Can the Vacuum be Engineered for Spaceflight Applications?
From: Puthoff@aol.com
Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1997 08:29:29 -0800
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Overview of Theory and Experiments
H. E. Puthoff, Ph.D.
Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin
4030 W. Braker Lane, Suite 300
Austin, TX 78759-5329
Voice (512) 346-9947, Fax (512) 346-3017, E-mail: puthoff@aol.com
ABSTRACT
Quantum theory predicts, and experiments verify, that empty space (the
vacuum) contains an enormous residual background energy known as zero-point
energy (ZPE). Originally thought to be of significance only for such
esoteric concerns as small perturbations to atomic emission processes, it is
now known to play a role in large-scale phenomena of interest to
technologists as well, such as the inhibition of spontaneous emission, the
generation of short-range attractive forces (e.g., the Casimir force), and
the possibility of accounting for sonoluminescence phenomena. ZPE topics of
interest for spaceflight applications range from fundamental issues (where
does inertia come from, can it be controlled?), through laboratory attempts
to extract useful energy from vacuum fluctuations (can the ZPE be "mined" for
practical use?), to scientifically-grounded extrapolations concerning
"engineering the vacuum" (is "warp-drive" space propulsion a scientific
possibility?). Recent advances in research into the physics of the
underlying ZPE indicate the possibility of potential application in all these
areas of interest.
INTRODUCTION
The concept "engineering the vacuum" was first introduced by Nobel Laureate
T. D. Lee in his book Particle Physics and Introduction to Field Theory.
A.... If indeed we are able to alter the vacuum, then we may encounter some
new phenomena, totally unexpected." Recent experiments have indeed shown
this to be the case.
With regard to space propulsion, the question of engineering the vacuum can
be put succinctly: "Can empty space itself provide the solution?"
Surprisingly enough, there are hints that potential help may in fact emerge
quite literally out of the vacuum of so-called "empty space." Quantum theory
tells us that empty space is not truly empty, but rather is the seat of
myriad energetic quantum processes that could have profound implications for
future space travel. To understand these implications it will serve us to
review briefly the historical development of the scientific view of what
constitutes empty space.
At the time of the Greek philosophers, Democritus argued that empty space was
truly a void, otherwise there would not be room for the motion of atoms.
Aristotle, on the other hand, argued equally forcefully that what appeared
to be empty space was in fact a plenum (a background filled with substance),
for did not heat and light travel from place to place as if carried by some
kind of medium?
The argument went back and forth through the centuries until finally codified
by Maxwell's theory of the luminiferous ether, a plenum that carried
electromagnetic waves, including light, much as water carries waves across
its surface. Attempts to measure the properties of this ether, or to measure
the Earth's velocity through the ether (as in the Michelson-Morley
experiment), however, met with failure. With the rise of special relativity
which did not require reference to such an underlying substrate, Einstein in
1905 effectively banished the ether in favor of the concept that empty space
constitutes a true void. Ten years later, however, Einstein's own
development of the general theory of relativity with its concept of curved
space and distorted geometry forced him to reverse his stand and opt for a
richly-endowed plenum, under the new label spacetime metric.
It was the advent of modern quantum theory, however, that established the
quantum vacuum, so-called empty space, as a very active place, with particles
arising and disappearing, a virtual plasma, and fields continuously
fluctuating about their zero baseline values. The energy associated with
such processes is called zero-point energy (ZPE), reflecting the fact that
such activity remains even at absolute zero.
THE VACUUM AS A POTENTIAL ENERGY SOURCE
At its most fundamental level, we now recognize that the quantum vacuum is an
enormous reservoir of untapped energy, with energy densities conservatively
estimated by Feynman and others to be on the order of nuclear energy
densities or greater. Therefore, the question is, can the ZPE be "mined" for
practical use? If so, it would constitute a virtually ubiquitous energy
supply, a veritable "Holy Grail" energy source for space propulsion.
As utopian as such a possibility may seem, physicist Robert Forward at Hughes
Research Laboratories demonstrated proof-of-principle in a paper published in
1984, "Extracting Electrical Energy from the Vacuum by Cohesion of Charged
Foliated Conductors." Forward's approach exploited a phenomenon called the
Casimir Effect, an attractive quantum force between closely-spaced metal
plates, named for its discoverer, H. G. B. Casimir of Philips Laboratories in
the Netherlands. The Casimir force, recently measured with high accuracy by
S. K. Lamoreaux at the University of Washington, derives from partial
shielding of the interior region of the plates from the background zero-point
fluctuations of the vacuum electromagnetic field. As shown by Los Alamos
theorist Milonni and his colleagues, this shielding results in the plates
being pushed together by the unbalanced ZPE radiation pressures. The result
is a corollary conversion of vacuum energy to some other form such as heat.
Proof that such a process violates neither energy nor thermodynamic
constraints can be found in a paper by D. Cole and myself published in 1993
under the title "Extracting Energy and Heat from the Vacuum."
Attempts to harness the Casimir and related effects for vacuum energy
conversion are ongoing in our laboratory and elsewhere. The fact that its
potential application to space propulsion has not gone unnoticed by the Air
Force can be seen in its request for proposals for the FY-1986 Defense SBIR
Program. Under entry AF86-77, Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (AFRPL)
Topic: Non-Conventional Propulsion Concepts we find the statement: "Bold, new
non-conventional propulsion concepts are solicited.... The specific areas in
which AFRPL is interested include.... (6) Esoteric energy sources for
propulsion including the zero point quantum dynamic energy of vacuum space."
Several experimental formats for tapping the ZPE for practical use are under
investigation in our laboratory. An early one of interest is based on the
idea of a Casimir pinch effect in non-neutral plasmas, basically a plasma
equivalent of Forward's electromechanical charged-plate collapse (see
Puthoff, 1990). The underlying physics is described in a paper submitted for
publication by myself and M. Piestrup, and it is illustrative that the first
of several patents issued to a consultant to our laboratory, K. R. Shoulders,
contains the descriptive phrase "... energy is provided... and the ultimate
source of this energy appears to be the zero-point radiation of the vacuum
continuum."
Another intriguing possibility is provided by the phenomenon of
sonoluminescence, bubble collapse in an ultrasonically-driven fluid which is
accompanied by intense, sub-nanosecond light radiation. Although the jury is
still out as to the mechanism of light generation, Nobelist Julian Schwinger
has argued for a Casimir interpretation. Possibly related experimental
evidence for excess heat generation in ultrasonically-driven cavitation in
heavy water is claimed in an EPRI Report by George and Stringham of E-Quest
Sciences, although attributed to a nuclear micro-fusion process. Work is
under way in our laboratory to see if this claim can be replicated.
Yet another proposal for ZPE extraction is described in a patent issued to
Mead and Nachamkin. The approach proposes 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 ZPE to a
more easily captured form. We are discussing the possibility of a
collaborative effort between us to determine whether such an approach is
feasible.
Finally, an approach utilizing micro-cavity techniques to perturb the ground
state stability of atomic hydrogen is under consideration in our lab. It is
based on a 1987 paper of mine in which I put forth the hypothesis that the
nonradiative nature of the ground state is due to a dynamic equilibrium in
which radiation emitted due to accelerated electron ground state motion is
compensated by absorption from the ZPE. If this hypothesis is true, there
exists the potential for energy generation by the application of the
techniques of so-called cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). In cavity QED,
excited atoms are passed through Casimir-like cavities whose structure
suppresses electromagnetic cavity modes at the transition frequency between
the atom's excited and ground states. The result is that the so-called
"spontaneous" emission time is lengthened considerably (for example, by
factors of ten), simply because spontaneous emission is not so spontaneous
after all, but rather is driven by vacuum fluctuations. Eliminate the modes,
and you eliminate the zero-point fluctuations of the modes, hence suppressing
decay of the excited state. As stated in an April 1993 Scientific American
review article on cavity QED, "An excited atom that would ordinarily emit a
low-frequency photon cannot do so, because there are no vacuum fluctuations
to stimulate its emission...." In its application to energy generation, mode
suppression would be used to perturb the hypothesized dynamic ground-state
absorption/emission balance to lead to energy release (patent pending).
An example in which Nature herself may have taken advantage of energetic
vacuum effects is discussed in a model published by ZPE colleagues A. Rueda
of California State University at Long Beach, B. Haisch of Lockheed-Martin,
and D. Cole of IBM. In a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal in
1995, they propose that the vast reaches of outer space constitute an ideal
environment for ZPE acceleration of nuclei and thus provide a mechanism for
"powering up" cosmic rays. Details of the model would appear to account for
other observed phenomena as well, such as the formation of cosmic voids.
This raises the possibility of utilizing a "sub-cosmic-ray" approach to
accelerate protons in a cryogenically-cooled, collision-free vacuum trap and
thus extract energy from the vacuum fluctuations by this mechanism.
THE VACUUM AS THE SOURCE OF GRAVITY AND INERTIA
What of the fundamental forces of gravity and inertia that we seek to
overcome in space travel? We have phenomenological theories that describe
their effects (Newton's Laws and their relativistic generalizations), but
what of their origins?
The first hint that these phenomena might themselves be traceable to roots in
the underlying fluctuations of the vacuum came in a 1967 study published by
the well-known Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov. Searching to derive
Einstein's phenomenological equations for general relativity from a more
fundamental set of assumptions, Sakharov came to the conclusion that the
entire panoply of general relativistic phenomena could be seen as induced
effects brought about by changes in the quantum-fluctuation energy of the
vacuum due to the presence of matter. In this view the attractive
gravitational force is more akin to the induced Casimir force discussed
above, than to the fundamental inverse square law force between charged
particles with which it is often compared. Although speculative when first
introduced by Sakharov, this hypothesis has led to a rich and ongoing
literature (including a contribution of my own in 1989) on
quantum-fluctuation-induced gravity, a literature that continues to yield
deep insight into the role played by vacuum forces.
Given an apparent deep connection between gravity and the zero-point
fluctuations of the vacuum, a similar connection must exist between these
self-same vacuum fluctuations and inertia. This is because it is an
empirical fact that the gravitational and inertial masses have the same
value, even though the underlying phenomena are quite disparate. Why, for
example, should a measure of the resistance of a body to being accelerated,
even if far from any gravitational field, have the same value that is
associated with the gravitational attraction between bodies? Indeed, if one
is determined by vacuum fluctuations, so must the other.
To get to the heart of inertia, consider a specific example in which you are
standing on a train in the station. As the train leaves the platform with a
jolt, you could be thrown to the floor. What is this force that knocks you
down, seemingly coming out of nowhere? This phenomenon, which we
conveniently label inertia and go on about our physics, is a subtle feature
of the universe that has perplexed generations of physicists from Newton to
Einstein. Since in this example the sudden disquieting imbalance results
from acceleration "relative to the fixed stars," in its most provocative form
one could say that it was the "stars" that delivered the punch. This key
feature was emphasized by the Austrian philosopher of science Ernst Mach, and
is now known as Mach's Principle. Nonetheless, the mechanism by which the
stars might do this deed has eluded convincing explication.
Addressing this issue in a 1994 paper entitled "Inertia as a Zero-Point Field
Lorentz Force," Haisch, Rueda and I were successful in tracing the problem of
inertia and its connection to Mach's Principle to the ZPE properties of the
vacuum. In a sentence, although a uniformly moving body does not experience
a drag force from the (Lorentz-invariant) vacuum fluctuations, an accelerated
body meets a resistance (force) proportional to the acceleration. By
accelerated we mean, of course, accelerated relative to the fixed stars. It
turns out that an argument can be made that the quantum fluctuations of
distant matter structure the local vacuum-fluctuation frame of reference (see
Puthoff, "Source...," 1989). Thus, in the example of the train the punch was
delivered by the wall of vacuum fluctuations acting as a proxy for the fixed
stars through which one attempted to accelerate.
The implication for space travel is this: Given the evidence generated in the
field of cavity QED (discussed above), there is experimental evidence that
vacuum fluctuations can be altered by technological means. This leads to the
corollary that, in principle, gravitational and inertial masses can also be
altered.
The possibility of altering mass with a view to easing the energy burden of
future spaceships has been seriously considered by the Advanced Concepts
Office of the Propulsion Directorate of the Phillips Laboratory at Edwards
Air Force Base. Gravity researcher Robert Forward accepted an assignment to
review this concept. His deliverable product was to recommend a broad,
multi-pronged effort involving laboratories from around the world to
investigate the inertia model experimentally.
After a one-year investigation Forward finished his study and submitted his
report to the Air Force, who published it under the title Mass Modification
Experiment Definition Study. The Abstract reads in part:
".... Many researchers see the vacuum as a central ingredient of
21st-Century physics. Some even believe the vacuum may be harnessed to
provide a limitless supply of energy. This report summarizes an attempt to
find an experiment that would test the Haisch, Rueda and Puthoff (HRP)
conjecture that the mass and inertia of a body are induced effects brought
about by changes in the quantum-fluctuation energy of the vacuum.... It was
possible to find an experiment that might be able to prove or disprove that
the inertial mass of a body can be altered by making changes in the vacuum
surrounding the body."
With regard to action items, Forward in fact recommends a ranked list of not
one but four experiments to be carried out to address the ZPF-inertia concept
and its broad implications. The recommendations included investigation of
the proposed "sub-cosmic-ray energy device" mentioned earlier, and the
investigation of an hypothesized "inertia-wind" effect proposed by our
laboratory and possibly detected in early experimental work by Forward and
Miller, though the latter possibility is highly speculative at this point.
ENGINEERING THE VACUUM FOR "WARP DRIVE"
Perhaps one of the most speculative, but nonetheless scientifically-grounded,
proposals of all is the so-called Alcubierre Warp Drive. Taking on the
challenge of determining whether Warp Drive a la Star Trek was a scientific
possibility, general relativity theorist Miguel Alcubierre of the University
of Wales set himself the task of determining whether faster-than-light travel
was possible within the constraints of standard theory. Although such
clearly could not be the case in the flat space of special relativity,
general relativity permits consideration of altered spacetime metrics where
such a possibility is not a priori ruled out. Alcubierre's further
self-imposed constraints on an acceptable solution included the requirements
that no net time distortion should occur (breakfast on Earth, lunch on Alpha
Centauri, and home for dinner with your wife and children, not your
great-great-great grandchildren), and that the occupants of the spaceship
were not to be flattened against the bulkhead by unconscionable
accelerations.
A solution meeting all of the above requirements was found and published by
Alcubierre in Classical and Quantum Gravity in 1994. The solution discovered
by Alcubierre involved the creation of a local distortion of spacetime such
that spacetime is expanded behind the spaceship, contracted ahead of it, and
yields a hypersurfer-like motion faster than the speed of light as seen by
observers outside the disturbed region. In essence, on the outgoing leg of
its journey the spaceship is pushed away from Earth and pulled towards its dis
tant destination by the engineered local expansion of spacetime itself. (For
follow-up on the broader aspects of "metric engineering" concepts, one can
refer to a paper published by myself in Physics Essays in 1996.)
Interestingly enough, the engineering requirements rely on the generation of
macroscopic, negative-energy-density, Casimir-like states in the quantum
vacuum of the type discussed earlier. Unfortunately, meeting such
requirements is beyond technological reach without some unforeseen
breakthrough, as emphasized by Pfenning and Ford in a recently submitted
manuscript.
Related, of course, is the knowledge that general relativity permits the
possibility of wormholes, topological tunnels which in principle could
connect distant parts of the universe, a cosmic subway so to speak.
Publishing in the American Journal of Physics in 1988, theorists Morris and
Thorne initially outlined in some detail the requirements for traversible
wormholes and have found that, in principle, the possibility exists provided
one has access to Casimir-like, negative-energy-density quantum vacuum
states. This has led to a rich literature, summarized recently in a 1996
book by Matt Visser of Washington University, St. Louis. Again, the
technological requirements appear out of reach for the foreseeable future,
perhaps awaiting new techniques for cohering the ZPE vacuum fluctuations in
order to meet the energy-density requirements.
CONCLUSIONS
We began this discussion with the question: "Can the vacuum be engineered for
spaceflight applications?" The answer is: "In principle, yes." However, engi
neering-wise it is clear that there is a long way to go. Given the cliche "a
journey of 1000 miles begins with the first steps," it is also clear that we
can take those first steps now in the laboratory. Given that Casimir and
related effects indicate the possibility of tapping the enormous residual
energy in the vacuum-fluctuation ZPE, and the demonstration in cavity QED
that portions of the ZPE spectrum can be manipulated to produce macroscopic
technological effects such as the inhibition of spontaneous emission of
excited states in quantum systems, it would appear that the first steps along
this path are visible. This, combined with newly-emerging concepts of the
relationship of gravity, inertia and warp drive to properties of the vacuum
as a manipulable medium, indicate yet further reaches of possible
technological development, although requiring yet unforeseen breakthroughs
with regard to the possibility of engineering vacuum fluctuations to produce
desired results.
Where does this leave us? As we peer into the heavens from the depth of our
gravity well, hoping for some "magic" solution that will launch our
spacefarers first to the planets and then to the stars, we are reminded of
Arthur C. Clarke's phrase that highly-advanced technology is essentially
indistinguishable from magic. Fortunately, such magic appears to be waiting
in the wings of our deepening understanding of the quantum vacuum in which we
live.
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CAN THE VACUUM BE ENGINEERED FOR SPACEFLIGHT APPLICATIONS?
OVERVIEW OF THEORY AND EXPERIMENTS
H. E. Puthoff, Ph.D.
Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin
4030 W. Braker Lane, Suite 300
Austin, TX 78759-5329
NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop
August 12-14, 1997
NASA Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, OH
Index: Hal Puthoff
Created: Sep 2, 1997
