Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 1st, 2004, page 50

Note the article below has been edited and shortened to highlight energy conversion, rather than space propulsion.

Zero point energy emerges from realm of science fiction

At least two large aerospace companies and one U.S. Defense Dept. agency are betting that “zero point energy” could be the next breakthrough in aerospace, and are backing those bets with seed money for ZPE research.

If their efforts pay off, ZPE-driven powerplants might enable Mach 4 fighters, quiet 1,200-seat hypersonic airliners that fly at 100-mi. altitudes as far as 12,000 mi. in about 70 min., and 12.6-hr. trips to the Moon.

ONE OF THOSE companies, BAE Systems, launched “Project Greenglow” in 1986 “to provide a focus for research into novel propulsion systems and the means to power them,” said R.A. Evans, the project leader, in a technical paper last year.

At least one large U.S. aerospace company is embarking on ZPE research in response to a Defense Dept. request, but the company and its customer cannot be identified yet. National laboratories, the military services and other companies either now have or have had low-level ZPE-related efforts underway.

The concept of zero point energy is rooted in quantum theory, and is difficult for even the technically minded to grasp. But theories validated by meticulous experiments have confirmed that so-called “empty space” or what scientists call the “quantum vacuum” actually is teeming with activity. Tiny electromagnetic fields continuously fluctuate around their “zero-baseline” values, even when the temperature drops to absolute zero (0 K) and all thermal effects have ceased.

A leading researcher in this realm of new physics, Hal E. Puthoff, director of the Institute for Advanced Studies (at Austin), explains zero point energy this way: “When you get down to the tiniest quantum levels, everything’s always ‘jiggly.’ Nothing is completely still, even at absolute zero. That’s why it’s called ‘zero point energy,’ because, if you were to cool the universe down to absolute zero--where all thermal motions were frozen out—you’d still have residual motion. The energy associated with that ‘jiggling’ will remain, too.”

For most technologists, quantum theory conjures up images of extremely minuscule particles and field effects. Why would aerospace companies and governments invest in researching “jiggles” that defy measurement? Because those quantum or vacuum fluctuations--the “jiggles” of zero point energy—if tapped somehow, could produce stupendous amounts of energy and enable deep-space voyages that are impossible for today’s propulsion methods.

”Human transportation within the Solar system will only become technologically practical if there is a breakthrough in terms of speed, coupled with an adequate energy/fuel supply,” Evans said.

Energy densities (the amount of energy per unit volume) of the quantum vacuum are comparable to those of nuclear energy—or even greater. Consequently, its potential as an energy source is absolutely enormous.

Quantifying the potential of ZPE is difficult, and scientists are reluctant to translate the huge numbers predicted by quantum theory into terms easily grasped. Puthoff’s explanation is particularly graphic, though: “It (sounds) ridiculous, but theoretically, there’s enough [zero point] energy in the volume of a coffee cup to more than evaporate all the world’s oceans,” Puthoff said. “But that’s if you could get at all of it, and you obviously can’t. (Added Note: Speculation from NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), suggests it should be possible to extract far more than 20 times as much energy from the Zero Point Field, per unit of surface area on earth, than can be derived from solar energy -- approximately 20 kilowatts per square meter -- 24 hours per day).

”The potential is practically limitless; way beyond what can be conceived. But until we learn what ZPE embodiment to use [an engineering process to extract ZPE], and to what frequency we can effectively extract the energy, it’s really hard to make a practical statement about how much you can actually use,” he cautioned. …The potential is there.” (Note: Magnetic Power Inc. is developing technology designed to provide kilowatts and later megawatts of electric power).

That staggering potential has kept researchers pursuing a “new physics” that some critics classify as near-science fiction. Still, respected scientists and government agencies believe the quest is worth investing time, effort and money. In 1986, the U.S. Air Force …solicited “Non-conventional Propulsion Concepts” under a Small Business Innovation Research program. One of the six areas of interest was “Esoteric energy sources…, including the zero point quantum dynamic energy of vacuum space . . . .”

In particular, the late Robert Forward, a respected scientist …recommended additional research of the “Casimir effect,” which had suggested the existence of ZPE decades earlier. This phenomenon is attributed to H.G.B. Casimir, a Dutch researcher, who, in 1948, confirmed the reality of quantum vacuum energy by calculating the value of a small force between two uncharged metal plates.

”IF YOU PUT TWO metal plates very close together, they partially shield some ZPE frequencies,” Puthoff explained. “That means the energy bouncing back and forth between the plates is less than the energy outside, so the plates get pushed together. Radiation pressure outside the plates is greater than radiation pressure in the somewhat-shielded area between the plates. The plates coming together convert vacuum energy to heat.”

In 1997, Steve K. Lamoreaux, a University of Washington atomic physicist at the time, conducted precise measurements of the Casimir effect. His results almost perfectly matched the predictions of quantum electrodynamics theory, according to a peer-reviewed paper in the Jan. 6, 1997, issue of Physical Review Letters.

When NASA established the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics (BPP) program in 1996 to research advanced forms of space transportation, it focused on three objectives: (including) breakthrough methods of energy production to power such devices.

There are striking and encouraging parallels between the evolvement of ZPE and the history of nuclear energy research. Albert Einstein’s equations showed that an infinitesimal amount of mass could be converted to a tremendous amount of energy via nuclear reactions. Initially, scientists insisted something was wrong; the numbers were just too large. They didn’t make sense. But the mathematics were incontrovertible.

Then natural radioactivity was discovered, validating Einstein’s equations. However, energy releases found in nature were so small that even Einstein believed radiation could never be harnessed as a useful energy source.

”At that time, it looked like [nuclear] fission was going nowhere,” Puthoff said. “The big breakthrough came when [atomic physicist Enrico] Fermi did his famous experiment at the University of Chicago. …Zero point energy has a similar history. Predictions from quantum mechanics said ZPE existed, but the huge numbers associated with it prompted questions about the mathematics’ validity and suspicions of errors in quantum theory. “Then the Casimir effect was found to be a natural embodiment of natural principles,” Puthoff said. “The [general] reaction was: ‘OK, but it’s a small effect. It’s never going to be useful for making energy’—just like what was said about nuclear energy. So, we’re now at the stage of looking for the equivalent of Fermi’s neutron-source catalyst—something that ignites the ZPE process.”

But is harnessing ZPE feasible, and, if so, how soon? If the expectations of cutting-edge scientists are any guide, a ZPE power source …could be in sight.

”I’d say our confidence level [of a breakthrough] is 50% or better. We have some ideas that we’re exploring, but we’re not ready to talk about them,” Puthoff hedged. “The big hurdle is finding an embodiment that will permit scale-ups to useful levels of energy—finding the catalyst for accelerating currently known processes. If our [research] is successful, almost assuredly there’d be no problem with small units—a few cubic centimeters of ZPE—providing enough energy to power spaceships.” …

Note that MPI is developing breakthroughs that we believe will surface sufficiently in the coming months to end this controversy.

Are they taking longer than we hoped, of course. One of the reasons is the paucity of funding for all high tech companies in the USA that do not yet have revenues, following the dot.com crash.

Our work has progressed to the point where, at last we now have several sources of major funding seriously interested and five multi-billion dollar firms that have signed NonDisclosure Agreements and begun to evaluate the technology.

Engineers that have visited our labs under NDA have been very favorably impressed and several have asked to join our firm.

Be prepared for 2008 to become a surprising New Year in which ZPE surfaces as a practical source of energy.

One happy surprise is that future cars are likely to become cash cows for their owners!

Utilities are very much interested in the possibility that future cars, producing 75-100 kW or more from a ZPE powered generator, inductively coupled to the grid, might end the need for building the presently planned 150 new coal plants in the U.S.