Copyright American Association for the Advancement of Science
                                    Science

                                 July 11, 1986

SECTION: Vol. 233 ; Pg. 154; ISSN: 0036-8075

LENGTH: 412 words

HEADLINE: Newman's " energy  output" machine put to the test;  Joseph Newman

BYLINE: Sun, Marjorie

 BODY:
   Newman's " Energy  Output" Machine Put to the Test

    What's a device with a battery pack, a magnet, and a coil wired together?
For the past 6 years,  Joseph Newman,  an inventor from Mississippi, has been
loudly proclaiming that it's a revolutionary machine which produces more power
than it uses.  The National Bureau of Standards recently issued its own verdict
after analyzing Newman's machine: "In none of tests did the device's approach
100%....  Our results are clear and unequivocal," the bureau said.

    Newman has gone to great lengths to try to win a patent on his  energy
output machine.  When the U.S.  Patent and Trademark Office indicated in 1984
that the device did not work, Newman sued the agency.  He hired a publicist, andthe media often portrayed him as an underdog pitted against the scientific
establishment.  Then the court ordered Newman to submit the machine to the
National Bureau of Standards for testing.  Newman reluctantly complied.

    A physicist and two electrical engineers from the bureau tested the machine
in a variety of ways to measure its  energy  input and output and used
instrumentation that is common in research engineering laboratories.  The sole
power source of the device was 116 9-volt batteries.  According to the test
results, the device's efficiency ranged from 27 to 67%, depending on the
voltage, the power drawn from the device, and the condition of insulating tape
on one of the parts.  (The tape kept burning from sparks generated by the
machine, which caused the efficiency to drop and had to be replaced frequently.)    According to John Lyons, director of the bureau's National Engineering
Laboratory, the device basically converted direct current to alternating
current.  He noted that there are several machines already on the market that dothe same thing, but they run at 90% efficiency or higher.
    Newman had court permission to observe the bureau's tests, but never
appeared for any of the experiments, which were conducted between March and
June.  His spokesman Evan Soule said Newman will ask the court to order the
testing of the test equipment.  Newman said in an interview, "I have no respect
for the National Bureau of Standards.  This is a conspiracy against me."

    The testing cost the bureau $ 75,000, which it hopes to recoup from the
patent office.  The patent office will submit the results to U.S.  District
Court for the District of Columbia, which will try the case in December.

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