Bearden claimed that it didn't violate the first law of thermodynamics because it extracted vacuum energy from the immediate environment.[48] Critics dismiss this theory and instead identify it as a perpetual motion machine with an unscientific rationalization.[48][49][50][51][52] Science writer Martin Gardner said that Bearden's physics theories, compiled in the self-published book Energy from the Vacuum, are considered "howlers" by physicists, and that his doctorate title was obtained from a diploma mill.[48] Bearden then founded and directed the Alpha Foundation's Institute for Advanced Study (AIAS) to further propagate his theories.