perpetual motion
the motion of a theoretical mechanism that, without any losses due to friction or other forms of dissipation of energy, would continue to operate indefinitely at the same rate without any external energy being applied to it.
Origin of perpetual motion
1Words Nearby perpetual motion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use perpetual motion in a sentence
For instance, a counterfactual property imposed by the laws of physics is that it is impossible to build a perpetual motion machine.
Our Little Life Is Rounded with Possibility - Issue 102: Hidden Truths | Chiara Marletto | June 9, 2021 | NautilusIn the current approach to physics, some laws already have this counterfactual structure — the conservation of energy, for example, is the statement that it is impossible to have a perpetual motion machine.
How to Rewrite the Laws of Physics in the Language of Impossibility | Amanda Gefter | April 29, 2021 | Quanta MagazineFor an artist in perpetual motion, that doesn’t sound like a stretch at all.
There’s no stopping Twyla Tharp, even as she approaches 80 | Peter Marks | March 18, 2021 | Washington PostI want to always be in a state of perpetual motion: going somewhere, doing something.
Great Weekend Reads | Malcolm Jones, Matt Gallagher, Saul Austerlitz, Sharon Steel | September 11, 2011 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is a potent part of the Sarkozy brand: he is tireless and in perpetual motion.
The poor soldier had one of those eccentric souls which need perpetual motion.
Juana | Honore de BalzacI suppose I am growing old, for I begin to dislike perpetual motion.
Paul Patoff | F. Marion CrawfordOf course, such a doctrine cannot be true; it would amount to a perpetual motion!
Time and Tide | Robert S. (Robert Stawell) BallIn fact, it is the old story illustrated, that perpetual motion is impossible.
Time and Tide | Robert S. (Robert Stawell) BallOr, perhaps, a still more lively illustration to some readers may be the idea of perpetual motion.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. 1 (2 vols) | Thomas De Quincey
British Dictionary definitions for perpetual motion
Also called: perpetual motion of the first kind motion of a hypothetical mechanism that continues indefinitely without any external source of energy. It is impossible in practice because of friction
Also called: perpetual motion of the second kind motion of a hypothetical mechanism that derives its energy from a source at a lower temperature. It is impossible in practice because of the second law of thermodynamics
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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