By now many of you have heard about an Irish company called Steorn Ltd. that placed an advertisement in The Economist on Aug. 18 challenging the top scientists of the world to test Stoern’s claim that it has developed “a technology that produces free, clean and constant energy.”

The company says it has overcome the laws of physics — i.e. thermodynamics and the “principle of the conservation of energy,” which basically says energy can be neither created nor destroyed but can only change form. Apparently Steorn’s technology is based on magnets and the interaction of magnetic fields, and the company says it discovered this “breakthrough” while trying to use magnetics to improve the efficiency of wind turbines. Also, knowing full well there will be skeptics, the company placed the ad in a bid to recruit 12 independent scientists who could come together and publicly verify/dispute the claim.

A few observations:

* Placing an advertisement in The Economist is a good idea, because even though it was likely very costly it lends some (false) credibility to the company.

* But why resort to placing an ad? The company says it has approached many institutions that have refused to look at the technology, and those scientists who have verified that it works have refused to go on record. Why would they refuse to go on record? Why, like most companies, would they not slowly build consensus in the scientific/research community? Why not write a paper for a respected scientific journal that goes through peer review? Without answering those questions, of course this is going to be viewed as a publicity stunt.

* Now, if you consider this a publicly stunt, you have to wonder what can be gained from it? I mean, sure, you create an elaborate hoax on the world, but doesn’t that just piss people off and make your company persona non grata with the business and scientific community? Apparently, according to a Web site called Steorn Watch, this company is legitimate and has existed since 2000 — whatever “legitimate” means. There’s got to be some other motive if this is a scam, because pure publicity doesn’t make sense.

* Finally, like any agnostic who admits there could be a possibility that God exists (just in case), I think the same applies here. Sure, it would be great of this unknown company proves that the laws of physics are garbage and comes up with a technology to save the world’s energy and environmental woes, but for now we’ve got to consider this an elaborate experiment to be watched out of pure curiosity. This screams reality TV, and it would be fascinating to have BBC cameras following around these 12 selected scientists as they work toward disputing or verifying this potentially world-changing claim.

And if it does turn out to be a hoax? It would be a bit of a pisser, as I’d rather see all this attention focused on real technologies that have a chance of making real change.

UPDATE: Wired.com has an article here about Steorn and its scientific challenge. Make sure to check out the comments at the bottom of the article. Guardian Unlimited has an even better story, in which the reporter actually went to Steorn’s office and saw the device in action.

Sustainable Development Technology Canada is receiving applications for its 10th round of funding up until October 11. Specifically, it’s “actively seeking applications for technologies that provide clean water and clean soil solutions, and continues to look for technology solutions related to clean air and climate change.”

Applicants basically assemble a consortium of private and public sector partners that agree to fund two-thirds of the project. SDTC then supplies the remaining third. It’s a great model, and many interesting projects have resulted. If you’ve got a company and want to demonstrate how it solves a specific business or environmental concern, you may want to consider applying.