Eventually, the persistent claims by numerous inventors that they had succeeded in creating a *perpetuum mobile* grew so tiresome to the public that, in 1775, the Paris Academy of Sciences decided to stop reviewing patent applications for such devices, as it had become clear that creating one was fundamentally impossible. Nevertheless, various modifications of perpetual motion machines continue to be developed to this day, with their designs circulating globally.
It is worth noting that among the diverse and often highly unconventional designs created by obscure, self-taught inventors, one occasionally encounters devices that have a legitimate reason to exist. Regarding the operating principle of such mechanisms, the renowned American scientist and experimenter John Worrell Keely (1827–1898) stated: "Constant motion exists everywhere in nature. Planets are perpetually in rotation; life is ceaselessly emerging and developing; molecules vibrate, creating continuous oscillations in their surrounding environment. How this occurs and how it is sustained is a unique question—yet it is a fact. It is a perfectly natural and rational endeavor to harness these perpetual motions and put them to work for the benefit of humanity."
One such "perpetual" mechanism was created a few years ago in St. Petersburg, and it is still in operation today! Its creator, Filipp Kuritsyn—a veterinarian by training—rightly asserts that this is not a "perpetual motion machine" in the traditional sense, but rather a device designed to harness free energy. The mechanism is engineered to draw energy from its surroundings, utilizing dozens of diverse methods to do so.
Kuritsyn’s device consists of various energy-harvesting components integrated into a single unit. This assembly includes a wind generator that captures even the slightest movement of air, as well as solar panels that absorb sunlight and convert it into electrical energy. This device can also extract energy from a wide variety of natural phenomena—such as humidity, temperature fluctuations, changes in atmospheric pressure, and more. Until recently, humans had not utilized these natural processes to generate energy.
The device is also capable of attracting and capturing insects, subsequently processing them into biomass, from which electrical energy is then extracted.
A motor submerged in water can convert tidal energy into electricity. Kurycin’s machine also takes the opportunity to "recharge" during storms: it features an active lightning rod designed to capture lightning strikes and harness that energy to charge its internal batteries.
In total, the device designed by Kurycin employs 65 different methods to extract energy from the surrounding environment. Since the natural world is a constantly changing medium, at least some of the device’s components will always be functioning—right up until the point they physically wear out.
Even in the highly improbable scenario where all natural activity were to suddenly cease, the machine would continue to operate for a couple of months, drawing power from its constantly recharged batteries, before finally coming to a halt. However, such a scenario is even more implausible than the creation of a true perpetual motion machine.