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Physics, with a political twist
photo by Laura Clementson
U of O-researched generator could open a ‘new
chapter of physics’
by Mercedes Mueller Published: 11/11/09
THANE HEINS, PRESIDENT of Potential Difference Inc., has dedicated a majority of the
past decade to creating a generator that would eliminate the need for oil. He was invited by
Riadh Habash of the University of Ottawa two years ago to continue work on the project in
one of the U of O’s labs, where the results can be adequately validated.
According to Heins, he hasn’t just managed to create a generator that eliminates the need
for oil—he has created a machine that literally defies the laws of physics.
The regenerative acceleration generator is an induction motor with magnetic material
placed inside the rotor core. The machine works by loading the generator to get a current,
which causes wire coil, by which the magnets pass to build up a large electromagnetic field.
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2. Although his quest has been primarily carried out in the realm of science, Heins reveals
there is a political component to the project as well.
“The original intention for the generator was based on 9-11. Shortly after 9-11, when
Canada went into Afghanistan with the [United] States, to me, it was about oil,” said Heins.
“To a lot of people, Iraq and Afghanistan [are] about oil. [And I decided that] I don’t want to
be putting gasoline in my car that’s being paid for by some man or woman getting killed in
Afghanistan. To me, that’s not acceptable.”
Heins’ demonstration involves comparing the effects of supplying electricity to a load, in the
form of light bulbs, from both a conventional generator and the regenerative acceleration
generator. After allowing the machine to build up power, he first uses a conventional
generator to power a light bulb that requires 0.9 watts. Upon turning on the light blub, the
motor instantly begins to decelerate according to Newton’s Third Law of Motion: for every
action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is normal. In the second half of the
demonstration, Heins supplies power to four light bulbs, each requiring 10 watts. However,
when his generator powers the bulbs, it causes the motor to accelerate, implying that the
generator is over 100 per cent efficient. The generator, in essence, is creating energy, thus
violating the Law of Conservation of Energy, which states that energy can neither be
created nor destroyed.
Heins’ design has attracted researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
who have visited Heins’ lab and were stumped by the atypical manipulation of Lenz’s law,
an extension of the Law of Conservation of Energy. Heins suggests the machine and its
implications are best realized by the non-scientific minds that watch his demonstrations.
“It’s obvious to everybody. The only people that it’s not obvious to are the engineers and
PhDs, and [it’s because] their education is an impediment to them understanding it,” said
Heins.
The implications of this technology, which has passed the prototyping and proof of concept
phase, have yet to be realized, but already players like Magna International, Defence
Research and Development Canada, and even the U.S. Air Force have shown interest in
the generator’s capabilities. In particular, Heins is interested in the technology being
potentially adopted by the electric car industry. He sees this technology as the solution to
the problems electric vehicles have faced in the past.
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3. According to Heins, there are two ways to currently charge electric vehicle batteries. They
can be plugged in overnight or they can be recharged by using regenerative breaking,
which recharges the batteries of the car while slowing it down at the same time.
“We’re introducing a third mode, which is called regenerative acceleration,” noted Heins,
who views this type of technology as being capable of causing a paradigm shift in both the
energy and business worlds.
“We’re creating a new energy paradigm … by basically [finding] a way to exploit a loophole
in the laws of physics,” he explained. “But we also want to try to create a new business
paradigm that [reflects the idea that] competition is not good in the long run. If everybody
works together, then we get a lot further a lot faster.”
The regenerative acceleration generator’s capabilities are currently being assessed by
engineers at both the U of O and Magna International. After this stage, the technology will
be taken to the roads and tested in an electric car.
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