SPACE ENERGY FOR SPACE FLIGHT
By Dr. Hal Puthoff
SPACE ENERGY FOR SPACE FLIGHT
H.E. Puthoff, Ph.D. (Inst. Adv. Studies at Austin, TX), "Can the Vacuum be Engineered for Spaceflight Applications? Overview of Theory and Experiments."
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.
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Sept. 10, 1997.