Monday, August 18, 2008
Zero Point Energy
The existence of zero-point energy is predicted by Quantum physics as an underlying vast sea of energy at every single point in the universe. Somewhat different from the cosmic microwave energy but is also referred to as the electromagnetic quantum vacuum. Even though this energy is so enormous, still most physicists believe that it cannot be physically real, and so they neglect it in mathematical models & calculations. Only a minority of scientists believe & accept it as real energy, but the problem lies in its calculation, we cannot directly sense this energy as it is the same everywhere, there is no frame of reference for its calculation. If the zero-point energy is real, there is a possibility that it can be tapped as a source of unlimited power to generate a propulsive force for space travel. On Earth there is always some medium to push against, the jet engine of an aircraft pushes air backwards to propel the aircraft forward, on the other hand a rocket in deep space has nothing to push against, and therefore it needs to carry some kind of propellant to eject in space to move forward. The core problem in deep space exploration is that despite of requiring huge quantity of propellant we can only carry a limited of it. The revolution one wishes for deep space exploration is to overcome the need to carry propellant at all. The question arises is can propulsive force be generated without ejecting? The answer lies in discovering and unleashing the true power and ability of this seemingly small but still the most abundant energy yet to be harnessed and used at its true potential.
Labels:
energy,
Quantum physics,
zero-point
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