Details surrounding the death of an alternate energy explorer are still awaiting disclosure by authorities as a man in Indiana is found killed by the device he was attempting to create. His mother described the machine as a new means of producing energy. The tragedy stands as the latest reminder to inventors that safety must be respected above all else in this ongoing search for a better means of producing energy. But as the growing community of inventors looks for details on the machine the man was working on, they find themselves having to wait longer.
The device was described by authorities as a large wooden box with a contraption within that spins, though the means of propulsion for the turbine within has not been released. Authorities have labeled the death of Joseph Vanhom an accident. The details suggest that a loud bang was heard as Vanhom was working on the device followed by a period of silence. When authorities arrived they found Vanhom prone with what they described as a considerable amount of blood present. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was declared dead by paramedics.
The world of alternative energy is one full of promise and possibility, but also fraught with danger. Trailblazing new frontiers of invention has always had both, but energy production in particular usually includes machines that must be so perfectly designed and so unique in their construction that they pose a very real threat to both the inventor and those around the device. It’s not unique to hear from alternative energy explorers that their experiments resulted in a close call. Luckily many of those who live on still don’t undertake the necessary precautions to keep themselves and their projects safe.
Because of the great need for an alternative source of energy and the overall change it may make on the world around us, an increasing number of people are looking into the project with all the ingenuity and curiosity of past historical projects – such as flight after the Wright Brothers – or the endless possibilities with the internal combustion engine.
And just as these inventions too had a great impact on the world around them, they also had their share of tragedies. And it’s little comfort knowing afterward that these could have been avoided given the proper precautions. It’s unknown if this was the case with Vanhom’s accident as details are still pending release. It could very well have been a tragic incident completely beyond the realm of control for anyone involved.
But for many inventors the possibility of a world changing new source of energy and the place in history to come along with it is worth the risk. What will the future bring in the energy independence field? Will we ever find a way to be truly independent of the conventional fuels we have come to depend on so much in the past few centuries? Perhaps only time will tell.