Using Phun to Study “Perpetual Motion” Machines

The concept of “perpetual motion” has a long history. The Indian astronomer and mathematician Bhaskara II (12th century) was the first person to describe a perpetual motion (PM) machine.¹ An example of a 13th- century PM machine is shown in Fig. 1. Although the law of conservation of energy clearly implies the impossibility of PM construction, over the centuries numerous proposals for PM have been made, involving ever more elements of modern science in their construction. It is possible to test a variety of PM machines in the classroom using a program called Phun² or its commercial version Algodoo.³ The programs are designed to simulate physical processes and we can easily simulate mechanical machines using them. They provide an intuitive graphical environment controlled with a mouse; a programming language is not needed. This paper describes simulations of four different (supposed) PM machines.⁴