Zero Point Energy

Since the beginning of recorded history, mankind has always wanted to believe in magic and things that are too good to be true. Belief in a higher power is one. Such was the subject of my previous novel The Milk Run. Others take the form of physical objects which contain some mystical power. Many of these objects have been romanticized like the Lost Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The Arthurian knights spent a lifetime searching for the Holy Grail. It was supposedly a chalice that held Jesus' blood and it was supposed to have the power to heal all wounds. The Knights of the Round Table themselves have taken on a romantic glow partly because of this. Today, we don't have a Holy Grail but we do have stem cell research which might end up with the same powers.

Another mystical object is the Philosopher's Stone. During the Middle Ages, alchemists either searched for it or claimed to have found it. It was supposed to be able to able to transmute base metals, such as lead, into precious metals like gold. Today we have nuclear fission and LENR which may very well be able to transmute elements but we aren't quite there yet.

Consider the aforementioned Lost Ark of the Covenant. It was supposed to imbue the possessors of great power, the power to vanquish their enemies. Today we have drones and nuclear weapons. Not quite as mystical but powerful in their own right. And the list goes on and on. There is the remains of Noah's Ark, the Shroud of Turin, the Spear of Destiny. All are romantic, never proven to truly exist yet everyone knows what they are.

What I wanted to do is enumerate a modern day myth that may or may not come to fruition in the near future. That is the concept of Zero Point Energy. This is energy that comes from nowhere. The caveat is that it comes from nowhere apparent. I submit that nuclear fusion and the thermonuclear bomb demonstrate energy that appears to come from nowhere but the science behind them is impeccable.

Even in the 35th century world of Rome's Revolution, I postulate that the Vuduri use zero point energy to create limitless, free energy and get to travel much faster than the speed of light by exploiting the well-documented Casimir Effect. It makes for a great story.

Tomorrow I will discuss the state of cold fusion, hydronium atoms, hydrosonic cavitation pumps and other methods of extracting energy out of thin air. Researching these things takes you down a deep rabbit hole as you go farther and farther afield. I'll try and focus on items that appear to actually have some basis in science.