DISCLOSURE / FILE
DIA Defense Intelligence Reference Document DIA-08-1004-007, dated 6 April 2010, surveying theoretical and experimental concepts for extracting usable energy from the quantum vacuum zero-point field for space power and propulsion under the AAWSA program.
DIA AATIP Defense Intelligence Reference Documents (38 DIRDs), FOIA Release, DIRD_24-DIRD_Concepts_for_Extracting_Energy_from_the_Quantum_Vacuum.pdf
DIA Defense Intelligence Reference Document DIA-08-1004-007, dated 6 April 2010, surveying theoretical and experimental concepts for extracting usable energy from the quantum vacuum zero-point field for space power and propulsion under the AAWSA program.
Produced in FY 2009 under the Defense Intelligence Agency's Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) program, this 57-page reference document (ICOD 1 December 2009) reviews quantum electrodynamic (QED) and stochastic electrodynamic (SED) accounts of the electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF), surveys laboratory schemes including Casimir-effect batteries, ground-state energy suppression, tunable Casimir engines, and EV pulse-discharge phenomena, and considers thermodynamic constraints on continuous energy extraction. It cites a theoretical ZPF energy density of up to 10^113 J/m^3 when integrated to the Planck frequency, while noting that no practicable extraction technique has been successfully demonstrated in the laboratory. The report frames the work as motivated by the need for propellantless space propulsion and outlines a way forward to 2050.
This product is one in a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009 under the Defense Intelligence Agency, (b)(3):10 USC 424 Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program.p.2
When integrated over all frequency modes up to the Planck frequency, v_P (~ 10^43 Hertz [Hz]), it represents an energy density of as much as 10^113 J/m^3, which is far in excess of any other known energy source, even if only an infinitesimal fraction of it is accessible.p.5
If the ZPF is real, then there is the possibility that it can be tapped as a source of power or be harnessed to generate a propulsive force for space travel.p.6
The breakthrough desired in space travel is to eliminate the need to carry propellant at all, that is, to generate a propulsive force without carrying and ejecting propellant?p.6
Thus, Forward's process cannot be cycled to yield a continuous extraction of energy.p.8
Although several novel ZPF energy extraction mechanisms have been proposed in the popular and technical literature, no practicable technique has been successfully demonstrated in the laboratory.p.9
If true, then the ZPF density would be ~ 10^113 J/m³, 108 orders of magnitude greater than the radiant energy at the center of the Sun.p.11
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UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Defense Intelligence Reference Document [REDACTED] Acquisition Threat Support 6 April 2010 ICOD: 1 December 2009 DIA-08-1004-007 Concepts for Extracting Energy From the Quantum Vacuum UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Concepts for Extracting Energy From the Quantum Vacuum
Prepared by:
(b)(3):10 USC 424
Defense Intelligence Agency
Author:
(b)(6)
Administrative Note
COPYRIGHT WARNING: Further dissemination of the photographs in this publication is not authorized.
This product is one in a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009
under the Defense Intelligence Agency, (b)(3):10 USC 424 Advanced Aerospace
Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. Comments or questions pertaining to
this document should be addressed to (b)(3):10 USC 424;(b)(6) AAWSA Program
Manager, Defense Intelligence Agency, ATTN: (b)(3):10 USC 424 Bldg 6000, Washington,
DC 20340-5100.
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UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Defense Intelligence Reference Document [REDACTED] Acquisition Threat Support 6 April 2010 ICOD: 1 December 2009 DIA-08-1004-007 Concepts for Extracting Energy From the Quantum Vacuum UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Concepts for Extracting Energy From the Quantum Vacuum
Prepared by:
(b)(3):10 USC 424
Defense Intelligence Agency
Author:
(b)(6)
Administrative Note
COPYRIGHT WARNING: Further dissemination of the photographs in this publication is not authorized.
This product is one in a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009
under the Defense Intelligence Agency, (b)(3):10 USC 424 Advanced Aerospace
Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. Comments or questions pertaining to
this document should be addressed to (b)(3):10 USC 424;(b)(6) AAWSA Program
Manager, Defense Intelligence Agency, ATTN: (b)(3):10 USC 424 Bldg 6000, Washington,
DC 20340-5100.
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Contents
I. Summary .........................................................................................................v
II. Historical Concepts for Extracting Energy and Thermodynamic Considerations 1
III. Origin of Zero-Point Field Energy............................................................... 4
Elements of QED Theory.............................................................................. 4
Elements of SED Theory .............................................................................. 6
IV. Review of Selected Experiments ................................................................. 7
Voltage Fluctuations in Coils Induced by ZPF at High Frequency........................ 7
ZPF Energy Extraction by Ground State Energy Reduction .............................. 10
Tunable Casimir Effect ............................................................................... 14
EV Phenomenon ........................................................................................ 17
V. Theoretical Considerations and Issues......................................................... 22
QED Vacuum Revisited ............................................................................... 22
QED Vacuum as a Plenum........................................................................ 22
QED Vacuum as a Mathematical "Placeholder" for Fluctuating Matter Fields 23
Casimir Effect Revisited ............................................................................. 24
Casimir Effect in the Plenum Picture ......................................................... 24
Casimir Effect in the Fluctuating Matter Fields Picture ................................ 24
Type I (Transient) and Type II (Continuous) Machines................................... 25
Degradability of the Vacuum ....................................................................... 25
Alternatives to QED .................................................................................. 26
Neoclassical Theories of QED Vacuum Fluctuation Effects........................... 26
SED Model Revisited............................................................................... 27
QED Without Second-Quantized Fields ..................................................... 28
Examples of Degradable of Decaying Vacuum ............................................... 28
Gravitational Squeezing of the Vacuum..................................................... 29
Redshifting the Vacuum .......................................................................... 29
Vacuum Field Stress: Negative Vacuum Energy from the Casimir Effect...... 30
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Squeezed Quantum Vacuum........................................................................ 32
Dirac Vacuum Decay: "Sparking the Vacuum"........................................... 33
Magnetically Induced Decay of the Dirac Vacuum ........................................ 34
Melting the QCD Vacuum............................................................................ 35
Summary: ZPF Modes and Vacuum Field Energy ......................................... 37
VI. Conclusion: The Way Forward to 2050...................................................... 37
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ 41
Appendix: The QCD Bag Model ...................................................................... 42
References .................................................................................................... 44
Figures
Figure 1. Illustration of the Casimir Effect ......................................................... 1
Figure 2. Vacuum-Fluctuation Battery............................................................... 1
Figure 3. ZPE Resonant Dielectric Spheres Electrical Power Generation............... 3
Figure 4. Theoretical Voltage Spectral Density of a Tungsten Coil........................ 9
Figure 5. Energy Released from Ground State Suppression of Hydrogenic Atom
in a Microcavity ................................................................................ 11
Figure 6. Apparatus for Ground State Energy Suppression: Casimir Segmented
Tunnels ........................................................................................... 13
Figure 7. Alternative Apparatus for Ground State Energy Suppression: Casimir
Strip and Spacer-Channels ................................................................ 13
Figure 8. Experimental Apparatus for Ground State Energy Reduction Tests ....... 14
Figure 9. Tunable Casimir Effect: Conductor vs. Dielectric. ................................ 15
Figure 10. Tunable Casimir Effect: Engine Cycle................................................ 16
Figure 11. Schematic of EV (Pulse Discharge Source) Device.............................. 18
Figure 12. SEM of EV Damage to Ceramic Plate. ............................................... 19
Figure 13. SEM of EV Damage to Palladium Target............................................ 20
Figure 14. EV Moving at Downward Angle Away From Its Source. ....................... 21
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Concepts for Extracting Energy From the Quantum Vacuum
I. Summary
Quantum theory predicts that the vacuum of space throughout the universe is
filled with electromagnetic waves, random in phase and amplitude,
propagating in all possible directions, and with a cubic frequency distribution.
This differs from the cosmic microwave background radiation and is referred
to as the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, which is the lowest energy state
of otherwise empty space. When integrated over all frequency modes up to the
Planck frequency, v_P (~ 10^43 Hertz [Hz]), it represents an energy density of as
much as 10^113 J/m^3, which is far in excess of any other known energy source,
even if only an infinitesimal fraction of it is accessible. Even if one is
constrained to integrate over all frequency modes only up to the nucleon
Compton frequency (~ 10^23 Hz),^1 this energy density is still enormous (~ 10^35
J/m^3). In addition, the electromagnetic quantum vacuum is not alone; it
intimately couples to the charged particles in the Dirac sea of virtual fermion
particle-antiparticle pairs (aka the Dirac vacuum) and thereby couples to the
other interactions inherent in the Standard Model (weak and strong force
vacua). However, in the Standard Model of particle physics, the weak force
vacuum is essentially the electromagnetic vacuum, because photons serve as
the massless eigenstates of (unified) electroweak theory with an "effective"
coupling constant that is in fact electromagnetic in strength.^2 And we can
safely ignore any coupling of the quantum electromagnetic vacuum to the
quantum chromodynamic vacuum in this paper because the latter coexists in
two phases: (1) the ordinary vacuum exterior to the hadron, which is
impenetrable to quark color, and (2) the vacuum interior of the hadron,^3 in
which the Yang-Mills fields that carry color (gluons) propagate freely. Both
vacuum phases are separated by a boundary at the surface of the hadron on
which the Yang-Mills and quark fields satisfy boundary conditions.
Even though this zero-point field (ZPF) energy seems to be an inescapable
consequence of quantum field theory, its energy density is so enormous as to
make it difficult to reconcile. Instead, many quantum calculations subtract the
ZPF energy by ad hoc means (for example, renormalization). However, the
effects of the quantum vacuum ZPF that are responsible for a variety of well-
known physical effects are observed, such as:
• Lamb shift.
• Spontaneous atomic emission.
^1 The characteristic frequency associated with the size of nucleons.
^2 The weak force coupling constant is merely the quantum electrodynamic/electromagnetic
coupling constant (i.e., the fine structure constant, α) that is "suppressed" by a simple
inverse-quadratic ratio of the virtual weak force particle mass to the proton mass (a factor
of 10^-4).
^3 Hadrons are the class of strongly interacting elementary particles which are a bound state
of quarks. This class of particles has two subclasses: baryons (e.g., protons and neutrons
comprised of three quarks) and mesons (comprised of two quarks).
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• Low-temperature van der Waals forces.
• Casimir effect.
• Source of photon shot and fluctuating radiation-pressure noise in lasers.
• Astronomically observed cosmological constant (aka dark energy, a form of
Casimir energy according to the Schwinger-DeWitt quantum ether
prescription [Reference 1-4]).
Rather than eliminate the ZPF energy from the equations, there is much left to
be learned by exploring the possibility that it is a real energy. From this
perspective, the ordinary world of matter and energy is like foam atop the
quantum vacuum sea. If the ZPF is real, then there is the possibility that it can
be tapped as a source of power or be harnessed to generate a propulsive force
for space travel. This notion of exchanging energy with the quantum vacuum
is the focus of this paper.
An aircraft propeller or jet engine can push air backwards to propel the
aircraft forward. A ship or boat propeller does the same thing in water. On
Earth there is air or water to push against. But a rocket in space has no
material medium to push against, and so it needs to carry and eject propellant
in order to provide momentum. A deep-space rocket must start out with all the
propellant it will ever require, and this quickly results in the need to carry
additional propellant just to propel the propellant. The breakthrough desired
in space travel is to eliminate the need to carry propellant at all, that is, to
generate a propulsive force without carrying and ejecting propellant?
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II. Historical Concepts for Extracting Energy and
Thermodynamic Considerations
The Casimir force is a force associated with the electromagnetic quantum vacuum
(Reference 5). This force is an attraction between parallel uncharged metallic plates
that has now been well measured and can be attributed to a minute imbalance in the
ZPF energy (ZPE) density inside the cavity between the plates versus the region outside
the plates as shown in Figure 1 (Reference 6-8). As shown in the figure, the vacuum is
full of virtual photons (that is, zero-point vacuum fluctuations), but photons with
wavelengths, λ, more than twice the plate separation, d, are excluded from the space
between them, which causes the imbalance that pushes the plates together.
The primary requirement for space travel is energy. It is sometimes assumed that
attempting to extract energy from the vacuum ZPF would somehow violate the laws of
thermodynamics. Fortunately, it turns out that this is not the case. A thought
experiment published by Forward (Reference 9, 10) demonstrated how the Casimir
force could in principle be used to extract energy from the vacuum ZPF. Forward
showed that any pair of conducting plates at close distance experiences an attractive
Casimir force that is due to the electromagnetic ZPF of the vacuum. A "vacuum-
fluctuation battery" can be constructed by using the Casimir force to do work on a stack
of charged conducting plates as shown in Figure 2. By applying a charge of the same
polarity to each conducting plate, a repulsive electrostatic force will be produced that
opposes the Casimir force. If the applied electrostatic force is adjusted to be always
slightly less than the Casimir force, the plates will move toward each other and the
Casimir force will add energy to the electric field between the plates. The battery can be
recharged by making the electrical force slightly stronger than the Casimir force to re-
expand the foliated conductor.
[FIGURE 1: Illustration of the Casimir Effect - showing Casimir plates with vacuum fluctuations]
[FIGURE 2: Vacuum-Fluctuation Battery (Reference 9) - showing a stack of charged conducting plates with Electrostatic Repulsion and Vacuum Fluctuation Attraction labels]
Figure 1. Illustration of the Casimir Effect Figure 2. Vacuum-Fluctuation Battery (Reference 9)
Cole and Puthoff (Reference 11) verified that (generic) energy extraction schemes are
not contradictory to the laws of thermodynamics. For thermodynamically reversible
processes, no heat will flow at temperature T = 0. However, for thermodynamically
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irreversible processes, heat can be produced and made to flow, either at T = 0 or at
any other T > 0 situation, such as by taking a system out of mechanical equilibrium.
Moreover, work can be done by or done on physical systems, either at T = 0 or T > 0
situations, whether for a reversible or irreversible process. However, if one is
considering a net cyclical process on the basis of, say, the Casimir effect, then energy
would not be able to be continually extracted without a violation of the second law of
thermodynamics. Thus, Forward's process cannot be cycled to yield a continuous
extraction of energy. Here, the recharging of the battery would, owing to frictional and
other losses, require more energy than is gained from the ZPF. There is no useful
engine cycle in this process; nonetheless, the plate-contraction phase of the cycle does
demonstrate the ability to cause "extraction" of energy from the ZPF. It does reflect
work done by the ZPF on matter.
Another illustrative example of an early scheme for extracting energy from the ZPF is
described in a patent by Mead and Nachamkin (Reference 12). They propose that a set
of resonant dielectric spheres be used to extract energy from the ZPF and convert it
into electrical power. They consider the use of resonant dielectric spheres, slightly
detuned from each other, to provide a beat-frequency downshift of the more energetic
high-frequency components of the ZPF to a more easily captured form. Figure 3 shows
two embodiments of the invention. The device includes a pair of dielectric structures
(items 12, 14, 112, 114 in the figure) that are positioned proximal to each other and
which intercept incident ZPE radiation (items 16, 116 in the figure). The volumetric
sizes of the structures are selected so that they resonate at a particular frequency of
the incident radiation. But the volumetric sizes of the structures are chosen to be
slightly different so that the secondary radiations emitted from them (items 18, 20, 24,
18, 120, 124 in the figure) at resonance interfere with each other, thus producing a
beat frequency radiation that is at a much lower frequency than that of the incident
radiation, and that can be converted into electrical energy. A conventional metallic
antenna (loop or dipole type, or a RF cavity structure; items 22, 122 in the figure) can
then be used to collect the beat frequency radiation. This radiation is next transmitted
from the antenna to a converter via an electrical conductor or waveguide (items 26,
126 in the figure) and converted to electrical energy. The converter must include: 1) a
tuning circuit or comparable device so that it can effectively receive the beat frequency
radiation, 2) a transformer to convert the energy to electrical current having a desired
voltage, and 3) a rectifier to convert the energy to electrical current having a desired
waveform (items 28, 30, 32, 34, 128, 130, 132 in the figure).
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[FIGURE: Two patent drawings showing ZPE Resonant Dielectric Spheres Electrical Power Generation devices with numbered components]
Figure 3. ZPE Resonant Dielectric Spheres Electrical Power Generation (Reference 12)
The receiving structures are composed of dielectric material in order to diffract and
scatter the incident ZPE radiation. The volumetric sizing requirements for the receiving
structures are selected to enable them to resonate at a high frequency corresponding to
the incident ZPE radiation, based on the parameters of frequency of the incident ZPE
radiation, and the propagation characteristics of the medium (vacuum or otherwise)
and the receiving structures. Since the ZPE radiation energy density increases with
increasing frequency, greater amounts of electromagnetic energy are potentially
available at higher frequencies. Consequently, the size of the receiving structures must
be miniaturized in order to produce greater amounts of energy from a system located
within a space or volume of a given size. Therefore, the smaller the size of the receiving
structures, the greater the amount of energy that can in principle be produced by the
system.
Although a computer model study performed at the Air Force Research Laboratory
(Edwards AFB, CA) indicates that the invention could work, no experimental study has
been performed to validate this in the lab (F. B. Mead, private communication, 2002).
Regarding critiques, it is not clear how the beat frequency can be picked up by the
receiving loop antenna. There is no nonlinear method in the invention showing that an
electromagnetic beat frequency can be generated and coupled to the loop. Without a
nonlinear coupling method there will be no sidebands, one of which would be frequency
down-shifted and called the beat frequency. The coupling method requires the
generation of sidebands in the mixing of two different frequencies via a nonlinear
technique. However, an easy resolution to this potential deficiency is that the resonant
dielectric spheres could be constructed of a nonlinear dielectric material.
Although several novel ZPF energy extraction mechanisms have been proposed in the
popular and technical literature, no practicable technique has been successfully
demonstrated in the laboratory. To better understand how ZPE extraction methods
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might work, it is necessary to characterize the physics of the ZPF and proposed energy
extraction techniques, and to evaluate their feasibility for application to space power
and propulsion systems. In what follows, the physics of the ZPF and the experimental
investigations being pursued to address the question of extracting energy from the
quantum vacuum are summarized.
III. Origin of Zero-Point Field Energy
ELEMENTS OF QED THEORY
The basis of the ZPF is typically attributed to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
According to this principle, A and B are any two conjugate observables that one is
interested in measuring, and they obey the commutation relation [A,B] = iℏ.^4 Their
corresponding uncertainty relation is ΔAΔ B ≥ ℏ/2, where ΔA is the variance (aka
uncertainty) of observable A and ΔB is that of the conjugate observable B. This relation
states that if one measures observable A with very high precision (that is, its
uncertainty ΔA is very small), then a simultaneous measurement of observable B will be
less precise (that is, its uncertainty ΔB is very large), and vice versa. In other words, it
is not possible to simultaneously measure two conjugate observable quantities with
infinite precision. This minimum uncertainty is not due to any correctable flaws in
measurement, but rather reflects the intrinsic fuzziness in the quantum nature of
energy and matter. Substantial theoretical and experimental work has shown that in
many quantum systems the limits to measurement precision is imposed by the
quantum vacuum ZPF embodied within the uncertainty principle. Nowadays one would
rather see the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle as a necessary consequence, and
therefore, a derived result of the wave nature of quantum phenomena. The
uncertainties are just a consequence of the Fourier nature of conjugate pairs of
quantities (observables). For example, the two Fourier-wave-conjugates time and
frequency become the pair of quantum-particle conjugates time and energy and the
two Fourier-wave-conjugates displacement and wavenumber become the pair of
quantum-particle conjugates position and momentum. For more on this see, for
example, Reference 13.
Classically, electromagnetic radiation can be pictured as waves flowing through space at
the speed of light. The waves are not waves of anything substantive, but are in fact
ripples in the state of a field. These waves carry energy, and each wave has a specific
direction, frequency and polarization state. This is called a "propagating mode of the
electromagnetic field." A useful tool for modeling the propagating mode of the
electromagnetic field in quantum mechanics is the ideal quantum mechanical harmonic
oscillator: a hypothetical charged mass on a perfect spring oscillating back and forth
under the action of the spring's restoring force. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
dictates that a quantized harmonic oscillator (aka a photon state) can never come
entirely to rest, since that would be a state of exactly zero energy, which is forbidden
by the commutation relation outlined above. Instead, every mode of the field has ℏω/2
as its average minimum energy in the vacuum.^5 (This is a small amount of energy, but
the number of modes is enormous, and indeed increases as the square of the
frequency. The product of this minuscule energy per mode, multiplied by the huge
spatial density of modes, yields a very high theoretical energy density per unit volume.)
^4 i is the unit complex number. ℏ is Planck's reduced constant, 1.055 × 10^-34 J·s.
^5 ω is the mode or photon frequency and ℏω is the energy of a single mode or photon.
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This ZPE term is added to the classical blackbody spectral radiation energy density
ρ(ω)dω (that is, the energy per unit volume of radiation in the frequency interval (ω, ω
+ dω)) (Reference 14):
ρ(ω) dω = ω²/π²c³ [ ℏω/(exp(ℏω/kT)−1) + ℏω/2 ] dω
= ℏω³/2π²c³ coth( ℏω/2kT ) dω , (1)
where c is the speed of light (3.0 × 10^8 m/s), k is Boltzmann's constant (1.3807 × 10^-23
J/K), T is the absolute temperature, and ω = 2πv is the angular frequency. The factor
outside the square brackets in the first line of Equation (1) is the density of mode (or
photon) states (that is, the number of states per unit frequency interval per unit
volume); the first term inside the square brackets is the standard Planck blackbody
radiation energy per mode; and the second term inside the square brackets is the
quantum zero-point energy per mode. Equation (1) is called the Zero-Point Planck
(ZPP) spectral radiation energy density. Planck first added the ZPE term to the classical
blackbody spectral radiation energy density in 1912, although it was Einstein, Hopf, and
Stern who actually recognized the physical significance of this term in 1913 (Reference
14). Direct spectroscopic evidence for the reality of ZPE was provided by Mulliken's
boron monoxide spectral band experiments in 1924, several months before Heisenberg
first derived the ZPE for a harmonic oscillator from his new quantum matrix mechanics
theory (Reference 15).
Following this line of reasoning, quantum physics predicts that all of space must be
filled with electromagnetic zero-point fluctuations (aka the zero-point field) creating a
universal sea of zero-point energy. The density of this energy depends critically on
where the frequency of the zero-point fluctuations ceases. Since space itself is currently
thought to break up into a kind of "quantum foam" at the Planck length, λ_p (~ 10^-35 m),
it is argued that the ZPF must cease at the corresponding v_P. If true, then the ZPF
density would be ~ 10^113 J/m³, 108 orders of magnitude greater than the radiant
energy at the center of the Sun! Formally, in Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) theory,
the ZPE energy density is taken as infinite; however, arguments based on quantum
gravity considerations yield a finite cutoff at v_P. Therefore, the spectral energy density
is given by ρ(ω)dω = (ℏω³/2π²c³)dω, which integrates to an energy density, ρ_E =
ℏv_P^4/8π²c³ ≈ 10^113 J/m³. As large as the ZPE is, interactions with it are typically cut off at
lower frequencies depending on the particle coupling constants or their structure.
Nevertheless, the potential ZPF energy density predicted by quantum physics is
enormous.
Many experts have claimed that an enormous vacuum ZPF energy density would
produce a corresponding enormous gravitational force of attraction (via Einstein's
General Theory of Relativity) that would cause the immediate collapse of the entire
universe. Thus they argue that such enormous vacuum energy cannot be real due to
the fact that our universe is observed to be undergoing accelerated expansion.
However, such arguments are spurious because numerous studies in quantum field
theory show that it is the low-frequency ZPF modes that contribute significantly to the
physical vacuum energy, because 1) only the low-frequency modes are affected by the
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presence of cosmological spacetime curvature, and 2) the high-frequency modes are
unaffected by the presence of cosmological spacetime curvature so they take the flat
Minkowski spacetime form; that is, these modes contribute nothing to the physical
vacuum energy (Reference 4). This then enforces a very low-frequency cutoff that
renormalizes the total vacuum energy, leading to a minute residual cosmological
vacuum energy density of 10^-9 J/m³, which has been observed. Also, investigators
studying supersymmetric and superstring quantum gravity theories have proposed the
limited cancellation of some positive energy electromagnetic ZPF modes by some
negative energy fermionic (Dirac vacuum) ZPF modes as an explanation for the
observed minute vacuum energy density.
ELEMENTS OF SED THEORY
An alternative to QED, stochastic electrodynamics (SED) identifies the origin of the ZPF
as a direct consequence of a classical ZPF background. SED begins with the ordinary
classical electrodynamics of Maxwell and Lorentz, but instead of assuming the
traditional homogeneous solution of the source-free differential wave equations for the
electromagnetic potentials, one instead considers that due to multiple charged particles
moving throughout the universe, there is always a random electromagnetic radiation
background present that affects the particle(s) in any experiment. This new boundary
condition (random radiation background) replaces the prior null background of
traditional classical electrodynamics. Moreover, the principle of relativity dictates that
identical experiments performed in different inertial frames must yield the same result,
and that this random classical electromagnetic radiation must be isotropic in all inertial
frames; it is invariant under scattering by a dipole oscillator, invariant under redshift
(Doppler, cosmological, gravitational, no Einstein-Hopf drag force), and must therefore
have a Lorentz-invariant energy density spectrum. The only energy density spectrum
that obeys such conditions is one that is proportional to the cubic power of the
frequency. Interestingly, this is exactly the same frequency dependence as that of the
QED spectral ZPF energy density described above, when the temperature T is set to
zero in Equation (1). Thus in SED, the random radiation assumes the role of the ZPF of
QED, and is termed the classical electromagnetic ZPE. Planck's constant appears then in
SED as an adjustable parameter that sets the scale of the ZPE spectral density.
The formulation of the SED model has evolved over time, beginning with the work of
Nernst in 1916 and the later foundational work of Marshall and Boyer in the 1960s
(Reference 14). The original Standard SED model was based on random phases with
fixed electric-field mode amplitudes. The more recent Modified SED model employs
random phases with random electric-field mode amplitudes and a full probability
distribution for the ground state amplitude, in agreement with quantum theory
(Reference 16). A comparison of SED with quantum theory shows that the first and
second moments of the spectral energy distribution are identical, but beyond that, the
distributions diverge widely. Nevertheless, several quantum theory results have been
reproduced by means of the SED approach, such as (Reference 14, 17):
• Quantum mechanical harmonic oscillator.
• Lamb shift.
• Blackbody radiation.
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• Van der Waals forces.
• Casimir forces.
• Diamagnetism.
• Davies-Unruh Effect.
The strength of the SED model is that it is heuristically appealing, with transparent
derivations, and it is applicable to linear systems. SED calculations have also been
shown to be in one-to-one correspondence with the expectation values of the
Heisenberg quantum equations of motion for linear systems. Both SED and QED will
play a role in the discussions to follow.
IV. Review of Selected Experiments
In what follows, is an outline each of the proposed experimental concepts that were
selected for theoretical and laboratory investigation. A subset of our proposed concepts
has undergone preliminary evaluation by Lockheed-Martin review panels involving both
internal R&D personnel and outside experts on theory and experimentation (V. Teofilo,
private communication, 2005).
VOLTAGE FLUCTUATIONS IN COILS INDUCED BY ZPF AT HIGH
FREQUENCY
In a series of experiments, Koch et al. (Reference 18-20) measured voltage fluctuations
in resistive wire circuits that are induced by the ZPF. The Koch et al. result is striking
corroboration of the reality of the ZPF and proves that the ZPF can do real work (cause
measurable currents). Although the Koch et al. experiment detected minuscule
amounts of ZPF energy, it shows the principle of ZPF energy circuitry to detect vacuum
fluctuations and opens the door to consideration of means to extract useful amounts of
energy. The secondary consequences on other phenomena, if energy can be
successfully extracted, have not yet been investigated.
Blanco et al. (Reference 21) have proposed a method for enhancing the ZPF-induced
voltage fluctuations in circuits. Theoretically treating a coil of wire as an antenna, they
argue that the antenna-like radiation resistance of the coil should be included in the
total resistance of the circuit, and suggest that this total resistance should be used in
the theoretical computation of ZPF-induced voltage fluctuations. Because of the strong
dependence of the radiation resistance on the number of coil turns (quadratic scaling),
coil radius (quartic scaling), and frequency (quartic scaling), any enhanced ZPF-induced
voltage fluctuations should be measurable in the laboratory at readily accessible
frequencies (100 MHz compared to the 100 GHz range necessary in the Koch et al.
experiments).
In the theory of Blanco et al., random voltage fluctuations are conveniently described
by their frequency spectrum. That is, given a sufficient time interval of measured
voltages, the measurements are Fourier transformed to the frequency domain to
determine how the voltage fluctuations are distributed (for example, quantity of low-
frequency, long duration fluctuations relative to high-frequency, short-duration
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fluctuations). Theoretically, the spectrum of voltage fluctuations, S(ω,T), of a resistive
circuit is given by (Reference 21):
S(ω,T) = R(ω,T)/π · ℏω/2 · coth( ℏω/2kT ) (2)
where R(ω,T) is the total resistance (ohmic plus radiative), ω is the (angular) frequency,
and T is the absolute temperature. The resistance R(ω,T) is temperature dependent
through its ohmic contribution.^6 Note the similar hyperbolic cotangent functions
appearing in Equation (2) and in the second line of Equation (1). The postulate of
Blanco et al. is that the total resistance must include the radiation resistance of the
circuit (Reference 21):
R(ω,T) = R_ohmic(ω,T) + R_rad(ω) (3)
Under the assumption that the wavelengths of the ZPF modes of interest are larger
than the dimensions of the circuit, the radiation resistance of a coil is given by
(Reference 21):
R_rad(ω) = 2/3 · π²N²/c · (aω/c)^4 (4)
where N is the number of coil turns, and a is the radius of the coil winding.
According to Blanco et al., large enhancements in ZPF-induced voltage fluctuations are
possible. By reducing the temperature to minimize ohmic resistance, making the coil of
many turns and large radius, and performing measurements at high frequency, it
should be possible to investigate this amplification effect. The predicted coil-enhanced
voltage spectrum can be readily computed. The result is shown in Figure 4 for a 1 cm
diameter coil of 2000 turns, made of 38 AWG tungsten wire, and kept at a temperature
of 3 K. In Figure 4, the upper (blue) curve represents the predicted voltage spectral
density for the combined ohmic plus radiation resistance. The lower (red) curve is the
predicted result when radiation resistance is ignored. If the postulate of Blanco et al. is
correct, the enhancement in voltage fluctuations due to the antenna-like nature of the
coil should be easily measured at frequencies as low as 100 MHz (where the coil
enhancement effect is ~ 100-fold for tungsten).
^6 The radiation resistance depends only on frequency.
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[FIGURE: Graph showing Theoretical Voltage Spectral Density S(f,T) (V²·Hz) on y-axis (logarithmic scale from 10^-23 to 10^-17) vs f (Hz) on x-axis (logarithmic scale from 10^7 to 10^9), with two curves]
Material: W
N coil: 2000
a coil: 1 cm
b coil: 0.01 cm
T: 3 Kelvin
Figure 4. Theoretical Voltage Spectral Density of a Tungsten Coil
To successfully measure the ZPF-induced voltage fluctuations, the requirements of low
temperature, large coil, and high frequency must be met. The low-temperature
requirement is met by performing the experiment in a cooled dewar. Existing high-
quality cryogenic dewars (pumped down to 3 K) and sensitive laboratory instruments
are suitable for the measurements. The cold spot in one particular dewar under
consideration is cylindrical, 2.5 cm in both diameter and height. The largest coil that
can be installed will thus have a coil radius of approximately a = 1 cm. To keep the
linear dimension of the coil small will require a small wire thicknesses, perhaps b =
0.01 cm (gauge 38 AWG). By winding the coil in a number of layers (10 or 12 layers), a
large number of turns can be accommodated, perhaps N = 2,000 turns. To minimize
ohmic resistance, wire made of tungsten (W) is preferred; however, copper (Cu) is a
suitable alternative.
Voltage fluctuations in the 100 MHz range are easily detected using commercially
available laboratory equipment; hence this experiment could be performed using
tungsten without resorting to the more sophisticated Josephson junction techniques
required by Koch et al. for their higher frequency measurements. For a copper wire coil,
the magnitude of the enhancement effect is reduced somewhat compared to the
tungsten results shown in Figure 4. But for frequencies approaching the GHz regime,
the radiation resistance enhancement effect in copper wire is still predicted to be over
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four orders of magnitude larger. Commercial equipment readily allows measurements of
the voltage spectrum in the GHz regime. Therefore, given a cost tradeoff of copper vs.
tungsten coil fabrication, the use of copper coils may be preferred. Suitable coils can be
fabricated by a custom coil-winding vendor. A second coil can be used in a control
experiment constructed with the same parameters as the first coil, but with half of its
turns wound in the reverse direction. This will make the coil non-inductive so that its
voltage spectral density should correspond to the lower red curve in Figure 4.
ZPF ENERGY EXTRACTION BY GROUND STATE ENERGY REDUCTION
As first analyzed by Boyer (Reference 22), and later refined by Puthoff (Reference 23),
the following paradox was addressed: even though atomic ground states involve
electrons in accelerated motion, such states are nonetheless radiationless in nature –
even though it is well known from classical electrodynamics that charged particles
undergoing acceleration must always emit radiation. For the standard Bohr ground
state orbit of the hydrogen atom, this was interpreted as an equilibrium process in
which radiation by the electron in its ground state orbit was compensated by absorption
of radiation from the background vacuum electromagnetic ZPE. This interpretation has
recently been strengthened by the analyses of Cole and Zou (Reference 24, 25) using a
SED model for the vacuum ZPE. Since the balance between emitted orbital-acceleration
radiation and absorbed ZPE radiation is modeled as taking place primarily at the ground
state orbital frequency, one can consider the possibility of using this feature in some
type of mechanism to extract energy from the ZPF. One fundamental difference
between the SED interpretation and that of quantum mechanics is that in quantum
mechanics the 1s state of the electron is regarded as having zero angular momentum,
whereas in the SED interpretation the electron has an angular momentum of
m_e c r_e /137.^7
The Bohr radius of the hydrogen atom in the SED view is 0.529 Å. This implies that the
wavelength (λ) of zero-point radiation responsible for sustaining the orbit is 2π · 0.529 ·
137 = 455 Å (or 0.0455 μm). It has been conjectured by Puthoff and Haisch (private
communication, 2004) that suppression of zero-point radiation at this wavelength (and
at shorter wavelengths) inside a Casimir microcavity could result in the decay of the
electron to a lower energy state determined by a new balance between classical
emission of an accelerated charge and absorption of zero-point radiation at λ < 455 Å,
where λ depends on the microcavity plate separation (d). Since the frequency of this
orbit is 6.6 × 10^15 Hz, no matter how quickly the atom were to be injected into a
Casimir microcavity, one would assume that the decay process would be a slow one as
experienced by the orbiting electron. Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of a
hydrogenic atom in free space and inside a microcavity.
^7 m_e = electron mass (9.11 × 10^-31 kg), r_e = electron radius, atomic fine structure (a.k.a. QED coupling) constant α
= 1/137, and c/137 is the classical orbital velocity of the ground state electron.
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[FIGURE: Two diagrams showing energy vs. radius (r) plots. Left diagram shows hydrogenic atom in free space with Bohr orbit radius r'_b and energy curve. Right diagram shows hydrogenic atom in microcavity with λ ~ 1/20 μm, suppressed Bohr orbit radius r'_b, and released energy E_out marked.]
Figure 5. Energy Released from Ground State Suppression of Hydrogenic Atom in a Microcavity. (r_b =
free-space Bohr orbit radius, r_b' = suppressed Bohr orbit radius, λ = resonant wavelength of Bohr orbit, and E_out =
released energy).
Consider the possibility that the decay to a new sub-Bohr ground state would involve
gradual release of energy in the form of heat, rather than a sudden optical radiation
signature. Since the binding energy of the electron is 13.6 eV,^8 it is estimated that the
amount of energy released in this process could be on the order of 1 to 10 eV for
injection of the hydrogen atom into a Casimir cavity of d = 250 Å. Furthermore,
consider the possibility that when the electron exits the cavity it would reabsorb energy
from the zero-point field and be re-excited to its normal state. If these conjectures
were to be verified by experiment, then the energy extracted in the process comes at
the expense of the zero-point field, which in the SED interpretation propagates at the
speed of light throughout the universe. In effect the energy would be extracted locally
and replenished globally. The secondary consequences on other phenomena, if this
energy conversion were to succeed, have not yet been investigated. However, on a
cautionary note, the conflicts between SED and QED theories (discussed in Section V)
raise questions as to whether the conjectured approach discussed here is viable. This
issue is perhaps best addressed by experiment for its resolution.
In terms of an experimental test, consider using monatomic gases or liquids flowing in
a block with Casimir tunnels, which has the following attributes: 1) no dissociation
process is required for monatomic gases or liquids, 2) heavier element atoms are
approximately two to four times larger than hydrogen and thus can utilize and be
affected by a larger Casimir cavity, 3) heavier elements have numerous outer shell
electrons, several of which may be simultaneously affected by the reduction of zero-
point radiation in a Casimir cavity.
All of the noble gas elements contain ns electrons. He (Z = 2, r = 1.2 Å) has two 1s
electrons. Ne (Z = 10, r = 1.3 Å) has two each of 1s and 2s electrons. Ar (Z = 18, r =
1.6 Å) has two each of 1s, 2s, and 3s electrons. Kr (Z = 36, r = 1.8 Å) has two of each
^8 1 eV = 1.602 × 10^-19 J.
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of 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s electrons. Xe (Z = 54, r = 2.05 Å) has two of each of 1s, 2s, 3s,
4s and 5s electrons. Larger Casimir cavities would also be expected to have an effect on
the energetics of the outer electron shells (at larger radii). One could therefore expect
that a Casimir cavity having d = 0.1 μm could have an effect on reducing the energy
levels of the outermost pair of s electrons, and possibly also p electrons and
intermediate shell s electrons as well.
Continuing with this model, it is reasonable to expect that a 0.1 μm Casimir cavity could
result in a release of 1 to 10 eV for each injection of a He, Ne, Ar, Kr or Xe atom into
such a cavity. According to Maclay (Reference 26), a long cylindrical Casimir cavity
results in an inward force on the cavity walls due to the exclusion of interior ZPF
modes. In the "exclusion of modes" interpretation of the Casimir force, this implies that
a cylindrical cavity of diameter 0.1 μm could yield the desired decay of outer shell
electrons and subsequent release of energy. If one lets the length of the cylinder be
100 times the width, this results in λ = 10 μm for the length of the Casimir tunnel.
Taking advantage of this effect, Puthoff (private communication, 2004) and Haisch and
Moddel (Reference 27) propose a segmented tunnel consisting of alternating conducting
and non-conducting materials, each 10 μm in length. In a length of 1 cm, there could
be 500 such pairs in segments, resulting in 500 energy releases (each yielding 1 to 10
eV) for each transit of an atom through the entire 1 cm-long Casimir tunnel.
Now consider a 1 cm³ block that is built up of 10 μm thick alternating layers as
described above (see Figure 6 for an illustration of this apparatus). Assume that tunnels
of 0.1 μm diameter could be drilled through the cube perpendicular to the layers (this is
not physically possible, of course; tunnel manufacture must be done differently). If 10
percent of the cross section comprises entrance to some 1.3 billion tunnels, then the
amount of energy released would be proportional to the flow rate of the gas through
the tunnels (for the number of entrances and exits through Casimir segments). A flow
rate of 10 cm/s through a total cross sectional area of 0.1 cm² yields 1 cm³ of gas per
second flowing through the tunnels, which at STP would be 2.7 × 10^19 atoms. A very
simple sealed, closed-loop pumping system could maintain such a continuous gas flow.
Since each atom interacts 500 times during its passage, there would be 1.3 × 10^22
transitions per second in the entire cube of 1 cm³. An energy release of 1 to 10 eV per
transition corresponds to 2,150 to 21,500 W of power released from the entire Casimir
cube of tunnels. This can also be achieved by using a pair of plates with conducting
strips creating Casimir cavities (via 5000 strip pairs) that are separated by 0.1 μm
spacers, through which Hg liquid or monatomic gases (for example, He, Ne, Ar, Kr, or
Xe) flow (Reference 27). See Figure 7 for an illustration of this apparatus. However,
again, all of this assumes that the chain of conjectures detailed above is correct.
Fortunately, this can be experimentally tested.
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[FIGURE LEFT: 3D illustration of a cube block with parallel layers and drilled tunnels perpendicular to layers]
[FIGURE RIGHT: Photograph/illustration of alternating conducting and non-conducting strips with spacer channels]
Figure 6. Apparatus for Ground State Figure 7. Alternative Apparatus for Ground State Energy
Energy Suppression: Casimir Segmented Suppression: Casimir Strip and Spacer-Channels
Tunnels
Microcavity fabrication to match the atomic ground states is daunting because there will
potentially be fabrication irregularities that cause edge and surface effects which act
upon the particles as they enter or exit the Casimir region. And it is not possible to drill
1.3 billion tunnels having diameters of 0.1 μm. However, it should be feasible to use
microchip technology to etch holes into the individual layers first and then assemble the
stack. Extremely fine coregistration and alignment of stacks would be an issue, but a
surmountable one. A much smaller number of layer pairs and tunnels would suffice for
a measurable demonstration of release of ZPE by this process. If such a small-scale
demonstration succeeds, larger versions that convert more energy could be built that
also take advantage of more efficient thermal-to-electrical energy conversion methods.
Also if successful, such apparatuses could be used to explore for secondary effects of
converting quantum vacuum energy into thermal, then electrical energy.
Further investigation by Puthoff et al. (Reference 28) was based on the premise that
the above principle is broadly applicable to other than just atomic ground states. In
their experiment, H₂ gas was passed through a 1 μm Casimir cavity to suppress the ZPE
radiation at the vibrational ground state of the H₂ molecule. The anticipated signature
for such a process would be an increase in the dissociation energy of the molecule.
Initial experiments, shown in Figure 8, were carried out at the Synchrotron Radiation
Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where an intense UV beam is
available to disassociate gas molecules. Unfortunately, problems with the synchrotron
beam (unrelated to the experiment) prevented a definitive result from being obtained,
so the efficacy of this ZPE-extraction approach remains undetermined at the present
time. Further experimentation to investigate this hypothesis has yet to be completed.
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[FIGURE: Photograph of experimental apparatus showing laboratory equipment setup]
Figure 8. Experimental Apparatus for Ground State Energy Reduction Tests
TUNABLE CASIMIR EFFECT
As previously discussed, the Casimir Effect is a unique ZPF-driven quantum force that
occurs between closely-spaced conductive cavity walls (or plates). If left unfettered, the
plates will collapse together and energy is converted from the ZPF into heat (or other
forms of energy) in accordance with the expression E/A = −π²ℏc/720d³, where E/A is
the energy per unit area of the plates and d is the plate separation. Investigation of this
mechanism by Cole and Puthoff (Reference 11) showed that this process fully obeys
energy conservation and thermodynamic laws.
Although the Casimir force is conservative, and thus the Casimir device might appear to
be a one-shot device, the fact that the attractive Casimir force is weaker for dielectric
plates compared to conductive plates raises the possibility of the use of thin-film
switchable mirrors to obtain a recycling engine (Reference 29-31). Figure 9 shows a
comparison of the strength of the Casimir force in a conductive cavity with that in a
dielectric cavity. In such an application the plates are drawn together by the stronger
force associated with the conducting state and withdrawn after switching to the
dielectric state. The engine cycle for this concept is shown in Figure 10. Assuming
optimistic conditions for practical devices (negligible energy required for switching;
plate separation oscillations between 30 nm and 15 nm for 1 cm² plates; driving circuit
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