The author proposes to launch a rocket and harness energy from its motion.

An engineer from Udmurtia (Russia) named Nikolai Mikhailovich Murzin has applied for a patent for an invention called "Murzin Perpetual Motion Machine".

What the author suggests

According to the patent formula, this "perpetual engine" will be created by launching a rocket at an angle relative to the Earth's surface. The rocket is accelerated to level 1 cosmic speed (also known as orbital speed, reaching a speed of 28,440 km/h) then the engine will be completely turned off.

According to the author's logic: Just like that, the system can operate like an eternal machine.

Roughly speaking, the idea here is: Launch the rocket, turn it off, and then naturally it will run forever, continuously producing or storing endless energy. At first glance, this seems like a pinnacle invention in the field of aerospace.

But this goes against the usual laws of physics.

Why isn't this a perpetual motion machine?

Cosmic velocity level 1 is not a source of energy, but only a condition for objects to fly into orbit.

A rocket that reaches this speed and shuts down will not produce any energy. It is just moving by inertia in the Earth's gravity field.

Once the engine is turned off, the system doesn't create anything new at all. The rocket is actually in a state of free fall - what we often call "moving in orbit".

The amount of fuel burned at initial acceleration is the energy consumed. After entering orbit, the rocket does not compensate for that amount of energy. It simply continues to fly until it is hindered by the environment (like sparse air resistance) or falls.

There isn't any "eternity" here, it's just inertial motion, and sooner or later it will stop.

So what does physics say about this issue?

In physics, perpetual motion machine is a fictional concept about machines that can operate continuously without stopping.

Based on the nature of their operation, people divide them into two main types, but both are completely impossible in practice due to violating the fundamental laws of nature:

Perpetual motion machine type 1 (Self-generating machine):

This type of machine is expected to continuously produce mechanical work (or energy) without providing any input energy (such as fuel, electricity, heat).

Why can't it exist? This idea directly violates the 1st Law of Thermodynamics (also known as the Law of Conservation of Energy). This law states: Energy is neither naturally created nor destroyed, it is only transformed from one form to another. Therefore, a machine cannot generate energy from "zero".

Perpetual motor type 2 (Machine that converts all heat into work):

This type of machine accepts the need for input energy (usually heat), but is expected to be able to convert 100% of that heat into mechanical work without any loss or loss to the environment.

Why can't it exist? This idea violates the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. This law shows that the heat transfer process is always unidirectional and always accompanied by an increase in disorder (entropy). In reality, no system achieves 100% absolute efficiency; Some energy is always dissipated as heat to the surrounding environment.

In short, whether it is the dream of generating energy from nothing (Type 1) or the desire to achieve absolute efficiency without wastage (Type 2), these devices only exist in theory because they completely go against scientifically proven thermodynamic principles.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Murzin's application actually belongs to neither of the above two categories. It describes the acceleration of a rocket - a process that requires energy and does not provide an unlimited supply of it. To call this a perpetual motion machine is to confuse inertia with an energy source.

Reference: FT