I keep all my electrical outlets capped so the electrons don't fall out. : )
Kirk McLoren wrote: > They say the energy is obtained by making the electron fall to a lower > energy state. Seems odd they didn't fall in the billions of years since > matter was formed. > > Kirk > > */[EMAIL PROTECTED]/* wrote: > > Anyone know about this? Sounds too good to be true. > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1627424,00.html > > Fuel's paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head > > · Scientist says device disproves quantum theory > · Opponents claim idea is result of wrong maths > > Alok Jha, science correspondent > Friday November 4, 2005 > The Guardian > > It seems too good to be true: a new source of near-limitless > power that costs virtually nothing, uses tiny amounts of water as > its fuel and produces next to no waste. If that does not sound > radical enough, how about this: the principle behind the source > turns modern physics on its head. > > Randell Mills, a Harvard University medic who also studied > electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, > claims to have built a prototype power source that generates up > to 1,000 times more heat than conventional fuel. Independent > scientists claim to have verified the experiments and Dr Mills > says that his company, Blacklight Power, has tens of millions of > dollars in investment lined up to bring the idea to market. And he > claims to be just months away from unveiling his creation. > > The problem is that according to the rules of quantum > mechanics, the physics that governs the behaviour of atoms, the > idea is theoretically impossible. "Physicists are quite > conservative. It's not easy to convince them to change a theory > that is accepted for 50 to 60 years. I don't think [Mills's] theory > should be supported," said Jan Naudts, a theoretical physicist at > the University of Antwerp. > > What has much of the physics world up in arms is Dr Mills's > claim that he has produced a new form of hydrogen, the > simplest of all the atoms, with just a single proton circled by one > electron. In his "hydrino", the electron sits a little closer to the > proton than normal, and the formation of the new atoms from > traditional hydrogen releases huge amounts of energy. > > This is scientific heresy. According to quantum mechanics, > electrons can only exist in an atom in strictly defined orbits, and > the shortest distance allowed between the proton and electron in > hydrogen is fixed. The two particles are simply not allowed to get > any closer. > > According to Dr Mills, there can be only one explanation: > quantum mechanics must be wrong. "We've done a lot of testing. > We've got 50 independent validation reports, we've got 65 > peer-reviewed journal articles," he said. "We ran into this > theoretical resistance and there are some vested interests here. > People are very strong and fervent protectors of this [quantum] > theory that they use." > > Rick Maas, a chemist at the University of North Carolina at > Asheville (UNC) who specialises in sustainable energy sources, > was allowed unfettered access to Blacklight's laboratories this > year. "We went in with a healthy amount of scepticism. While it > would certainly be nice if this were true, in my position as head of > a research institution, I really wouldn't want to make a mistake. > The last thing I want is to be remembered as the person who > derailed a lot of sustainable energy investment into something > that wasn't real." > > But Prof Maas and Randy Booker, a UNC physicist, left under no > doubt about Dr Mill's claims. "All of us who are not quantum > physicists are looking at Dr Mills's data and we find it very > compelling," said Prof Maas. "Dr Booker and I have both put our > professional reputations on the line as far as that goes." > > Dr Mills's idea goes against almost a century of thinking. When > scientists developed the theory of quantum mechanics they > described a world where measuring the exact position or energy > of a particle was impossible and where the laws of classical > physics had no effect. The theory has been hailed as one of the > 20th century's greatest achievements. > > But it is an achievement Dr Mills thinks is flawed. He turned back > to earlier classical physics to develop a theory which, unlike > quantum mechanics, allows an electron to move much closer to > the proton at the heart of a hydrogen atom and, in doing so, > release the substantial amounts of energy he seeks to exploit. > Dr Mills's theory, known as classical quantum mechanics and > published in the journal Physics Essays in 2003, has been > criticised most publicly by Andreas Rathke of the European > Space Agency. In a damning critique published recently in the > New Journal of Physics, he argued that Dr Mills's theory was the > result of mathematical mistakes. > > Dr Mills argues that there are plenty of flaws in Dr Rathke's > critique. "His paper's riddled with mistakes. We've had other > physicists contact him and say this is embarrassing to the > journal and [Dr Rathke] won't respond," said Dr Mills. > > While the theoretical tangle is unlikely to resolve itself soon, > those wanting to exploit the technology are pushing ahead. "We > would like to understand it from an academic standpoint and > then we would like to be able to use the implications to actually > produce energy products," said Prof Maas. "The companies that > are lining up behind this are household names." > > Dr Mills will not go into details of who is investing in his research > but rumours suggest a range of US power companies. It is well > known also that Nasa's institute of advanced concepts has > funded research into finding a way of using Blacklight's > technology to power rockets. > > According to Prof Maas, the first product built with Blacklight's > technology, which will be available in as little as four years, will > be a household heater. As the technology is scaled up, he says, > bigger furnaces will be able to boil water and turn turbines to > produce electricity. > > In a recent economic forecast, Prof Maas calculated that hydrino > energy would cost around 1.2 cents (0.7p) per kilowatt hour. This > compares to an average of 5 cents per kWh for coal and 6 cents > for nuclear energy. > > "If it's wrong, it will be proven wrong," said Kert Davies, research > director of Greenpeace USA. "But if it's right, it is so important > that all else falls away. It has the potential to solve our > dependence on oil. Our stance is of cautious optimism." > > Alternative energy > > Cold fusion > > More than 16 years after chemists' claims to have created a star > in a jar imploded in acrimony, the US government has said it > might fund more research. Mainstream physicists still balk at > reports that a beaker of cold water and metal electrodes can > produce excess heat, but a hardy band of scientists across the > world refuse to let the dream die. > > Methane hydrates > > The US and Japan are leading attempts to tap this source of > fossil fuel buried beneath the seabed and Arctic permafrost. A > mixture of ice and natural gas, hydrates are believed to contain > more carbon than existing reserves of oil, coal and gas put > together. > > Solar chimneys > > Sunlight heats trapped air, which rises through a giant chimney > and drives turbines. Leonardo da Vinci designed such a power > tower and the Australian company Enviromission plans to build > one. Despite being scaled down recently, the concrete chimney > will still stand some 700 metres over the outback. > > Nuclear fusion > > Turns nuclear power on its head by combining atoms rather than > splitting them to release energy - copying the reaction at the > heart of the sun. After years of arguments the world has agreed > to build a test reactor to see whether it works on a commercial > scale. Called Iter, it could be switched on within a decade. > > Wave generators > > No longer a dead duck, the hopes of engineers are riding on > bobbing floats again. The British company Trident Energy > recently unveiled a design that uses a linear generator to convert > the motion of the sea into electricity. A wave farm just a few > hundred metres across could power 62,000 homes. > David Adam > > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 > messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. > <http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylc=X3oDMTFqODRtdXQ4BF9TAzMyOTc1MDIEX3MDOTY2ODgxNjkEcG9zAzEEc2VjA21haWwtZm9vdGVyBHNsawNmYw--/SIG=110oav78o/**http%3a//farechase.yahoo.com/> > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > -- Bob Allen http://ozarker.org/bob "Science is what we have learned about how to keep from fooling ourselves" — Richard Feynman _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
