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>The bottom line is that quantum theories don't violate energy conservation, and all the talk about ZPE leading to spacecraft drives arises from people who don'

>The bottom line is that quantum theories don't violate energy conservation, and all the talk about ZPE leading to spacecraft drives arises from people who don't understand physics." And from the PDF: "The topic of successfully exploiting zero point energy (ZPE) has importance because it represents a high-risk/high pay-off technology. This is not pseudo-science but a very serious discipline where very serious research is underway worldwide that range from investigating the Casimir effect, finding new alternative sources of energy, and developing a means of future long-range space travel. Efforts are currently underway at a U.S. aerospace corporation to include creating hardware to investigate using ZPE to provide energy. Finally, one would like to see experimental data and, hopefully, replication of such experiments representative of 'good' science. However, the amount of U.S. research dollars spent in this endeavor is abysmal such that even the simplest experiment cannot be performed. Although we are aware of only modest funding worldwide for this type of research, the Intelligence Community should monitor the more controversial aspects of ZPE, or we may miss an important foreign innovational leap forward, thereby leaving us vulnerable to technology surprise." So I guess governments/universities/organizations who fund research for scientists and physicists around the world have much to learn from you since you know what is and what cannot be :P

lutusp 13y ago
> So I guess governments/universities/organizations who fund research for scientists and physicists around the world have much to learn from you since you know what is and what cannot be ... No, not just me -- anyone with the most superficial familiarity with quantum theory knows that virtual particles cannot upset nature's energy bookkeeping. Also, the author of the PDF is trying to make this sound like a serious research project with governmental support, when it is nothing of the kind -- there are no "governments/universities/organizations" involved in this activity. Here's the dead-giveaway line: "However, the amount of U.S. research dollars spent in this endeavor is abysmal such that even the simplest experiment cannot be performed." If that's true, then it is not science. The PDF is filled with this sort of handwaving claim, but without any substantiation, without any specifics. Here's a classic crackpot alert (not by the author of the PDF, but a quotation from elsewhere): "This is not pseudo-science but a very serious discipline where very serious research is underway worldwide that range from investigating the Casimir effect, finding new alternative sources of energy, and developing a means of future long-range space travel." All this without being able to do any experiments, a sure sign of pseudoscience. And notice the attribution for the above quotation -- "an analyst at Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)" -- but the article doesn't identify the person, a no-no in any technical or scientific publication. The PDF contains obvious and glaring falsehoods, example: "While grand plans of harvesting large amounts of energy from the vacuum to propel vehicles through deep space is better suited for science fiction, it may eventually be possible to use small amounts of energy (picowatts) from the vacuum for long-term space travel." This is not how the Casimir Effect works, and the author of this article has no idea what she is talking about. The Casimir Effect is a force, not a source of energy, and the force is symmetrical -- it can't propel anything in a particular direction, i.e. the net force outside the region of the plates is zero. It is to space travel what blowing on your own sail is to sailing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-point_energy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-point_energy Quote: "Over the years, there have been numerous claims of devices capable of extracting usable zero-point energy. None of the claims have ever been confirmed by the scientific community at large, and most of these claims are dismissed either by default, after third party inspection of such a device or based on disbelief in the viability of a technical design and theoretical corroboration. Current claims to zero-point-energy-based power generation systems are considered pseudoscience by the scientific community at large." Q.E.D.
- cinquemb 13y ago
  > Also, the author of the PDF is trying to make this sound like a serious research project with governmental support, when it is nothing of the kind -- there are no "governments/universities/organizations"… What about on page 4?: "(U) Brazil, perhaps the most surprising entry on the publications chart, conducts research into measurements of Casimir force between different types of conducting plates that have varying designs. It is noteworthy that many of the researchers working in and with Brazil are Russian or originally from Russia. The Brazilian research also mirrors Russian research (i.e., studying the Casimir force using different setups of conducting plates). Both Brazil and Russia appear to be focused, at a basic-science level, on maximizing the energy obtainable from the Casimir force. A.N. Petrosyan, of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, and Yu.E. Lozovik, of the Institute of Spectroscopy of Russian Academy of Science, are conducting research into ZPE to create massless particles in a cavity, but the value of this research is questionable. (U) Research in France and a collaborative effort between the United Kingdom (UK) and Iran comprise two of the most promising recent ventures in ZPE, as it pertains to MEMS and NEMS. The French are researching the possibilities of using the Casimir force to drive nanoscale ratchets in the hope of creating novel contactless translational actuation for NEMS or to move tiny objects in a liquid. The UK-Iran effort has similar goals and focuses on a rack-and-pinion powered by Casimir forces to enable contactless translation to avoid wear of the components. This work has demonstrated devices that hold up to high velocities and is a good example of valuable work in ZPE for use in practical applications. (U) Germany has solid research programs in theoretical calculations, modeling, and experimental measurements of Casimir forces in various conducting-plate and cavity configurations. Germany's research appears aimed more at basic science than in engineering for applications. (U) India is studying the use of the Casimir effect for MEMS devices, such as calculations of effects for different hypothetical designs, but the work is more theoretical than experimental or for practical" >And notice the attribution for the above quotation -- "an analyst at Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)" -- but the article doesn't identify the person, a no-no in any technical or scientific publication. To me it doesn't seem like a technical or scientific publication at all, just reporting on what is going on in the field and who's doing research, where the contact information for the people that composed/involved is listed at the end of the PDF (page 7-8). The report is even cited in the wikipedia article you quote.

lutusp 13y ago

> So I guess governments/universities/organizations who fund research for scientists and physicists around the world have much to learn from you since you know what is and what cannot be ... No, not just me -- anyone with the most superficial familiarity with quantum theory knows that virtual particles cannot upset nature's energy bookkeeping. Also, the author of the PDF is trying to make this sound like a serious research project with governmental support, when it is nothing of the kind -- there are no "governments/universities/organizations" involved in this activity. Here's the dead-giveaway line: "However, the amount of U.S. research dollars spent in this endeavor is abysmal such that even the simplest experiment cannot be performed." If that's true, then it is not science. The PDF is filled with this sort of handwaving claim, but without any substantiation, without any specifics. Here's a classic crackpot alert (not by the author of the PDF, but a quotation from elsewhere): "This is not pseudo-science but a very serious discipline where very serious research is underway worldwide that range from investigating the Casimir effect, finding new alternative sources of energy, and developing a means of future long-range space travel." All this without being able to do any experiments, a sure sign of pseudoscience. And notice the attribution for the above quotation -- "an analyst at Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)" -- but the article doesn't identify the person, a no-no in any technical or scientific publication. The PDF contains obvious and glaring falsehoods, example: "While grand plans of harvesting large amounts of energy from the vacuum to propel vehicles through deep space is better suited for science fiction, it may eventually be possible to use small amounts of energy (picowatts) from the vacuum for long-term space travel." This is not how the Casimir Effect works, and the author of this article has no idea what she is talking about. The Casimir Effect is a force, not a source of energy, and the force is symmetrical -- it can't propel anything in a particular direction, i.e. the net force outside the region of the plates is zero. It is to space travel what blowing on your own sail is to sailing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-point_energy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-point_energy Quote: "Over the years, there have been numerous claims of devices capable of extracting usable zero-point energy. None of the claims have ever been confirmed by the scientific community at large, and most of these claims are dismissed either by default, after third party inspection of such a device or based on disbelief in the viability of a technical design and theoretical corroboration. Current claims to zero-point-energy-based power generation systems are considered pseudoscience by the scientific community at large." Q.E.D.

cinquemb 13y ago
> Also, the author of the PDF is trying to make this sound like a serious research project with governmental support, when it is nothing of the kind -- there are no "governments/universities/organizations"… What about on page 4?: "(U) Brazil, perhaps the most surprising entry on the publications chart, conducts research into measurements of Casimir force between different types of conducting plates that have varying designs. It is noteworthy that many of the researchers working in and with Brazil are Russian or originally from Russia. The Brazilian research also mirrors Russian research (i.e., studying the Casimir force using different setups of conducting plates). Both Brazil and Russia appear to be focused, at a basic-science level, on maximizing the energy obtainable from the Casimir force. A.N. Petrosyan, of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, and Yu.E. Lozovik, of the Institute of Spectroscopy of Russian Academy of Science, are conducting research into ZPE to create massless particles in a cavity, but the value of this research is questionable. (U) Research in France and a collaborative effort between the United Kingdom (UK) and Iran comprise two of the most promising recent ventures in ZPE, as it pertains to MEMS and NEMS. The French are researching the possibilities of using the Casimir force to drive nanoscale ratchets in the hope of creating novel contactless translational actuation for NEMS or to move tiny objects in a liquid. The UK-Iran effort has similar goals and focuses on a rack-and-pinion powered by Casimir forces to enable contactless translation to avoid wear of the components. This work has demonstrated devices that hold up to high velocities and is a good example of valuable work in ZPE for use in practical applications. (U) Germany has solid research programs in theoretical calculations, modeling, and experimental measurements of Casimir forces in various conducting-plate and cavity configurations. Germany's research appears aimed more at basic science than in engineering for applications. (U) India is studying the use of the Casimir effect for MEMS devices, such as calculations of effects for different hypothetical designs, but the work is more theoretical than experimental or for practical" >And notice the attribution for the above quotation -- "an analyst at Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)" -- but the article doesn't identify the person, a no-no in any technical or scientific publication. To me it doesn't seem like a technical or scientific publication at all, just reporting on what is going on in the field and who's doing research, where the contact information for the people that composed/involved is listed at the end of the PDF (page 7-8). The report is even cited in the wikipedia article you quote.