John Ernst Worrell Keely (September 3, 1837 – November 18, 1898) was an American fraudster and self-proclaimed inventor from Philadelphia who claimed to have discovered a new motive power which was initially described as "vaporic" or "etheric" force, and later as an unnamed force based on "vibratory sympathy", by which he produced "interatomic ether" from water and air.

In 1872, Keely invited scientists to a demonstration at his laboratory at 1422 North Twentieth Street, Philadelphia, of a machine that he asserted was motivated by a new and previously unknown force.

In the 19th century, luminiferous aether was the hypothesized substance that allowed light waves to propagate through the vacuum of outer space.

Public interest was aroused, and within a few months, the Keely Motor Company was formed in New York, with a capital of $5,000,000,[1] equivalent to $95 million in 2013.

There is a certain magnetic effect about it that causes it to adhere by vibratory rotation to different forms of matter — that is the molecular, atomic, etheric, and ether-etheric.

This hypothetical substance was thought necessary for the transmission of electromagnetic waves and the propagation of light, which was believed to be impossible in "empty" space.

It was later reported that the witnesses of the demonstration were so impressed that they formed a stock company, purchased patent rights for the six New England states, and paid $50,000 in cash for their share in the invention.

She invested $100,000 plus a monthly salary of $250 (around $2.2 million and $5400/month in today's values [1]) so that he could focus completely on the perfection of his motor and widely advocated him and his work, producing many articles and books.

She arranged with Keely in 1890 to furnish him with an additional $2000 per month for his household and shop expenses and instruments, which was to expire when he had gained sufficient control of his unknown force to enable him to resume his work under the direction of the management of the company upon a provisional engine.

This arrived in December 1890, when Mrs Bloomfield Moore handed over to the Directors bills that had been presented since the expiration of Mr. Keely's contract with her.

The report complained at some length about Keely's uncommunicativeness and said that it was the experience of everyone who had come into contact with him over the previous ten years that "any attempt at a serious investigation of his operations has been met on his part with deception and misrepresentation".

[9] Argument was heard on the demurrer in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas on March 27, when it was argued that the inventor "could not be made to expose that which no one knew but himself and which was hidden in his own brain".

He added that although he had failed to bring his inventions into practical use due to "certain abstruse difficulties because of the nature and qualities of the said force", he believed he would ultimately succeed.

[12] In June 1882, a committee appointed by the Company's board of directors agreed that one William Boekel of Philadelphia was to be "instructed by Mr. Keely in the construction and operation of his inventions".

[13] The annual meeting of the company's stockholders on December 13, 1882, heard a report from Boekel in which he stated that what Keely claimed to have discovered was "the fact that water in its natural state is capable of being, by vibratory motion, disintegrated so that its molecular structure is broken up, and there is evolved therefrom a permanent expansive gas or ether, which result is produced by mechanical action".

Keely rammed a small lead ball about 5 oz (140 g) in weight into the gun's muzzle, then tapped the iron "receiver" with a hammer.

He later reported that he suggested to Keely that it would be a complete test of his power if he discharged a large reservoir, which he showed his guests, and then recharged it using his generator.

Around 20 witnesses attended, including newspaper reporters, a mechanical engineer, and officers and stockholders of the Keely Motor Company.

After making a minor adjustment to the device, he opened a stopcock leading into one of the cylinders and the witnesses heard "a hiss as of escaping air".

Keely duly set the globe rotating, which ran for less than 15 minutes, constantly decreasing in power, before stopping it.

[27] On April 7, a formal order was made directing Bennett Wilson, his attorney, and four experts to fully inspect the Keely motor, its mode of construction, and principle of operation within 30 days.

[32] On March 28, 1889, Keely's counsel announced that the inventor had the "missing link" to make the "vibratory resonator and ethereal generative evaporator" successful.

[36] It was reported the following week that Astor had purchased a significant interest in the motor from "a person who for some years past has been an enthusiastic advocate of M.

On March 22, 1896, it was reported that Mrs. Bloomfield Moore had arranged with Professor Wentworth Lascelles Scott of London to investigate Keely's claims of etheric force and examine his other inventions.

After spending a month investigating, Lascelles Scott stated to a meeting of the Franklin Institute that "Keely has demonstrated to me, in a way which is absolutely unquestionable, the existence of a force hitherto unknown.

On December 24, 1895, Mrs. Bloomfield Moore said that due to the position taken by the managers of the old Keely Motor Company at the annual meeting and the delay on the part of the stockholders in accepting his proposition for a reorganization, Keely had decided not to take out any patents on his inventions, and would instead adopt a royalty system in dealing with his inventions commercially.

[43] In January 1899, Kinraide had 20 large packing cases transported to his laboratory in Jamaica Plain, Boston, which was said to contain the material part of Keely's motor.

[46] At a meeting of the Keely Motor Company's board on January 25, 1899, President B. L. Ackerman issued a statement denying the Philadelphia Press report.

[47] A model of Keely's engine was in the collection of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and an "Etheric Force Machine" of his dating from 1878 is in the American Precision Museum in Windsor, Vermont.

In 2005, Jeff and Rita Behary found the original glass plate negatives of the Keely Motor taken by Thomas Burton Kinraide in his Jamaica Plain home, Ravenscroft.