[dogbyte12]

who knows what this thing is, it is probably bogus. But, for example, if somebody found a way to harness the power of static electricity in the air in a meaningful way, it would not violate the first law, but still be an amazing power generator.

[RightWhale]

if somebody found a way to harness the power of static electricity in the air in a meaningful way

Ayn Rand put that in her book. Possibly modeling the character on Nikola Tesla. She was possibly a philosopher, but probably not a scientist.

[webstersII]

But, for example, if somebody found a way to harness the power of static electricity in the air in a meaningful way, it would not violate the first law, but still be an amazing power generator.

Static electricity is not an available source of electricity waiting to be tapped. It is the result of the forceful re-distribution of positive and negative charges in air. It takes work to get these charges distributed correctly and there is always loss in the forceful re-distribution, hence, the Laws of Thermodynamics are still in effect.

You still don't have free energy lying around. It's just like other forms of energy; they are all potential forms of energy and the conversion of energy makes it useful, whether it's oil or Hydrogen from water or natural gas, etc.

[supercat]

But, for example, if somebody found a way to harness the power of static electricity in the air in a meaningful way, it would not violate the first law, but still be an amazing power generator.

Actually, if you live in or near a large metropolitan area, it's easy to harness "free" energy from the air--enough to drive an AM radio, even (hint hint).