This essay/article was inspired by an X-Files episode that I recently saw. It is a bit “scientifically involved” so the faint-of-heart may not like it much. I offer it here for those who might find it interesting. Don’t let this scare you away from the book; it is much harder than anything you will find there.
ZERO-POINT ENERGY
What is it?
"Ere many generations pass, our machinery will be driven by a power obtainable at any point in the universe. This idea is not novel…. We find it in the delightful myth of Antheus [sic], who derives power from the earth: we find among the subtle speculations of one of your splendid mathematicians…. Throughout space there is energy. Is this energy static or kinetic? If static, our hopes are in vain: if kinetic - and this we know it is for certain - then it is a mere question of time when men will succeed in attaching their machinery to the very wheelwork of nature." Nikola Tesla, 1891 in Turtur, 2010
(Antaeus was the son of Greek gods who got his strength from touching the Earth. He was finally defeated in battle by Hercules who held Antaeus in a bear hug and lifted him up, keeping him from touching the Earth.)
Zero-point energy (ZPE) is energy that has been sought and speculated by many scientists and pseudo scientists alike. In popular culture, zero-point energy is thought to power interstellar travelers (UFOs). It is all about us in our universe, in our solar system, in our Earth, and indeed within our bodies. It is therefore abundant, free, and non-polluting.
Quantum mechanics tells us that there is an exceedingly high energy density in the vacuum between atoms and the primary particles forming the atoms (Alexander, 2005). It is given in science that the universe is ever-expanding. From a practical point of view, it expands like the waves in water expand from a pebble tossed into a pond. Except in the universe, the expansion is accelerating, not getting slower, as one might expect. Using this knowledge, scientists believe that the mater that we see in our bodies, our planet, our solar system, and in the universe accounts for only 5% of the total mass/energy of the universe. The remaining 95% is called “dark matter” or “dark energy.” Zero-point energy is part of that dark energy (Womersley, 2005; Kragh, 2008). Dark energy fits with an archaic view of the universe espoused by Victorian-era scientists (1837 - 1901). In this view, cosmic space is permeated by a universal, hidden energy - a dark energy - that is part of the ethers (Kragh). Early 20th century scientists went about proving/disproving the presence of “ether” (aether) as a medium through which electromagnetic energies, including light, pass like sound travels in air. (Even though this concept of aether was disproven, a different concept of aether was adopted and used by modern physicists, including Einstein.) ZPE is also referred to as “vacuum energy.” ZPE is the energy that is left in matter as it is cooled to absolute zero (approximately -273°C or -460°F). It is the energy that keeps the electrons from falling into the atom nuclei as the electrons grind to a halt in their orbits as the atom is cooled to absolute zero. Small (interatomic) spaces are filled with Zero- point energy and “virtual particles.” Virtual particles are those that pop in and out of existence in high energy fields. Spaces at that dimension are also referred to as the “quantum foam” containing both mass and energy in close proximity like the foam of air and cream in your latte (Alexander). Another plus for ZPE: it breaks no known law of physics and new laws don’t have to be made to explain it (Turtur, 2010).
How Does It Show Itself to Scientists?
Zero-point energy is not easy to detect in the laboratory. It does not interact with normal matter (Alexander). At absolute zero, ZPE prevents negatively charged electrons from falling into the positively charged nucleus, as would be expected of unlike charges (Turtur). Without ZPE and without the thermal motion of the electrons orbiting the nucleus of the atom, electrons would fall into the nuclei of atoms causing a very large dimensional change, on the order of a decrease in size of 10,000 and would make for some very interesting energy phenomena when the negative and positive charges met.
Black-body radiation is a thermodynamic phenomenon. You have perhaps heard of “radiational cooling” in terms of the weather. At night, especially in the autumn or the winter on cloudless nights, the Earth radiates heat out into the universe causing dramatic overnight cooling. The dark Earth radiates out into the dark heavens. This is black-body radiation. Turtur suspects that black-body radiation is a ZPE phenomenon. He says that small elementary particles, Leptons and Quarks extract energy from the vacuum and radiate it.
ZPE may be responsible for another phenomenon that is reasonably “usual,” that being sonoluminescence. When sound creates bubbles in liquid and when these bubbles burst, small bursts of electromagnetic energy (light) are expelled (What is ZPE, 1997).
So far, however, the only consistent proof of ZPE is in the Casimir force effect. Science has shown a weak energy between small particles (nano-scale, 10-9 meters), when the distances separating the small objects gets smaller. The strength of the Casimir force is quite small, similar in strength to Van der Waals’ force. Such forces are credited for allowing gecko’s feet to stick so they can walk on the ceiling. Nano-scale scientists (very small scientists?) working on integrated circuits and nano-machines are very excited about the Casimir force effects (Zero-Point Energy, 2008). ZPE expressed as Casimir forces creates some future challenges for product designers but also could provide new energies for future devices.
Is ZPE Useful?
When ZPE becomes practical for applications in nano-technology, for instance, numerous breakthroughs will occur in many areas of technology, not unlike the breakthroughs that came when large scale circuit integration became possible (integrated electrical circuits, the heart of the computer generation) (Alexander). Nikola Tesla experimented with “free energy” which his current followers believe came from ZPE (Turtur).
There is a vacuum fluctuation battery proposed by Robert Forward (Turtur). Small-scale tests have been performed on a Casimir engine, using the Casimir forces at very small dimensions to power nano-mechanical devices. The “quantum noise” provides energy that can also be harvested. The three examples given above are currently impractical because although possibly providing unlimited energy, these devices require extremely cold temperatures that are not easily achievable and are very expensive when they are. The extreme cold is also expensive energetically. Currently there are no good results that show a net energy gain from these processes (Turtur).
Is There Any Hope for ZPE?
It is believed that trying to use the ZPE will violate the 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics. Sadi Carnot (1824) demonstrated that if one is going to produce useable work from a device, (1st Law) that device must energy between two temperature sinks (baths): one at a higher energy state and one at a lower energy state, or one hotter and one colder. ZPE is at absolute zero and by definition, you can’t get any colder. Therefore by saying you are extracting energy from a higher energy (temperature) sink and trying to go to a lower energy level, you are making an error. There is no lower energy than absolute zero. The best that one can do is to exchange energy from two sinks of the same temperature (Turtur). Doing so requires division by zero when calculating the thermal efficiency, so the 2nd Law is violated (Alexander).
The US Army states that ZPE will not be useful for vehicle propulsion. They do admit it may be useful for some application (Zero-Point Energy).
Another comment made is that ZPE is an artifact of accounting for the energy. It is as if you have your checking account and you start counting at $1000.00. Your account balance will always show a balance greater than $1000.00 but you don’t really have that money. It is just the way your accounting system works (What is the ZPE). The “free lunch crowd” has greatly exaggerated the importance of ZPE. These people speculate and fantasize about exploiting ZPE to achieve technical marvels (What is the ZPE).
(The “free lunch crowd” is a reference to a phrase dating back to the 1930s and popularized by Robert Heinlein, science fiction author, in 1966 and by Milton Freeman an economic author in the 1970s. Full text of the anti-free lunch crowd is the statement, “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch,” or TANSTAAFL.)
In summary, it seems that the UFO (and X-Files) and Nikola Tesla enthusiasts are likely to be disappointed with zero-point energy. It appears that if it is at all useful and if it actually exists, it may be limited to very small scales and small energies. It may be important to scientists developing nano-scale devices.
My gut feeling is that it does not exist, but Nikola Tesla was pretty clever. Maybe ….
References
Alexander, David (2005). Advanced energetics for aeronautical applications: Volume II. NASA/CR-2005-213749.
Kragh, Helge. (ca 2008). Preludes to dark energy. Manuscript submitted to Archive of History for Exact Sciences. Aarhus, Denmark: Center for Science Studies.
Turtur, Claus. (2010). Conversion of the vacuum-energy of electromagnetic zero point oscillations. University of Applied Sciences. Wolfenbuttel, Ger. [Online]. available: www.ostfalia.de/cms/de/pws/turtur/funde/index.html.
What is the zero point energy? (1997) Scientific American. [Online]. Available: www.scientificamerican.com/article/follow-up-what-is-the-zer/.
Womersley, John. (2005). Beyond the standard model. Symmetry 2 1.
Zero-Point energy: Can we get something from nothing? (ca. 2008). U.S. Army National Ground Intelligence Center. under construction.
