EXTRACTING ENERGY FROM THE VACUUM OF SPACE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

By Mark Porringa

ZERO-POINT ENERGY

It is a peculiar prediction of both quantum and stochastic field theory, that the vacuum of space, generally perceived to be an empty void, is in fact, full of a random flux of predominantly longitudinal electromagnetic waves that theoretically may include all frequencies ranging up to the incredibly high Planck frequency at 1044 cycles/sec with a wave length of 10-35 m.

These super high frequencies are predicted and established to a high degree by experimental results confirming the wave-particle duality expression of Louis de Broglie (λ=h/mv) and other fundamental considerations.  To help put this into perspective, very little is presently known of the EM spectrum above cosmic rays at 1022 Hz, implying that virtually nothing is known about the vast range of the spectrum.  Add to this the fact that the energy per photon pulse is directly proportional to the frequency and one can begin to realize the astronomical energy potential of the vacuum which continually interacts with all of creation.

This largely unobservable energy of space-time can be collected to provide over-unity energy performance in many different types of open systems that are momentarily out of equilibrium with the energetic vacuum flux.   Under such circumstances the energy of the vacuum can flood into the system in a coherent manner greatly exceeding the energy required to create the momentary state of non-equilibrium.  In such cases the super-high frequency energy of the vacuum is effectively transduced by the atomic structure of matter to much lower frequency thermal energies that can be used for a wide variety of heating applications that exhibit excess energy yield well beyond the input yield providing a Coefficient of Performance similar to that of an ordinary Air Conditioner.

The basis for this major paradigm shift is to be found in the universal zero-point energy (ZPE) of stochastic electrodynamics (SED) or the vacuum fluctuations of quantum electrodynamics (QED), depending on your perspective. By way of explanation SED is simply classical physics with the ubiquitous ZPE field acknowledged – a relatively new upstart theory in head to head competition with Planck’s quantum theory.  Coherence of this otherwise random, ZPE field appears to be a common denominator in many of these strange phenomena.

I must apologize in advance for the proliferation of new and evolving terminology, which is used with some confusion in the pioneering literature.  For instance the term zero-point energy can have some different connotations depending on the QED or SED context in which it is used.  As a bit of a pioneer in this field myself, I am afraid that I have also taken some creative license, adding some of my own nomenclature and terminology to the existing confusion.  No doubt as this subject matter continues to move into the mainstream, a more consistent and refined usage will emerge.

This all pervasive and largely unobservable “dark” energy of space is an important but frequently ignored aspect of quantum mechanics, which must be accounted for in the math using the Lamb shift, but is generally dismissed as an odd artifact of the theory, rather than a real phenomenon.  Oddly enough, many physicists are still of the mistaken opinion that space is an empty void despite the growing mountain of evidence to the contrary.

The zero-point field (ZPF) of free space is normally homogeneous and isotropic, which simply means that it is everywhere essentially uniform and moving in all directions simultaneously.  The term zero-point is derived from the fact that this energy remains as a residual background condition of the universe even at absolute zero in a perfect vacuum where all conventional thermal radiation has been frozen out.  Advanced quantum theorists such as Boyer [14] have recently entertained the idea that this stochastic bombardment of the ZPE radiation is responsible for the quantum “jitter” or Zietterbewegung motion of all atoms that persists at absolute zero were classical physics would tell us that no such motion should occur.

Remarkably, when one considers the accumulated minuscule energies at all discreet frequencies, directions and polarities passing through even a small volume of space, it has been estimated that the energy density exceeds that of the nucleus of matter by no slight margin. Nobel Laureate, R. Feynman, a protégé of Einstein was fond of declaring that there is more than enough energy seething through the volume of a coffee cup to vaporize all the world’s oceans.

Even discounting such dramatic hyperbole one is still left to wonder how we could possibly exist in this seething sea of universal energy and not even be aware of it.  In answer to that, an analogy involving deep-sea fish is appropriate.  Despite the rigors of surviving some seven miles down in the bone-crushing depths of the ocean, where the pressure in every living cell exceeds 13,000 psi, fish experience no ill effects. The reason, of course, is that the pressure is entirely uniform and balanced right down to the level of atomic structure.

Similarly, our ability to detect the photon pressure of the ZPF radiation directly is very much restricted by the fact that it is essentially uniform, and we are totally immersed in it.  Its most potent effects are confined to the sub-atomic and indeed sub-nuclear levels due to the extremely short wavelength of most of this radiation.  Bulk matter being composed of mostly empty space is essentially transparent to it.

Trying to take measurements of the ZPE has been likened to attempting to weigh a beaker of water while the entire lab is submerged. Furthermore, instruments capable of measurements at these incredibly high frequencies are as yet unavailable because electrons do not respond to frequencies above 1022 Hz and the predominance of non-hertzian, longitudinal waveforms with their field vectors and direction of propagation confined primarily to one linear dimension, appears to make observation in conventional three dimensional space very problematic.

The only effective, existing method of detection requires a localized coherence of this otherwise homogeneous energy.  What is meant by coherence is that the uniform and therefore unusable ZPF is persuaded by clever methods to become organized to yield net effects, which can then be detected by conventional means or used to do useful work.  One well established method of cohering the random energy of the vacuum is known as the Casimir effect, which can manifest itself in a variety of ways.  The reality of the Casimir effect is essential to the understanding of the lattice nested hydreno model of the atom, which has emerged as a direct result of the ZIPP fusion and fission experiments and a synoptic review of the history of atomic theory.

THE CASIMIR EFFECT

The Casimir effect was first theorized in 1948 in a thought experiment proposed by H. B. Casimir, based in large part on Max Planck’s quantum theory and the reality of the ZPF.  He reasoned that two conductive or dielectric plates brought sufficiently close together will be forced together very slightly due to the wave-particle nature of EM radiation, which imparts a small impulse force when reflected or absorbed.

The narrow space between the plates shields out the longer wavelengths of the ZPF spectrum much the way radio waves are shielded out by the body metal of a car (this is why the radio antenna is located outside).  The entire ZPF spectrum continues to impinge on the outside surfaces of the plates creating an imbalanced force from the difference in radiation pressure, driving the plates together with energy supplied from the vacuum which then manifests as excess energy effectively collected from the unobservable, non-thermal energy of the energetic Vacuum flux.  P. Milonni [15] of Los Alamos Laboratories has recently provided a detailed interpretation of the Casimir effect in terms of this net radiation or photon pressure from the vacuum which also serves to help explain the excess energy seen in some overunity devices.

The direct measurement of the Casimir force, Fc=2hcA/240d4, where h is Planck’s constant, A the area of the plates, and d the separation distance, has been performed on several occasions, first by Sparnaay in 1958 and most recently in 1998 by Mohideen [16].  Using an atomic force microscope, Mohideen’s measurements were found to be within 1% of Casimir’s theoretical prediction.

One will note that this force increases very rapidly in proportion to the inverse of the fourth power of the distance between the plates.  Decreasing the spacing by a factor of 10 increases the force by a factor of 104 (10,000 times).  The detectable onset occurs at a rather miniscule plate separation of roughly 1 micron.  Mohideen’s measurements at a plate separation of 0.1 micron yielded a force of 10-10 Newton’s corresponding to a pressure of about 1 atm or 100 kPa for the micron sized “plates” at a separation of 10-8 m.   It is further conjectured that, in the extreme, atoms and indeed the nucleons themselves constitute small “plates”.   Oddly enough, geometries involving microscopic spheres can yield repulsive forces resulting in a dynamic balance between impelling and repulsive components of the Casimir force.

A simple extrapolation of this force down to the separation distance of bonded atoms in the range of 10-9 to 10-10 m yields an astounding Casimir pressure of 106 to 1010 kPa, providing values tantalizingly close to the ultimate strength of many metals and Young’s modulus.  This would not appear to be a coincidence, providing a far more logical and intuitive mechanism for atomic and molecular bonding than currently accepted according to contemporary models invoking mysterious attractive forces of unknown origin, having no apparent energy supply and without any mechanism to explain discrete bond alignments and spring like resilience.

Other evidence of external pressure bonding can be found in the recent solution to a persistent contradiction in material science.   It has long been known that materials such as concrete can be made to show evidence of tensile failure using a combination of purely compressive stresses.  Until recently this enigma had no explanation other than an ad-hoc resignation to the observed facts.   By adopting the unorthodox view that matter is held together by external radiation pressure, rather than internal glue-like attraction a solution becomes immediately evident as detailed by F. Grimer [17] et al of the British Building Institute.

Extrapolating even further to the dimension of bonded nucleons generally conceded to be in the order of 10-15 m, (to be contested) yields an astronomical radiation pressure of 1030 kPa, which seems rather absurd but certainly sufficient to hold the nucleus together against the coulomb repulsion of the protons.  Assuming for simplicity an interface bonding area in the order of 10-30 m2 between adjacent nucleons, yields a strong force of ~1 kN between the neutron and proton of a deuterium nucleus.  Such numbers are admittedly hard to fathom but one does get at least some sense of the potential magnitude of this force, if the Casimir effect can be extrapolated in some form to the nuclear scale.  The verified precision of the Casimir force equation would appear to substantiate this logical assertion.

A more familiar example of the Casimir force can be envisioned by taking two finely finished Machinist’s gauge blocks or optical flats and placing them together.  Once contact is made they can no longer be easily separated and must be rung apart with a shearing force.  This phenomenon has traditionally been explained as due to air pressure being eliminated along the smooth contact surfaces but to some extent this is also a result of the initial onset of the Casimir force.

The extremely close spacing of nanotechnology components also frequently exhibits this “stickage” phenomenon which can hinder the intended operation of such devices.  In fact, there are numerous Casimir related observations which further substantiate the existence of the ZPF, including the strange behavior of cavitation bubble collapse within the field of sonoluminescence and the dramatic alteration of spontaneous emission times as observed in the field of cavity Quantum Electrodynamics.  Both of these phenomena are believed to be key factors in the ZIPP fusion process and the lattice nested hydreno atomic model.

CAVITY QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS

As implied under the subject of sonoluminescence, microscopic cavities also appear to play a major role in many low energy induced fusion reactions and by implication are an important factor in the stability of the atom.  It is for instance well established within the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) that the spontaneous emission of an excited atom, once thought to be an immutable property, can be prevented from returning to its ground state by surrounding it with a microscopic metallic cavity only a few microns wide.   Atoms have been sustained in an excited state for very extended periods of time because they can neither radiate, nor receive certain wavelengths from the seething vacuum flux. One theoretical basis for this invokes selective shielding from the ZPE spectrum [19].  As is the case with the Casimir effect, the longer wavelengths cannot exist inside the cavity reducing the atom’s exposure to the vacuum fluctuations.

Dynamic microscopic cavities are also a common theme in devices that exhibit excess energy well beyond the power input.   Such overunity devices essentially produce a momentary coherent flow of energy from the vacuum into the region of the micro-cavity that can greatly exceed the power required to produce the dynamics of the micro-cavitiy.  In so doing the random and unusable energy of the vacuum is organized and pumped into the system yielding overunity performance like an ordinary Heat Pump.

Puthoff [20] and Tewari [21] as well as others have suggested that it is the energy input from the vacuum that actually sustains the electron’s orbit.   The electron, presumed to be a charged point-like particle in accelerated motion, should radiate its energy away, and collapse onto the nucleus according to basic EM theory.  This obvious fact was simply ignored by Bohr, as clearly stated in his postulates, and rather blindly adopted in quantum mechanics. Making the cavity small enough and of a very definitive size corresponding to critical wavelengths of the vacuum ZPE can also greatly reduce the spontaneous emission time and appears to be capable of actually encouraging collapse of the electron orbital of hydrogen to a fractional quantum, harmonic condition below its normal quantum ground state of 1.

Ever smaller “plates” and cavities, could by extrapolation to the atomic and nuclear scale, conceivably include systems composed of individual atoms, nuclei and even sub atomic particles, implying the ability to alter other spontaneous processes of the atom.  Conceivably, this could include fission, nuclear decay and all of their related radiation phenomena, not to mention shedding much light on the actual mechanisms of bonding from the molecular to the sub-nuclear level.

 Extracted And Derived From:
 THE LATTICE NESTED HYDRENO ATOMIC MODEL, by Mark Porringa, © 2005

MARK PORRINGA, PEng.
    Mark Porringa holds a degree in Water Resources Engineering from the University of Guelph, where he worked for four years as Research Engineer on renewable energy and waste treatment projects. He has also worked in the Canadian Automotive Industry in various Product Development and Manufacturing capacities for five years. He is a recipient of a President’s Award of Excellence for the development of a nuclear application leak sealant technology. His fusion research is conducted as a spare time activity under the umbrella of his R&D and consulting company. 
    Since 1996, Mark has been investigating a variety of anomalous phenomena including low-energy induced nuclear fusion reactions that have been found to occur in a simple carbon-arc electrolysis cell. Frustrated by the growing limitations of indeterminate science and technology, he applied his personal efforts to the development of various advanced concepts in Quantum mechanics aimed at utilizing the ubiquitous isotropic energy of “empty” space, for a broad range of revolutionary power, propulsion and nuclear technologies including the Passive Inertial Confinement, ZIPP fusion process.
    A key component of this effort has been the development of a new, highly deterministic Atomic model, which very closely corresponds to macroscopic reality. His peer reviewed research has been published in various Journals and Lectures including the Annals of the prestigious Louise de Broglie Foundation and the Canadian Nuclear Society.