NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop Proceedings

NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop Proceedings. Proceedings of a conference held at and sponsored by NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, August 12-14, 1997. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center. January 1999.

Foreword

In August 1997, NASA sponsored a 3-day workshop to assess the prospects emerging from physics that may eventually lead to creating propulsion breakthroughs — the kind of breakthroughs that could revolutionize space flight and enable human voyages to other star systems. Experiments and theories were discussed regarding the coupling of gravity and electromagnetism, vacuum fluctuation energy, warp drives and wormholes, and superluminal quantum tunneling. Because the propulsion goals are presumably far from fruition, a special emphasis was to identify affordable, near-term, and credible research tasks that could make measurable progress toward these grand ambitions. This workshop was one of the first steps for the new NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics program led by the NASA Lewis Research Center. This program is funded out of the Advanced Space Transportation Program, managed by Marshall Space Flight Center.

The workshop, held in Cleveland, Ohio, featured 14 invited presentations about emerging physics (both optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints), 30 poster papers for provoking thought, and 6 parallel breakout sessions where participants generated a list of 95 candidate next-step research tasks.

In total, 84 participants attended the workshop, including 26 from industry, 18 from universities, 12 from government labs (including Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Fermi, Brookhaven, and the Air Force Research Labs at Edwards and Kirtland), 16 from NASA (including Lewis, Langley, Marshall, Johnson, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Twelve students also attended.

Several research approaches were identified during this workshop that serve as examples of affordable, near-term, and credible tasks that could make measurable progress toward these grand ambitions. The next step is to continue the exchange of information amongst interested researchers and to seek the funding necessary to support research.

Marc G. Millis, NASA Lewis Research Center

Acknowledgments

Special thanks is owed to the participants and organizers of this workshop, especially since the majority of work was through voluntary contributions. Even the formation of the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics program itself was largely the result of the volunteer collaborations of individuals scattered across the nation who had the vision to look beyond existing methods, and the conviction to be productive. Because of these volunteer efforts, the quest to discover the breakthroughs needed to enable human voyages to other star systems has grown from a few sporadic efforts into an aligned, official program. It will be quite interesting to look back 50 years from now and see the impact made by these first deliberate steps toward the stars.

About the cover

This rendition, by artist Les Bossinas, depicts a hypothetical spacecraft with a "negative energy" induction ring, inspired by recent theories describing how space could be warped with negative energy to produce "warp drive" or "wormhole" transport to reach distant star systems.

Trade names or manufacturers' names are used in this report for identification only. This usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Table of contents

Workshop Team — ix. Agenda — x.

Welcoming Remarks and Workshop Instructions. Marc G. Millis, NASA Lewis Research Center — xi.

Welcoming. The Honorable Dennis J. Kucinich, House of Representatives, Washington, DC — xxiii.

Invited presentations

• Propellantless Propulsion: The Most Inefficient Way to Fly? Lawrence M. Krauss, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH — 3.
• Can the Vacuum be Engineered for Spaceflight Applications?: Overview of Theory and Experiments. Harold E. Puthoff, Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin, TX — 7.
• Quantum Optical Studies of Tunneling Times and Superluminality. Raymond Y. Chiao, University of California at Berkeley, CA — 13.
• Quantum Nonlocality and Possible Superluminal Effects. John Cramer, University of Washington, Seattle, WA — 23.
• Granular Superconductors and Gravity. David Noever and Ronald J. Koczor, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL — 31.
• Apparent Endless Extraction of Energy from the Vacuum by Cyclic Manipulation of Casimir Cavity Dimensions. Robert L. Forward, Forward Unlimited, Clinton, WA — 51.
• The Zero-Point Field and the NASA Challenge to Create the Space Drive. Bernhard Haisch, Lockheed Martin, Palo Alto, CA — 55.
• Inertial Mass as Reaction of the Vacuum to Accelerated Motion. Alfonso Rueda, California State University, Long Beach, CA, and Bernhard Haisch, Lockheed Martin, Palo Alto, CA — 65.
• Calculations on Electromagnetic Zero-Point Contributions to Mass and Perspectives. Daniel C. Cole, IBM Microelectronics, Essex Junction, VT — 73.
• Casimir Effect: Evidence and Implications. Peter W. Milonni, Los Alamos National Labs, NM — 83.
• The New Theory of Gravitation and the 5th Test. Hüseyin Yilmaz, Electro-Optics Technology Center, Medford, MA — 89.
• Hyper-Fast Interstellar Travel via a Modification of Spacetime Geometry. Arkady Kheyfets, Dept of Mathematics, N. Carolina State University, NC, and Warner A. Miller, Los Alamos National Labs, NM — 101.
• Ultrarelativistic Rockets and the Ultimate Future of the Universe. Frank J. Tipler, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA — 111.
• Possible Evidence of Anomalous Energy Effects in H/D-Loaded Solids — Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENRs). George Miley, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL — 121.

Poster papers

Poster Papers: Intent and Disclaimer — 129.

• Replication of an Experiment Which Produced Anomalous Excess Energy. David S. Alexander, MSE Technology Applications, Inc., Butte, MT — 131.
• Special Relativity with Complex Speeds. Catherine Asaro, Molecudyne Research, Columbia, MD — 137.
• A Plan For Exceeding The Light Barrier. J. David Baxter, Student, ITT Technical Institute, Salt Lake City, UT — 147.
• Wormhole Induction Propulsion (WHIP). Eric W. Davis, National Institute for Discovery Science, Las Vegas, NV — 157.
• Study of M-Theoretic Alcubierre Type Warp Drives. Kelly Jay Davis, Graduate Student, Rutgers University, Columbia, MD — 165.
• Michelson-Morley on the Space Shuttle: A Possible Experiment to Test Dinowitz's Field Distortion Theory. Steven Dinowitz, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Melville, NY — 175.
• QED Casimir Force Electrical Power Supply. George F. Erickson, Los Alamos, NM — 185.
• Observational Search for Negative Matter in Intergalactic Voids. Robert Forward, Forward Unlimited, Clinton, WA — 201.
• Inertial Propulsion Plus/Device and Engine (device display only). Richard E. Foster, Retired P.E., Baton Rouge, LA — 205.
• Experiments to Explore Space Coupling by Specially Conditioned Electromagnetic Fields. H. D. Froning Jr., Flight Unlimited, Flagstaff, AZ — 207.
• Nuclear Isomer Decay: A Possibility for Breakthrough Space Propulsion. Uri Gat and Phillip A. Carpenter, Oak Ridge National Lab, TN — 217.
• Possible Experimental Test of Wheeler-Feynman Absorber Theory. John G. Hartley, IBM Microelectronics, Hopewell Junction, NY — 221.
• Determination of the Existence of the Vacuum Structure. N. W. Kantor, Integram, Fairfax, CA; R. D. Eagleton, California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona, CA; and M. N. Kaplan, Motorotor, North Hollywood, CA — 227.
• Force Field Propulsion. M. N. Kaplan, Motorotor, North Hollywood, CA; R. D. Eagleton, California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona, CA; and N. W. Kantor, Integram, Fairfax, CA — 235.
• An Alcubierre Drive Using Cosmic String. Geoffrey A. Landis, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Cleveland, OH — 243.
• Use of AFM (Automatic Force Microscope) Methods to Measure Variations in Vacuum Energy Density and Vacuum Forces in Microfabricated Structures. J. Maclay, Microfabrications Applications Lab, University of IL; M. Serry, Digitial Instruments Inc., Santa Barbara, CA; R. Ilic, Microfabrications Applications Lab, University of IL; P. Neuzil, Stanford University, CA; and D. Czaplewski, Microfabrications Applications Lab, University of IL — 247.
• The Zero-Point Energy (ZPE) Laser and Interstellar Travel. Gregory L. Matloff, New York University, NY — 257.
• The Challenge to Create the Space Drive. Marc G. Millis, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH — 263.
• Vacuum Fluctuations, Connectivity and Superluminal Physics for Interstellar Travel. Janis M. Niedra, Nyma Inc., Cleveland, OH — 275.
• Search for Effects of an Electrostatic Field on Clocks in the Frame of Reference of a Charged Particle. Harry Ringermacher, General Electric Corp. R&D Center, Schenectady, NY; Brice Cassenti, United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, CT; and D. J. Leopold, Washington University, St. Louis, MO — 281.
• Laboratory Scale Vacuum Energy Extraction Modeled on Weak Nuclear Force Reactions in a Spinning Black Hole System. Joseph J. Roser, Greenwich, NJ — 289.
• Anomalous Weight Behavior in YBa₂Cu₃O₇ Compounds at Low Temperature. Frederic N. Rounds, Sunnyvale, CA — 297.
• Static and Dynamic Casimir Effects. Dev Kumar Sen, Graduate Student, Dept. of Phys., Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA — 313.
• Propulsion and Energy Generation Using the Electron Spiral Toroid. Clint Seward, Electron Power Systems, Inc., Acton, MA — 321.
• The Modified Casimir Force in a Uniformly Accelerating Reference Frame and in a Gravitational Field. Gregory Sobczak, Graduate Student, Astronomy Dept., Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA — 329.
• Lurking Breakthrough Physics. Jose V. Vargas and Douglas G. Torr, Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC — 339.
• A First Tangible Step in the Quest for Hyperluminal Space Travel. Ernst L. Wall, Institute for Basic Research, Palm Harbor, FL — 349.
• Challenging the Speed of Light. Cynthia K. Whitney, Tufts University Electro-Optics Technology Center, Medford, MA — 359.
• Mach's Principle and Impulse Engines: Toward a Viable Physics of Star Trek? James F. Woodward, Dept. of Physics, CA State University, Fullerton, CA — 367.
• Electric Field Propulsion Concepts from Independent Researchers. Charles A. Yost, Electric Spacecraft Journal, Leicester, NC — 375.
• Can a "Hyperspace" Really Exist? Edward J. Zampino, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH — 385.

Breakout discussion groups

About Discussion Groups: Intent and Disclaimer — 391. Discussion Group Methods — 392. Group A Results (Goal 1 — Eliminate Propellant) — 396. Group B Results (Goal 1 — Eliminate Propellant) — 399. Group C Results (Goal 2 — Achieve Maximum Transit Speed) — 403. Group D Results (Goal 2 — Achieve Maximum Transit Speed) — 409. Group E Results (Goal 3 — Energy Breakthroughs) — 413. Group F Results (Goal 3 — Energy Breakthroughs) — 418. Task Evaluation Criteria — 423. Compilation of Candidate Research Tasks — 430.

Concluding Summary — 441. Workshop Participants — 449.

Workshop team

Workshop organizers: Marc G. Millis, chairman, NASA Lewis; Richard Ziegfeld, logistics chair, NYMA Inc.; Joseph A. Hemminger, lead breakout session support volunteer, NASA Lewis.

Proceedings: Marc G. Millis, NASA Lewis; Gary Scott Williamson, NASA Lewis.

Breakout sessions: Sheila G. Bailey, Group E facilitator, NASA Lewis; Michael P. Binder, Group B facilitator, NYMA Inc.; David Chato, Group D note-taker, NASA Lewis; Dane Elliott-Lewis, Group E note-taker, NASA Lewis summer student; Raymond G. Estrada, Group A note-taker, NASA Lewis summer student; Cynthia D. Forman, Group A facilitator, NASA Lewis; Jim Giorgini, Group D facilitator, NASA Lewis; Scott Graham, Group F facilitator, NASA Lewis; Joseph A. Hemminger, Group B note-taker and computer coordinator, NASA Lewis; Grace Scales, Group C facilitator, NASA Lewis; Gary Scott Williamson, Group F note-taker, NASA Lewis; Edward Zampino, Group C note-taker, NASA Lewis.

Other assistance: Obasi H. Akan, breakout sessions process volunteer, NASA Lewis; Les Bossinas, artist, Cortez III; Gus Fralick, volunteer, NASA Lewis; Jon Goldsby, speaker recommendations volunteer, NASA Lewis; Albert Juhasz, volunteer, NASA Lewis; Geoffrey Landis, speaker and poster paper review volunteer, Ohio Aerospace Institute; Carl Lorenzo, volunteer, NASA Lewis; Franklin Mead Jr., poster paper review volunteer, USAF Research Labs, Edwards; Linda Oliver, logistics support, NYMA Inc.; John Toma, logistics support, NYMA Inc.; Natalie Woods, volunteer, NASA Lewis summer student.

Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Program Government Steering Group members

Marc G. Millis (lead), NASA Lewis Research Center; John L. Anderson, NASA Headquarters, Code SM; Lt. Eric Beck, DoD, Phillips Laboratory, Kirtland AFB; Dr. Robert H. Frisbee, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab; Phillip A. Carpenter, DoE, Oak Ridge National Lab; Alan C. Holt, NASA, Johnson Space Center; Dr. Steven D. Howe, DoE, Los Alamos National Lab; Dr. Demos Kazanas, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Ronald J. Koczor, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; Stephanie D. Leifer, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab; Larry G. Lemke, NASA Ames Research Center; Dr. Franklin B. Mead Jr., DoD, Air Force Research Laboratory, Edwards AFB; Dr. Warner A. Miller, DoE, Los Alamos National Lab; Dr. David Noever, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; Dr. Jag J. Singh, NASA Langley Research Center.

Agenda

Monday, August 11, 1997.

Day 1 — Tuesday, August 12, 1997. 8:30 Marc G. Millis, welcome and workshop instructions; Dennis J. Kucinich, welcoming address. 9:00 Lawrence Krauss, 1. Physics Possibilities and Practicalities of Propellantless Propulsion. 9:30 Harold Puthoff, 2. Can the Vacuum be Engineered for Spaceflight Applications? 10:00 break and poster view. 10:30 Raymond Chiao, 3. Tunneling Times and Superluminality. 11:10 John Cramer, 4. Quantum Non-locality and Possible Superluminal Effects. 11:40 Ron Koczor and David Noever, 5. Experiments on the Possible Interaction of Rotating Type II YBCO Ceramic Superconductors and the Local Gravity Field. 12:30 lunch. 1:30 Robert Forward, 6. Dimensional Control of Casimir Energy. 2:00 Bernhard Haisch, 7. Implications of an Electromagnetic Quantum Vacuum Basis for Inertia. 2:20 Alfonso Rueda, 8. Inertial Mass as Reaction of the Vacuum to Accelerated Motion. 2:40 Daniel C. Cole, 9. Calculations on Electromagnetic ZPE Contributions to Mass and Perspectives. 3:00 break and poster view. 3:30 Peter W. Milonni, 10. Casimir Effect: Experimental Evidence and Implications. 4:00 Hüseyin Yilmaz, 11. The New Theory of Gravitation and the Fifth Test. 4:30 Arkady Kheyfets, 12. Hyper-Fast Interstellar Travel via a Modification of Spacetime Geometry. 5:00 adjourn. 7:00 Great Lakes Science Center and Star Trek Exhibit.

Day 2 — Wednesday, August 13, 1997. 8:30 Frank J. Tipler III, 13. Ultrarelativistic Rockets and the Ultimate Future of the Universe. 9:00 George Miley, 14. Overview of Empirical Evidence of Claims of Anomalous Energy Effects. 9:30 selected poster authors, 15. Selected Poster Introductions, 4 minutes each. 10:00 Marc G. Millis, breakout group instructions. 10:15 poster discussion break, poster authors at poster. 11:00 six parallel breakouts, A. Begin brainstorming for propulsion and power ideas and curious effects. 12:30 lunch. 1:30 six parallel breakouts, B. Continue brainstorming and identifying related physics issues and effects. 3:00 break and poster view. 3:30 six parallel breakouts, C. Brainstorming to identify critical unknowns or make-or-break issues. 5:00 adjourn.

Day 3 — Thursday, August 14, 1997. 8:30 six parallel breakouts, D. Collect and discuss research task ideas, and begin ranking. 10:00 break and poster view. 10:30 six parallel breakouts, E. Research task idea ranking and wrap up. 12:00 lunch. 1:30 plenary group reports, overview of ranked task recommendations, each group presents 10 minutes each. 3:00 Marc G. Millis, closing comments. 3:30 adjourn.

Invited presentations — abstracts

Propellantless Propulsion: The Most Inefficient Way to Fly?

Lawrence M. Krauss, Departments of Physics and Astronomy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH.

General Relativity offers in principle the tantalizing possibility of using the properties of spacetime in which spacetime is locally flat, but not globally so in order to allow one to apparently circumvent the constraints of special relativity on both the global speed of moving objects with respect to a distant set of inertial observers and also on the nature of energy in empty space. However, in spite of these tantalizing questions of principle, circumventing special relativity invariably requires matter which violates the weak, dominant, and strong energy conditions in general relativity. While it is quite possible that such material cannot be even be created on macroscopic scales, general arguments suggest that even if it were realizable, the energy requirements daunt those associated with any form of propulsion based on normal relativistic propellants. Moreover, arguments based on causality demonstrate that as far as practical space travel is concerned, one can never operationally travel faster than light, if the experimental setup time is included. Finally, the energy which might be extracted from the vacuum is in general infinitesmally small, and in any case is generically less than the energy input required. These arguments suggest that even if the use of spacetime for propellantless propulsion is not impossible in principle, it is likely to be useless in practice.

Can the Vacuum be Engineered for Spaceflight Applications? Overview of Theory and Experiments

H. E. Puthoff, Ph.D., Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin, Austin, TX.

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.

Quantum Optical Studies of Tunneling Times and Superluminality

Raymond Y. Chiao, Dept. of Physics, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA. Aephraim M. Steinberg, Dept. of Physics, Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Experiments at Berkeley and elsewhere which show that the process of tunneling is apparently superluminal will be reviewed. Conflicting theories for the tunneling time will be compared with experiment. The tunneling particle in the Berkeley experiment was the photon. The measurement of the tunneling time utilized a two-photon light source (spontaneous parametric down-conversion), a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer, and a coincidence counter of photon pairs. The tunnel barrier consisted of a photonic-bandgap medium excited at midgap. We find that the peak of the tunneling wave packet appeared on the far side of the barrier 1.47 ± 0.21 fs earlier than the peak of a wave packet which traveled an equal distance in air. However, Einstein causality is not violated.

Quantum Nonlocality and the Possibility of Superluminal Effects

John G. Cramer, Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

EPR experiments demonstrate that standard quantum mechanics exhibits the property of nonlocality, the enforcement of correlations between separated parts of an entangled quantum systems across spacelike separations. Nonlocality will be clarified using the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics and the possibility of superluminal effects (e.g., faster-than-light communication) from nonlocality and non-linear quantum mechanics will be examined.

Granular Superconductors and Gravity

David Noever and Ron Koczor, Space Sciences Laboratory, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL.

As a Bose condensate, superconductors provide novel conditions for revisiting previously proposed couplings between electromagnetism and gravity. Strong variations in Cooper pair density, large conductivity and low magnetic permeability define superconductive and degenerate condensates without the traditional density limits imposed by the Fermi energy (about 10⁻⁶ g cm³). Recent experiments have reported anomalous weight loss for a test mass suspended above a rotating Type II, YBCO superconductor, with a relatively high percentage change (0.05-2.1%) independent of the test mass' chemical composition and diamagnetic properties. A variation of 5 parts per 10⁴ was reported above a stationary (non-rotating) superconductor. In experiments using a sensitive gravimeter, bulk YBCO superconductors were stably levitated in a DC magnetic field and exposed without levitation to low-field strength AC magnetic fields. Changes in observed gravity signals were measured to be less than 2 parts in 10⁸ of the normal gravitational acceleration. Given the high sensitivity of the test, future work will examine variants on the basic magnetic behavior of granular superconductors, with particular focus on quantifying their proposed importance to gravity.

Apparent Endless Extraction of Energy from the Vacuum by Cyclic Manipulation of Casimir Cavity Dimensions

Dr. Robert L. Forward, Forward Unlimited, Clinton, WA.

In 1983, Ambjørn and Wolfram produced plots of the energy density of the quantum mechanical electromagnetic fluctuations in a volume of vacuum bounded by perfectly conducting walls in the shape of a rectangular cavity of dimensions a₁, a₂, and a₃, as a function of the ratios a₂/a₁ and a₃/a₁. Portions of these plots are double-valued, in that they allow rectangular cavities with the same value of a₂/a₁, but different values of a₃/a₁, to have the same total energy. Using these double-valued regions of the plots, I show that it is possible to define a "Casimir Vacuum Energy Extraction Cycle" which apparently would allow for the endless extraction of energy from the vacuum in the Casimir cavity by cyclic manipulation of the Casimir cavity dimensions.

The Zero-Point Field and the NASA Challenge to Create the Space Drive

Bernhard Haisch, Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin, Palo Alto, CA. Alfonso Rueda, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Dept. of Physics, California State Univ., Long Beach, CA.

This NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop seeks to explore concepts that could someday enable interstellar travel. The effective superluminal motion proposed by Alcubierre (1994) to be a possibility owing to theoretically allowed space-time metric distortions within general relativity has since been shown by Pfenning and Ford (1997) to be physically unattainable. A number of other hypothetical possibilities have been summarized by Millis (1997). We present herein an overview of a concept that has implications for radically new propulsion possibilities and has a basis in theoretical physics: the hypothesis that the inertia and gravitation of matter originate in electromagnetic interactions between the zero-point field (ZPF) and the quarks and electrons constituting atoms. A new derivation of the connection between the ZPF and inertia has been carried through that is properly co-variant, yielding the relativistic equation of motion from Maxwell's equations. This opens new possibilities, but also rules out the basis of one hypothetical propulsion mechanism. Bondi's "negative inertial mass," appears to be an impossibility.

Inertial Mass Viewed as Reaction of the Vacuum to Accelerated Motion

Alfonso Rueda, Department of Electrical Engineering and Department of Physics, California State University, Long Beach, CA. Bernhard Haisch, Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin, Palo Alto, CA.

Preliminary analysis of the momentum flux (or of the Poynting vector) of the classical electromagnetic version of the quantum vacuum consisting of zero-point radiation impinging on accelerated objects as viewed by an inertial observer suggests that the resistance to acceleration attributed to inertia may be a force of opposition originating in the vacuum. This analysis avoids the ad hoc modeling of particle-field interaction dynamics used previously by Haisch, Rueda and Puthoff (1994) to derive a similar result. This present approach is not dependent upon what happens at the particle point but on how an external observer assesses the kinematical characteristics of the zero-point radiation impinging on the accelerated object. A relativistic form of the equation of motion results from the present analysis.

Calculations on Electromagnetic Zero-Point Contributions to Mass and Perspectives

Daniel C. Cole, IBM Microelectronics, Essex Junction, VT.

The present article discusses material to be presented at a conference entitled, "Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop," in August, 1997, at NASA. Three topics involving electromagnetic zero-point (ZP) radiation will be discussed here that appear to be of interest to the workshop, namely, the possible relation of electromagnetic ZP fields to inertial mass and gravity and a proposed process involving extracting energy from the vacuum. All three topics have been discussed in the literature in relatively recent years. In particular, a proposal was made [H. E. Puthoff, Phys. Rev. A 39, 2333 (1989)] that the electromagnetic ZP fields are the fundamental basis for the gravitational interaction; later, a related proposal was made [B. Haisch, A. Rueda, and H. E. Puthoff, Phys. Rev. A 49, 678 (1994)] that these fields are also the origin for inertial mass. As summarized here, unfortunately, a detailed examination of the specific steps in the calculations supporting these two proposals show that several of the critical steps in the analyses have severe problems. Regarding the third topic, however, of extracting energy from the vacuum, this process does seem feasible. The main question here is whether a fresh perspective on ZP energy will enable viable energy extraction processes to be developed that are not already in existence.

Casimir Effects: Evidence and Implications

Peter W. Milonni, Theoretical Division (T-4), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico.

"So you want it simple? Well I'll make it simple. But then don't ask me to explain everything." — Titus Coleman

The physical origin of Casimir effects is discussed together with the notion of "extraction of energy from the vacuum."

Mainstream physicists regard the world at its most basic level as a set of interacting quantized fields. Particles are associated with excited states of these fields. Quantized fields, much like the quantized harmonic oscillator, have fluctuations in all states, including the ground or zero-point state of no particles. Associated with that state is a zero-point energy, or actually a spectrum of zero-point energies. Casimir effects are a consequence of a change in the zero-point spectrum of a quantum field when boundary conditions are imposed (or when the topology is non-Euclidean).

The best known Casimir effect, often called the Casimir effect, is the attractive force between two parallel conducting plates:

F = −π²ħc / 240d⁴

where d is the distance between the plates. The force per unit area (F) is about 0.013/d⁴ dyn/cm², where d is in microns, giving 0.013 dyne for 1 cm plates separated by 1 μm. Two square plates, each 200 ft across and separated by 1 μm, are attracted to each other with a force of about 1 pound. It is not a large effect.

The New Theory of Gravity and the 5th Test

Hüseyin Yilmaz, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hamamatsu City, Japan; Electro-Optics Technology Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA.

Gravity is an interactive N-body phenomenon whereas Einstein's general theory of relativity in general leads to only noninteractive solutions of Schwarzschild type. Thus general theory of relativity cannot produce legitimately the N-body interactive effects such as the planetary perturbations in the solar system. One such effect is the N-body perturbative advance of planetary perihelia which in the case of Mercury is 532" per century (1194" for Earth, 1559" for Mars, so on). We call the presence of these N-body effects the 5th test of gravitational theory and consider it a crucial test. A new theory modifying Einstein's field equations by adding the gravitational field stress-energy to the matter stress-energy passes the 5th test.

Hyper-Fast Interstellar Travel via a Modification of Spacetime Geometry

Arkady Kheyfets, Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Warner A. Miller, T-6 Group, MS-B288, Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM.

We analyze difficulties with proposals for hyper-fast interstellar travel via modifying the spacetime geometry, using as illustrations the Alcubierre warp drive and the Krasnikov tube. As it is easy to see, no violations of local causality or any other known physical principles are involved as far as motion of spacecrafts is concerned. However, the generation and support of the appropriate spacetime geometry configurations does create problems, the most significant of which are a violation of the weak energy condition, a violation of local causality, and a violation of the global causality protection. The violation of the chronology protection is the most serious of them as it opens a possibility of time travel. We trace the origin of the difficulties to the classical nature of the gravity field. This strongly indicates that hyper-fast interstellar travel should be transferred to the realm of a fully quantized gravitational theory. We outline an approach to further the research in this direction.

Ultrarelativistic Rockets and The Ultimate Future of the Universe

Frank J. Tipler, Department of Mathematics and Department of Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Traversing cosmological scale distances will require ultrarelativistic rockets, i.e., rockets for which γ = (1−v²/c²)^−1/2 much greater than 1. I outline the theory of high γ rockets, showing that (1) the expansion of the universe can be used to slow the rocket, thus drastically reducing the initial mass ratio; (2) proton-antiproton annihilation is the favored rocket propellant (I develop the theory of rockets with such propellant); (3) the Standard Model of particle physics allows baryon number conservation to be violated, making it easier to manufacture antiprotons; (4) payloads will probably weigh less than a kilogram, because virtual humans will be the only humans ever to engage in interstellar travel; (5) constraints imposed by the universe's ultimate future must be taken into account in any analysis of interstellar travel. I show that these ultimate future constraints imply the top quark mass is 185 ± 20 GeV and the Higgs boson mass is 220 ± 20 GeV.

Possible Evidence of Anomalous Energy Effects in H/D-Loaded Solids — Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENRs)

George H. Miley, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Campus, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Urbana, IL.

A growing body of experimental evidence is cited showing that low-energy nuclear reactions (LENRs) can occur under select conditions in solid lattices loaded with hydrogenous atoms. There appear to be various reaction regimes leading to different nuclear products. If this phenomenon continues to be verified, a radically different theory for the interaction and the subsequent reaction must be developed. None of the presently proposed theories have been adequately benchmarked. One key difficulty remains — the irreproducibility of experiments, possibly due to yet to be identified variability of the solid state structure involved. To illustrate the LENR effect, recent experiments at the University of Illinois are discussed, where a large number of new elements are observed in thin films of various metals such as Ni undergoing electrolysis. A semi-empirical theory to interpret these results is also outlined. If LENRs are verified, this will lead to a breakthrough in nuclear physics understanding and also to a number of important potential applications, such as space power units.