The history of Alfred Hubbard's invention dates back to 1919. It was then that the inventor, who was only sixteen years old, showed the journalists of the "Seattle Post" a certain mechanism. The light bulb connected to it was on, and the cartridge was "built" into the box and no wires were visible to the device.
Newspapers dubbed the newly-minted miracle "perpetual motion machine", but Hubbard himself spoke of the invention as a generator of atmospheric energy. It is noteworthy that initially the young genius simply invented contactless ignition for gasoline engines, and how he ended up with his generator is unknown.
To attract investors and interested parties, Alfred used such a publicity stunt - people got into a boat with an electric motor, then Hubbar himself connected his device to the motor terminals, the motor started to work and all the small (about half an hour) boat trip on the lakes near Seattle made the boat move forward. Such characteristics are known - the electric motor had a power of about 26 kW, the dimensions of the Hubbard generator were 28x35.5 cm.
Accusations of fraud that arose soon ended. For the experiment, the boat and the motor were installed by invited experts, and Hubbard only connected his device. Moreover, such a case is cited - when once the engine spun in the other direction, the battery used for the initial start of the generator, already carried to the shore, had to be dragged closer to the boat again. Hubbard rearranged the wires and started the motor again.
This device has not been patented. The inventor himself explained this by the peculiarities of the US patent system: after three years, if the patent payment is not paid again, it becomes open, which Hubbard would not want. And once again he confessed to being greedy - he said that he was afraid to sell too cheap and was waiting for a better offer. Considering that since 1920 the young inventor was looked after by a special committee, which protected from attacks from journalists and proposals from dubious companies, both explanations look strange.
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After an attempt to patent the invention, which nevertheless took place at the end of 1920, the newspapermen somehow very quickly and immediately lost interest in the invention and the inventor. Until the end of the 1920s, scant information about Hubbard was still leaked in the press - he began transporting alcohol from Canada using his invention. Then he got caught and went to jail.
In 1929 he received US patent No. 723,422 for "a radioactive internal combustion device for an internal combustion engine." This engine was even made in a small batch by one of the companies.
And then the traces of a talented, no doubt, inventor are lost in the dark: he was recruited by one or several special government services, became interested in the distribution and popularization of LSD (he even received a patent for its sale, until LSD was banned in 1966), bought planes, boats and islands …
Hubbard died at the age of 81 in his trailer in Arizona in 1982. The further fate of its generators is unknown.