support him for rest of his life, although in the end she cut his allowance, as she was also losing faith in his inventions as marketable products. When Keely died in 1898 his secret came to light: his etheric generator on the second floor of his house was in fact powered by an engine in the basement. False ceilings and floors on the first floor were found to hide mechanical belts and linkages to the silent water motor. A system of pneumatic switches under the floor boards could be used to turn the machinery on and off. Keely had managed to acquire a good income throughout his career keeping up the appearance of genuine inventor. I wonder whether we encounter a similar scenario in the case of the Yildiz motor. So far things are running along the same lines. In January this year a 30 day test of his engine was planned at a European university, which was willing to test his device. The test was cancelled just a few days before it would start, because the unnamed university was setting more extraordinary conditions, according to Yildiz. As an alternative he would be demonstrating his device at an Expo in Geneva in April. He did. The motor ran for four and a half hours and then ... there were problems. The planned continuous run of five days had to be stopped and was replaced by short demonstrations of switching the motor on, letting it run for a couple of minutes and shutting it down again. Not very convincing to a sceptical mind, but surprisingly enough some of the early believers think it clearly shows Yildiz is on the right track. The Yildiz story is not over yet.
About the author. Pepijn van Erp is a mathematician and boardmember of Skepsis, the Dutch Skeptics foundation, founded in 1987 like several skeptic organisations in Europe on instigation of CSICOP, the US based Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (now CSI). Skepsis aims to put extraordinary claims to critical assessment. In many cases these claims are not based on sound evidence or fail when tested properly. Amongst the members of our Advisory Committee are notable scientists like Nobelprize winner Prof. dr. Gerard ‘t Hooft and Spinoza Prize winner Prof. dr. Ed van den Heuvel. Current president of Skepsis is Prof. dr. Frank Israel from Leiden University. Amongst the activities Skepsis carries out are publishing a magazine, Skepter, which comes out at least twice a year, and organizing a yearly congres. Articles for Skepter and the websites of Skepsis are written by scientists, journalists and other skeptics who take the effort to delve into subjects which are generally left behind by scientists in their regular work. Subjects which pass frequently are alternative medicine, UFO’s, conspiracy theories, sects and paranormal activities. More information: Yildiz Magnet Motor (Dutch): http://kloptdatwel.nl/2013/03/15/ontwikkelingen-rondmagneetmotor-van-yildiz/ John Worral Keely: http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/museum/keely/keely. htm Skepsis website: http://www.skepsis.nl/ Klopt dat wel?: http://kloptdatwel.nl/ Pepijn van Erp: http://www.pepijnvanerp.nl/
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