INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY WARD JOPPEN
The holy grail of technology is a device called the perpetuum mobile. It is, in theory, a machine that remains in constant motion, moving entirely on its own, and all the while amassing more energy than it uses. It is an endless source of power. And as it requires no natural resources for fuel, its creation would mark the end of conflicts in the Middle East, oil-driven politics in Ukraine, and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. One thing, though: Modern science has unanimously decided such a machine can’t be made. This is because it doesn’t jibe with a scientific framework known as the laws of thermodynamics. Among other things, these guidelines maintain that surplus energy cannot be created. Of course, this has done nothing to deter centuries’ worth of dreamy-eyed humans. One such mobile enthusiast is Wessel di Wesseli, a 70-year-old Belgian who’s been hard at work on his own version since he was 12. To Wesseli, even your most advanced thermodynamic maxim is a “giant misconception and an instrument of the multinationals.” Some say he’s mad, and much of the academic elite despises him. I met him at a bar, where he taught me how his invention works and explained a few other secrets that science would rather we all ignored.
Vice: Hi.
Wessel Di Wesseli: How much is 1+1?
Two.
Are you dead?
Nope.
Well, how can one and one be two, as your parents conceived you? You’re a living person, aren’t you?
Yes.
What is energy, according to you?
How about this: What do you think energy is?
Scientists mostly come up with formulas, but formulas are an abstract language. They’re unable to catch the richness around them. Scholars also get confused very easily because they think within the limits of what they’ve been taught.
Help me understand.
There is, for instance, the giant delusion that warmth is a form of energy. I think it is not. I mean, a bicycle works with pressure on the pedals. And in a similar way a car works with pressure on the pistons.
So the misunderstanding is on a fundamental level?
During the industrial revolution people confused the pressure on the steam valves as energy through heat.
And you believe otherwise.
In fact, it’s the pressure that is the energy. The heat is just an intermediary factor. That’s why I think thermodynamics are rubbish.
Who could perpetrate such a fraud?
The science, or as I call it, the tyranny of thermodynamics, is controlled by the oil industries. And I suspect the scientists cooperate with them so they can be generously funded, just as they did in China in the 1920s.
They did? How?
They gave everyone oil lamps so the people were dependent on oil. Then they got rid of the alternatives.
That’s awful.
At the Brussels Car Exhibition in 1911, there was an electric car with a range of 50 miles. Yet we still use gas. How many plans were stolen or kept secret in the vaults of the multinationals? Why did they abandon the Citroën 2CV, a light and easy car?
I’ll assume you’re being rhetorical.
Why do we use two tons of steel today to transport 170-pound human beings?
All good questions. Do you have any answers?
It’s all just oilitics made possible by thermodynamics.
We’ve been duped?
We fall for it because cars get warm when we drive, even though you can drive on air pressure alone.
Are your objections to the laws of thermodynamics based on the fact that they obliterate the very idea of a perpetuum mobile?
Rebellion is healthy. Had Edison listened to his colleagues we wouldn’t have light bulbs. I’m not comparing myself to Edison or Copernicus, but I’m strongly against deciding something can’t be true without fully understanding it.
Nobody wants to be on the wrong side of history.
Even a smart guy like Leonardo da Vinci mistakenly concluded that a perpetuum mobile would never be invented, simply because he couldn’t build one. As a matter of fact, perpetua are all around us.
They are?
Newton, for instance, noticed the apple falling from the tree. The apple gradually turns into minerals that get picked up by the tree again. It’s a natural perpetuum mobile.
Can you harvest energy from that process?
Yes. We could tie threads to the apple and attach it to a little direct current generator. I understand this is a very slow process, but imagine if we used that technique on all apples, bananas, kiwis, and other fruits. That would create huge amounts of energy.
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And where does the energy come from?
What creates the movement?
What increases the volume under water?
That alone gives the desired effect?
Where’s the concentric movement that made the clay grow?
Sure, if a bit confusing.
But what about friction? I imagine there will be a pretty powerful force on the objects in the water.
It is caused by contact between surfaces.
Is there a working version of your invention?
Did you study physics or engineering in college?
Lucky?
Was that when you started your quest for the perpetuum mobile?
And you’ve been at it ever since?
Children used to visit your warehouse and I’m told they were fascinated by your art. Do you still work with kids?
Your dedication is admirable.
And your device will help save the world?
Really? That seems a bit contradictory.
