Skip to main content
The largest online newspaper archive
A Publisher Extra® Newspaper

Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page 98

Publication:
Asbury Park Pressi
Location:
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Issue Date:
Page:
98
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

mm. i mi i I Will Try Until I Die, 9 Rebuffed Inventor Vows Asblcy Park Cunday Preso Oct, lamniHfa.w.ttVh iHMt Oskar Kozlovskis and his 22nd tains no regional offices or field representatives and for this reason has no one in your locality who might witness the demonstration." Kozlovskis persisted in his tests and his efforts to market the machine. With each change of administration in Washington, he renewed his oiler to the government each time receiving a terse letter of rejection. At various times he also sought to interest the United Nations, the National Science Foundation, Kalph Nader, and the Ford and Rockefeller foundations all to no avail. ONCE, he sent a copy of his offer and descriptive material about the machine to the U.N.

mission of every member nation. Only one Tanganyika replied, returning the material along with a note which read, "Sir: This was sent to us by mistake and we 3, By ED REITER Press Staff Writer Don Quixote tilted with a windmill. Oskar Kozlovskis of Lakcwood is much more ambitious. For most of his 83 years, he's challenged the laws of science. His quest has been no more successful than Quixote's.

He refuses to abandon it. however even though it has cost him more than $75,000. isolated him from his family, made him the object of ridicule, and seems no closer to success today that it did when it started more than fin years ago. Kozlovskis has invented a machine he calls the "power wing" which, by his calculations, puts out more energy than is put into it. Skeptics scoff at his claims, dismissing the device as a "perpetual motion machine" something they say is physically Impossible.

Skeptics and detractors don't deter Kozlovskis, though. He has made the machine his life's work, and dedicated himself with single-minded zeal to gaining its acceptance by the world. "I KNOW I have'the right idea," he declares, "and people will change their mind. They'll change their mind, I think, when the time is ripe." It was while attending college in his native Latvia that Kozlovskis set out on his quest. He was very much intrigued by something a professor had said.

"You cannot create a greater amount of energy from a smaller amount," the professor had told Kozlovskis' class. "No machine can be made that will do this." The professor was explaining the law of conservation of energy, a basic law of physics which states that energy can be neither created nnr The 21 -year-old Kozlovskis didn't accept such "laws" on faith, though. "I started thinking very hard about this thing." he recalls. "All the young boys were asking each other. 'What do you think? And I said to myself.

'I'm going to do my own "I had the idea there would be some way to do this to do it a little bit different from what the professor said." KOZLOVSKIS WAS studying to be an architect. His career and his quest both had to be shelved for the next six years, though. The world was at war it was 1(114 and Imperial Russia summoned him to serve in its naval air force. He remained on military duty right through both World War I and the Bolshevik Rpvolution. serving in succession as a technician, pilot and test pilot.

On returning to civilian life in 1(01, he found there was little work for architects in Impoverished Latvia, so he turned instead to acting. Tall and handsome, he was tested for parts in several European silent movies, including the role of Ben Hur but his acting career ended up on the cutting room floor. In frustration, he left his homeland in 1921 only for a year or two. he thought at the time to seek employment in America. "I got a job as a draftsman in New York," he remembers.

"Then I went into construction work; I found I could make more money as a mason and carpenter." AS ins CAREER began to take shape, so, too, did his plans for a power-producing machine. The going was slow at first. "The first one clicked only on paper," he savs, "so I had to keep making new mod- els." Finally, in 1943, he came up with a model that "clicked" to his satisfaction, and he offered to share his discovery with the U.S. government then deeply involved in winning World War II. and presumably receptive to helpful new inventions.

"After many years of research," he wrote, "I have discovered an unknown Power Treating Device. Many tests of the model have been made, and each test has proved of great value." The response from the Commerce Department was the first of many rebuffs: "The (National Inventors) Council main- HE REALLY doesn't know how much money it has cost; "more than $75,000" is a very conservative estimate, he believes. Time and energy? "Many, many thousands of hours" every hour he could spare, in fact, for more than half a century. It has taken its toll on a personal level, too though this is a subject he speaks of with great reluctance. He was divorced twice and concedes that his second marriage broke up" largely because his ife resented the machine the time and money he lavished upon it.

That was 20 years ago, and since then the machine has dominated his life even more completely than before. He has relatives in the area; an adopted daughter from his first marriage lives "around the corner," he says, and has three grown children. But he says they have nothing but scorn for his machine, and he sees them very seldom. "They are as cold as ice." he says, his tone not without a hint of scorn itself. Kozlovskis has lived in this area more than 2(1 years.

He worked as a home builder at first, but had to retire in 1955 after he fell and in jured his spine. "Retirement," of course, simply has given him more time to work on his machine. The present "power wing" is the 22nd model he has built, and by far his best, he feels though he's always looking for ways to make it still better. THE SIX-FOOT model looks vaguely like Don Quixote's windmill. It consists of a wooden arm with weights at either end, delicately balanced and hinged so it can rotate through an arc of 360 degrees.

A pulley, springs and cables are built into the intricate device. Attaching a 20-pound weight and allowing it to fall one inch, for an input of 20 inch-pnunds of energy, Kozlovskis gels an apparent output of inch-pounds as measured by an attached scale: a one-pound weight is raised 41'4 inches by the machine's revolutions. The implications are enormous. Kozlovskis says and even his detractors must grudgingly admire the scope of his vision. In his view, the machine will do nothing less than solve the world's energy problems.

'They could put a 60-foot model of this machine on every street corner," he says, "and it would make enough electricity for every house in the block. We wouldn't need oil any more. And this would eliminate pollution." When the Arab oil embargo intensified the search for alternate sources of energy, Kozlovskis was quick to offer his Invention to the F.nergy Research and Development Administration but all he got was anotlTcr polite rejection. He declines to disclose how the power wing works, other than to say it is based on gravity. USING THE SAME principle, he says, it would be possible to hook up an electric generator, storage battery and motor in such a way that they would produce a continuous supply of energy.

"The generator would charge the battery," he explains, "and that would operate the motor and the motor would keep the generator going." Kozlovskis holds patents on several other inventions a block and tackle device and an adjustable doorknob assembly and is a member of the Chartered Institute of American Inventors. He hasn't been able to patent the power wing, however, because federal officials refuse to recognize any machine which appears to defy the laws of physics. Why does he persevere in the face of such overwhelming discouragement? Not for personal gain, he insists. "I'm not too anxious to be a millionaire," he says. "If any money conies in as a result of this invention, I would like to turn it in for other research for cancer and arthritis, for example.

"I just want to see this machine come out, so I can see my results the results of what I did all my lifetime." Kozlovskis figures it would cost $2 million 1976 Gl J. I IB tilt 1 "1r 7 Asbury Park Press generation Power Wing. opened it. So we are returning it to you. Sorry." When he wrote to Ralph Nader, his mail was returned unopened.

At one point, he offered the machine to the U.S. Army, and a representative from the Signal Research and Development Laboratory at Ft. Monmouth came to look at the device staying five hours. The Signal Corps subsequently wrote that it didn't have "a direct interest 'in a device of the sort which you propose," and Kozlovskis never was able to obtain a copy of his visitor's report. As setback followed setback, the inventor's fascination with his quest grew into all-out obsession, and he channeled more and Oiore of his money, time and energy into its dogged pursuit.

"He's getting old now. and to some he might look a litt lt-senile or something. But he's sharp as a razor. He can figure things out very quickly; his mind is verv alert. And he genuinely is dedicated to this.

"I admire the man for one thing," Walsh adds. "I admire him for the persistence and the tenacity with which he's kept at this thing all these years." Walsh has taught science courses for 3(1 years the last 21 at Asbury Park High. He holds a master of science degree in biology, and teaches only biology courses now, but he also has taught physics and other science subjects through the years. i i fa'ti ii ii imiMnMill rtr Tim McCarthy Asbury Park Press 'OSKAR KOZLOVSKIS "I know I have the right idea. Device Could Generate Power, Instructor Says "The machine itself would need injections of power now and then." he adds, "and friction would cause parts to wear out eventually.

It couldn't go on forever. But for much of the time, it would be replenishing the energy that kept it going recharging -a battery, say and at the same time generating power that would be usable." Walsh has known Kozlovskis more than 1(1 years, and holds him in high regard. "Oskar is not just some crackpot," he declares. "He's an engineer. He can sit down and run a slide rule and go through his stuff just as well as anybody ever could.

The "power wing" invented by Oskar Kozlovskis is not a perpetual motion machine but it does have commercial potential as a power-producing device. That's the opinion of Joseph G. Walsh, a science teacher at Asbury Park High School, who has seen the machine in operation several times. "If this machine were enlarged, and it did on a large scale what it docs on a small scale, it could generate enough electricity to power something away from a source of raw power," Walsh says. "It could be used in a remote area, for example, where now a dam must be built at great expense.

to construct a full-size version of his machine, and he couldn't begin to come up with that kind of money on his own. He long ago exhausted his modest savings, and he just gets by now on his social security check. INSTEAD OF being in a museum, as he feels it should be, his prototype power wing the sum of his life's work languishes in a dingy basement storeroom in the rooming house where Kozlovskis lives, at 437 Ocean Ave. He retreats to the room his "laboratory," as he calls it for hours each day to try to squeeze yet another drop of energy out of the elaborate machine. Though small and cramped and lit by just unshielded overhead bulbs, the laboratory like the inventor himself is scrupulously neat.

Tools are laid out in precision-like rows on a workbench, and curtains form a backdrop for the power ring giving it a touch of dignity even in this less than dignified setting. The walls are lined with covers from old magazines Life. Look. Time. Collier's and others and when he isn't puttering at the workbench or the machine, Kozlovskis often studies the faces on those covers: Khrushchev, Nasser.

Truman. Stevenson. Elsenhower, Churchill and other world figures of a bygone generation. "I study these things when I come in to sit down." he remarks. "I like to think what the Navy's decision is in the matter.

I'm sure it will be promptly announced at the time. Q. Have you hern in touch with your predecessor, James Schlesingrr, recently? What is he doing nowadays? RUMSFELD: I talk to Schlesinger from time to time about defense and other national issues. He is with Johns Hopkins University. Q.

It seems as if quite a few of the top appointed officials of the Nixon and Ford administrations yourself included have been shuffled around from one Job to another. Elliot Richardson, William Ruckel-shaus and George Bush are some of the others who come to mind. Does this indicate a shortage of top-flight administrators in the Republican party? RUMSFELD: No. It reflects President Ford's preference as to how he can best arrange his Administration and serve the American people. Q.

There have been reports that you have further political aspirations. Under what conditions would you be willing to run lor public office? they really were thinking about. I'm a quiet thinker you know what I mean?" UNTIL RECENT years, the old man looked much younger than his age. He looks somewhat younger than he is even now. and he slill is meticulous about his appearance, always wearing a coat and tie when he goes out.

Illness has aged him. though, and sapped much of his own vast store of energy. For more than three years, he has had a different kind of machine a pacemaker within his body, helping to prolong his lile and at the same time reminding him how fragile his life has become. Age and illness notwithstanding, Kozlovskis is determined to continue his power wing quest right to death's door if need he. "I've worked on this thing more than Hfl years," he says.

"I think I was born with this thing. So I can't stop trying now. Many people tell me, 'You are crazy, you are nuts. That thing will never go But 1 will keep trying; I will try until I die. "If I go, somebody else will step in, probably.

Maybe I'll leave it to someone at the last minute. But 1 really don't think about those things. I wish to God that I could live, and I think I will live, until the day when something finally happens. And I think the day is coming very quickly now." His pale blue eves grow misty as he pauses for a moment of reflection. "If I don't feel this way," he says, "then all of my life has been wasted." RUMSFELD: At this point, I have no political plans.

After Navy service and some years working in Washington for two con- gressmen, I ran for Congress in 1962. I resigned from Congress in 1969 to become Director of the Office of Economic Oppor-tunity and have served in the Executive Branch since. I have been asked to assume different responsibilities Ambassador to NATO, chief uf staff at the White House for President Ford, and now Secretary of Defense and have enjoyed all of those positions. At some point it is my hope to leave public sen ice for a few years. At some point after that, I would hope to return to public service, but I have no specific plans.

Inside Automotive G620 Boating 2 1-22 Classified G6-31 Help Wanted G22-21 Merchandise Donald Rumsfeld 2 Armaments Command Units Coming to Ft. Monmouth DONALD RUMSFELD, US Secretary of Defense, is spotlighted in today's Press Conference. Each Sunday a different celebrity or person in the news is featured, and readers are invited to participate by submitting questions. Next week's subject will be James Dugan, New Jersey chairman of the Democratic Party, and on Oct. 10, O.J.

Simpson, Buffalo Bills back. Send your questions to Press Conference, Asbury Park Sunday Press, Press Plaza, Asbury Park, N.J. 07712. RUMSFELD: The Army views the proposed realignment of electronic research and development as a positive step toward improvement in this vital area of preparedness. The Army is considering 10 alternatives for this proposed realignment action.

Under some of the alternatives, additional personnel would be relocated to Ft. Monmouth; under others, as many as 1.669 jobs or as few as 213 would be lost at Ft. Monmouth. The preferred alternative identified by the Army would entail transfer and elimination of about 756 or i per cent of the jobs at Ft. Monmouth.

The impacts of each of the alternatives were examined in detail in the Army's study process. An environmental impact statement (EIS) for this proposed realignment was filed for public review in draft form in April 1976 and In final form on Aug. 20. The Army evaluated each of the numerous comments received from the public in developing the final EIS, including the challenges to economic impacts. Before the Army develops a recommendation regarding this proposed realignment for forwarding to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army Martin R.

Hoffmann have met with members of the New Jersey Q. Several years age the Army Signal School was moved to Georgia from Ft. Monmouth. Now the Army hopes to move the Electronics Command away from Ft. Monmouth.

In view of New Jersey's high unemployment rate. Is your Department doing anything to replace the manpower and dollars being lost to this area? RUMSFELD: The Army is continuously studying effective means to use existing, facilities at Ft. Monmouth. There aro a number of ongoing studies which consider locating units in the Ft. Monmouth area.

Two elements of the current U.S. Army Armaments Command will move to Ft. Monmouth during fiscal '77. Because other studies are incomplete, it would be inappropriate to speculate as to what type of new activities might eventually be placed there. None of these studies is related tu the proposed realignment of the electronics research and development functions within the Army.

Q. The Army's figures on the economics of moving the Electronics Command from Ft. Monmouth, N.J.. to Maryland have been challenged. What Is the Delense Department's view of the proposed move? And when do you expect a decision be made? congressional delegation and considered their views.

Q. What are the government's future plans for Ft. Dix? Is thought still being given to shutting It down? RUMSFELD: The Army is currently studying possible alternative uses for Ft. Dix. One of these is the elimination of the basic training role and a reduction of Ft.

Dix to semi-active status. A decision will not be made until all alternative uses have been examined. Q. Are there any plans to close the Lakehurst Naval Air Station? RUMSFELD: The Navy announced in March that it was studying NAS Lakehurst for a possible reduction in activity andor consolidation of some of its functions. That review is currently ongoing within the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

Whatever.

Get access to Newspapers.com

  • The largest online newspaper archive
  • 300+ newspapers from the 1700's - 2000's
  • Millions of additional pages added every month

Publisher Extra® Newspapers

  • Exclusive licensed content from premium publishers like the Asbury Park Press
  • Archives through last month
  • Continually updated

About Asbury Park Press Archive

Pages Available:
2,394,107
Years Available:
1887-2024