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Originally Posted by Little.Egret
From QP Books, a very small publisher, free
Zeromotor Man: The Amazing Story of John Gamgee by Steve Humphrey
On 26th February 1881 Professor John Gamgee filed a patent application. Gamgee called his invention the `Zeromotor' and he had convinced the Chief Engineer of the US Navy that it would enable ships to operate without fuel, drawing energy from the sea instead. It was the first and last time the United States Patent Office granted a patent for a perpetual motion machine.
The career path of this maverick inventor would be impossible today. Born and raised in Florence, he was initially an outspoken and forward thinking veterinarian. He ran his own college and organised the first ever international veterinary conference. During the Cattle Plague of 1865 his controversial opinions on contagion and germ theory made him the target of nationwide abuse and ridicule. Although ultimately proven correct he was financially broken and after bankruptcy went to America to begin a new career in engineering.
At times extremely persuasive, Gamgee had a personality that inspired admiration and hatred in equal measure. After the creation of the Zeromotor, his life entered a slow downward curve, with his later years marked by involvement in forgery, suicide, a libel case and a second bankruptcy.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by koland
ummm... where?
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Everyone in the U.K. is going to bed for the night now. So, I thought I'd do some looking around. I didn't do much. I couldn't find a website for the relevant QP Books offhand. The best that I could do was to find
this GoodReads page for the book. It has a nice, professionally-done-type cover.
What I saw about the book and about this Gamgee chap was interesting. Seems that he invented a motor that didn't require any fuel to run. Supposedly. Somehow or another he got a patent for it.
The book must be extremely rare in the U.S., at least. Bookfinder, which seems to have every book ever written, didn't have it. JustBooks, the U.K. version of Bookfinder, didn't show it either.
Very interesting situation. I'm looking forward to Little.Egret letting us know a website for the publisher or somebody. But especially to getting a free copy of the book.