"Vacuum energy" isn't something you can actually get energy from. It's evenly distributed through the universe and therefore has no gradient from which to draw usable work.

I'd love to see the research budget for nuclear fusion go up by a factor of 10, but it's definitely not the only option.

You need to read up on vacuum energy. It's still in it's infancy, but here's a taste... https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/09/trampoline-mirror-may-push-laser-pulse-through-fabric-of-the-universe/

Trust me, I'm caught up on the science and it's mostly bogus.



Well, the science is legit, but the idea of turning it into a usable energy source is bogus.

This post was edited by Thor123422 on Sep 15 2019 07:58pm

It's written up in Physical Review as well. Trust me... you're NOT caught up on it.


/e Anti matter was "bogus" at one time as well. There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy

This post was edited by Ghot on Sep 15 2019 08:01pm

The science behind it is legit, but the idea of turning it into a source of usable energy is bogus. The vacuum energy is evenly distributed through the universe, there's no way to harness an energy difference to perform work, so there's no way to turn it into an energy source.

Same used to be said about anti matter. You're outside your field my friend.


/e The same used to be said about electricity as well. I had an early 1800's Physics book, back in the day. You wouldn't believe what physicists thought.


/ee Hell, at one time...people thought fire was the provenance of the gods.

This post was edited by Ghot on Sep 15 2019 08:07pm

Uhhh, I dont know about you but I dont see antimatter generators anywhere.

The discovery of electricity predates the discovery of thermodynamics so its not surprising they wouldn't know if it can be used as a way to transmit energy.

Were talking the most fundamental thermodynamics dude, if energy is uniform theres no extracting from it. Period. This isnt a "well with the right tech" thing, it will need more energy in than you get out and its based on physics 101 material.

Ok...try it this way.


"Zero-point energy, also known as ground state energy, could be the greatest gift the quantum world can ever give us. It’s a byproduct of the fact that subatomic particles don’t really behave like single particles, but like waves constantly flitting between different energy states. This means even the seemingly empty vacuum of space is actually a roiling sea of virtual particles fluctuating in and out of existence, and all those fluctuations require energy."

"Richard Feynman and John Wheeler calculated the zero-point radiation of the vacuum was so powerful that even a small cup of it would be enough to set all of Earth’s oceans to a boil."






/e As for anti matter, the ONLY reason we aren't using it today is that it's very hard to make. Now a natural source, like say, the Jupiter - Io flux tube, would make anti matter an every day occurrence. A seriously large collider would do the job too. Unfortunately we don't have the energy or the location (yet) for that.

This post was edited by Ghot on Sep 15 2019 08:22pm

Again, it doesnt matter if the energy is there, it matters what the concentration gradient is. The concentration is even across the whole universe and therefore cant be extracted.

Oh wow the only reason is it would take planetary scale engineering. Oh thats just a small problem. A trifle really.

This post was edited by Thor123422 on Sep 15 2019 08:25pm

We've already made anti matter. When combined with matter it gives 100%. You just can't get any more out of e-mc^2.
Germany, back in the 90's was working on designs for anti matter engines. Same issue though, not enough anti matter.

We're so close to fusion, it isn't funny. I dunno if we'll see it, but it won't be long.

All this renewable energy crap is just that, crap. Everything we save with say wind or solar we USE in the manufacture of these devices.

We NEED power sources in the 90%+ efficiency ranges, if we really want to lower our carbon footprint.


The only use for solar seems to be space based. We could "beam" the energy down to the planet, but that requires a serious presence in space. Cause we're talking about a LOT of solar panels.


There are only TWO solutions to "climate change", if ya wanna call it that. 90%+ efficiency power sources, or quit over breeding.
Keep in mind, that where you say climate change... I say pollution. And I honestly don't think that humans can make enough pollution to alter the climate....even a little bit. It's gonna change how it likes, on it's own time table, and nothing we do will alter that one tiny bit.