Amps (even p = v * i * cos(Φ) is a gross oversimplification - Ref. : Power Factor).

In some respects, John Bedini´s approach might be considered correct. One way to determine power output is to accumulate the power in some form of storage device. The choice of a lead acid battery for this purpose seems to be a particularly bad one !

Why choose such a complex storage device ? It is well known that a lead acid battery will react to high voltage pulses and there are so many other electrical, chemical, thermal and mechanical variables and complexities associated with all batteries that only serve to confuse and dumbfound everyone.
(You can´t measure urine volume by pissing in the ocean and measuring the rise in sea level ! You can if you piss in a pot !)

As some have already tried, a capacitor can provide a much more reliable reference - we can determine the charge of a capacitor and, knowing the charge time, we can approximate power. (Care must be taken not to exceed the capacitor´s peak voltage rating.)

The real solution to determining power availability in these situations is to heat up a resistor and measure its temperature. Such measurement instruments are based on calibrated thermocouples - often simply referred to as `true RMS voltmeters or powermeters´. Agilent Technologies (ex-Hewlett Packard) have a range of such meters - not cheap but well worth `borrowing´ if possible.

So, again we make this plea; understand your measurement principles and limitations of your instruments. Seek out the `real truth´ - John Bedini should be able to acquire a calibrated power meter - let him prove and substantiate his claims without the unnecessary encumbrance of lead acid batteries ! At the moment, this is clearly not science - it´s more akin to a magician´s act - elaborate sleight of hand is deceiving everyone !



There are an almost infinite selection of measurement error examples from Bedini Motor related sources : (What do you think ?)

Input of 12 volts DC at .08 amps has a watt value of .96

Output of 315.9 volts DC was connected in series through a 32,600 ohm ( Measured) resistor as a load. The end result is a watt value of 3.06.

Thankfully, the maths are correct and this example has avoided the complexity of batteries. So here we clearly have the proof of over‑unity - 1 watt in and 3 watts out - 300% ...

Sadly all that we have is a gross simplification founded on measurement errors by a dedicated and enthusiastic experimeter who has been given a false belief and a false expectation.

It is obvious that, if 3 watts of power was being dissipated, then the resistor would be hot ! On other sites, the lack of heating of resistors or batteries has been conveniently explained to be due to the strange and beneficial characteristic of `radiant energy´ ... nothing gets hot - maybe that’s because there’s no power !

Here is another example of nonsense measurements - this time by John Bedini (Ref. : Mechanical Monopole Oscillator) :


Voltage across charging battery was 12.56
Amperes measured going to the battery was 38ma
Watts = V * A = 0.48 W or 477 milliwatts


As has already been shown, a simple multimeter will tend to read the peak voltage / current. In John´s example, the current might peak at 38mA but the average current will be substantially less (Looking at the waveform, the average current might be lower than a hundredth of that of the peak.)

John Bedini concludes :

“When the machine is properly built and tuned, by measuring with conventional meters we will see more energy leaving the receiving battery via a constant load than entered it.”


“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Richard P. Feynman (1918–1988)



We enjoy these motors and so should the rest of humanity. Why ? Because they’re fun and there’s so much scope for creative talent and fundamental learning. What makes us angry and upset is that the perpetrators of this myth are held up to the world as the scientific innovators of the future and dare to associate their names with the true geniuses such as Guass, Faraday, Lenz, Maxwell and Tesla.

The consequence of their actions has incurred a significant expenditure in time, effort, thought and money by so many.

Governments pass legislature to prevent us falling foul of ‘too good to be true’ financial investments the same should hold true for this type of nonsense … education, good judgment and a healthy dose of scepticism are the best defenses against becoming a victim. Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is, even if it is on the internet !
The Emperor’s New Clothes




We close this entry with a quotation :

There is NO free electricity produced in these systems, or any other system that I know of. I have stated this repeatedly. The only thing these systems produce are a series of “high voltage spikes” that have no current associated with them. Voltage without current is the nature of Radiant Energy. This is what Tesla said. I call this “reactive power” because it does not represent voltage and current simultaneously, that could be measured as WATTS. This Radiant Reactive power WILL charge batteries, light light‑bulbs and other things but it DOES NOT meter as REAL POWER. This is why your math is useless !

So please, quit quoting your theories and analyses to me. My light‑bulbs are on. Are yours ? You are welcome to believe in your theory, but I KNOW that Tesla was right about the nature of electricity, and how to successfully tap its useful fractions. If you would just build the motor the way I have said, you could begin to learn about this too.

Beyond this, I am done CHATTING with you. Leave the people alone who are trying to learn this. Your ignorant comments are of no use. That’s as nice as I can be about it.

John Bedini

It seems that John Bedini is clearly saying that his motors do not produce surplus electricity - just high-voltage pulses with little current or power. And all that it’s good for is desulphating batteries !

The motor is no more than the magician’s distraction ... is it possible that the `real magic´ takes place within the chemistry of a lead acid battery and its reaction to high voltage pulses ? Does it seem probable that `Radiant Energy´ can not be proven to exist, measured and quantified until it has been processed within a car battery ? Sounds more like `Hocus Pocus´ than science !

We leave the debate and conjecture to others ...

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