A Perpetual Motion Circus

Photo by: Ted Strutz

“It’s designed for tiny amounts of power,” said Bernard, gesturing to the many-wheeled machine.

“How tiny?” asked Sam, science reporter.

“Far less than a watch battery, roughly. I just intuit this stuff without math. Thing is, I never connected it to any power.”

Sam watched the wheels spinning like mad. “So…?”

“It’s a perpetual motion machine!”

“Impossible!” scoffed Sam. “That would violate the second law of thermodynamics.”

“But nothing is powering it.”

Sam shrugged. “Then maybe it is.”

Inside the tiny drive wheel, one flea said to the other, “Keep running! The exit is just ahead!”

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Written for the Friday Fictioneers: https://rochellewisoff.com/2017/12/27/22-december-2017/

Author’s Notes:

Perpetual motion machines have been sought after for centuries. The idea is a machine that once running would never stop, even though it never receives any source of power. Such machines cannot truly exist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_motion

Second law of thermodynamics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_law_of_thermodynamics

Flea Circus: “…is a circus sideshow attraction in which fleas are attached (or appear to be attached) to miniature carts and other items, and encouraged to perform circus acts within a small housing.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flea_circus