John Worrell Keely
USA- Aether Vibration Engine
- Keely Motor Company
- Clara Moore's Support and Later Discovery of Fraud
- Posthumous Exposure of Hoax
John Ernst Worrell Keely: American Inventor and Alleged Energy Source Discoverer
John Ernst Worrell Keely, an American inventor, made extraordinary claims regarding the discovery of a novel energy source. His experiments were frequently funded by John Jacob Astor.
Aether Vibration Engine
In 1872, Keely asserted having devised a device driven by sound vibrations, generated using tuning forks. According to Keely, "sympathetic vibrations" resonated with the aether, inducing "deliberation" or "disintegration" of matter, such as water.
Contemporary accounts described Keely's experiments as follows: The apparatus consisted of a "liberator" generating "ethereal vapor," a transmitter concentrating and transmitting this interatomic force to a spherical engine, where it was converted into mechanical power, and the engine itself. Keely would bow three tuning forks positioned precisely at a calculated distance from the engine, then strike a steel plate attached to the "liberator" to "connect its vibrations to the tuning forks." Once the "aetheric chord" ceased, Keely claimed that a force equivalent to a pressure of approximately 1760 kg/cm² was present in the transmitter.
Keely Motor Company
Keely's "experiments" persuaded investors to establish the Keely Motor Company with a capital of $5 million to finance his further work on developing practical motors based on his purported energy discovery.
Clara Moore's Support and Later Discovery of Fraud
In 1881, Keely became acquainted with Clara Moore, the widow of a wealthy Philadelphia industrialist, who remained his friend and patron until his death. She invested $100,000 in his project, along with a monthly stipend of $250 (equivalent to $2.2 million and $5,400 per month, respectively, in modern value), enabling him to dedicate his time and energy to perfecting the engine. She also widely promoted his work, producing numerous articles and books.
However, throughout his remaining 26 years, Keely failed to produce anything of substance, and subsequent investigations revealed that his demonstrations were fraudulent.
Posthumous Exposure of Hoax
The hoax was only uncovered after Keely's death in 1898. Skeptical journalists and scientists thoroughly examined Keely's laboratory, discovering double ceilings and floors with cunningly concealed copper tubing. Additionally, a three-ton sphere containing compressed air was found buried in the foundation. This compressed air powered Keely's "deliberating engines." Hence, none of the machines taken from the laboratory by Keely's supporters ever functioned once their creator had passed away.
Despite this revelation, fringe sources continue to perpetuate the myth of Keely's invention.
