Quantcast

Relativistic interpretation of Casimir effect

    Casimir effect explains why 2 conductive but uncharged paralell plates are attracted together and it explains stictions forces that causes nano geometry devices to  clump together frustrating  research efforts to design mechanical devices at this scale.  The present theory of Casimir effect is based on longer wavelength vacuum fluctuations which are physically too long to exist between the closely spaced  Casimir plates.  It is presumed the absence of longer wavelengths reduces the total   energy density in this confined volume while outside the plates the energy density remains unchanged. It is this difference in energy density that exerts a pressure to close the plates together. it would at first appear that only shorter wavelengths inside the plates would explain this difference in energy density. [note on left the wavelength betwen the plates] 
 
 A 2005  paper by Jan Naudts on relativistic hydrogen  proposed that the  “hydrino” with it’s controversial sub zero ground state  is actually ” relativistic hydrogen”. Naudts proposal  leads quickly to a contradiction with the accepted theory of Casimir effect and requires a relativistic interpretation where the longer wavelengths, when confined between casimir plates are NOT eliminated, instead they stretch space time to fit themselves between the plates creating an “equivalently accelerated” inertial frame. In either version of the theory an observer outside the cavity observes only shorter wavelengths inside the cavity but in the relativistic interpretation an observer inside the
cavity would still see the longer wavelengths  but the plates at either end of the cavity would appear to shrink away  into the distance always providing just enough room for the full length waveforms to reside no matter how small the spacing becomes.   Although  the term “relativistic hydrogen” initially imagines hydrogen at high spatial velocity such as hydrogen being ejected from the suns corona and Lorentzian contraction to explain the reduced orbital radius, Naudt’s proposal for the hydrino inside of a skeletal catalyst only makes sense in  terms of “equivalent acceleration”. It is assumed  Naudt’s  proposal applies equally to “fractional hydrogen”, “deuterium ice” and other  terms for condensed hydrogen  associated with researchers claims of anomalous heat production. We propose that the REDUCED  vacuum  energy density caused by Casimir geometry should have a  NEGATIVE  equivalent acceleration associated with it because the  INCREASED  vacuum  energy density   caused by a stellar sized mass causes  POSITIVE equivalent  acceleration we experience as gravity. The relativistic intepertation for Casimir effect is supported because the increased energy density of a stellar mass is also known to slow time – which therefore predicts  that the decreased energy density of  Casimir geometry will accelerate time.  This would cause the frequency of vacum fluctuations inside a Casimir cavity to appear “shorter”or ” upshifted” to an observer outside the cavity such as sugested by   a 1999 paper ” Radiation Pressure approach to  Repulsive  Casimir Force ” by V. Hushwater.   The relativistic interpertation for Casimir effect  is further supported by    A 1999 paper titled  “The Light Velocity Casimir Effect” by Tom Ostoma and Mike Trushyk  where the measured velocity of light appears to increase due to Casimir geometry.     
 [Quote from “The Light Velocity Casimir Effect] Our review of the physics literature has not revealed any previous work on the time delay analysis of photon propagation through the ordinary quantum vacuum or any evidence to contradict our hypothesis of photon vacuum delay, presumably because of the precedent set by Einstein’s postulate of light speed constancy.  
Suppose we can place a tiny observer A and his clocks and rulers (somehow) in between the Casimir plates. We would find for observer A that his measurement of the speed of light is the same as the conventional value! However for an observer B outside the plates in the laboratory frame, his measurement does show an increase in light velocity through the plates. Furthermore, the individual space and time measurements ‘dlab’ and ‘tlab’ made by observer B in the laboratory frame do not agree with the same measurements of ‘dplate’ and ‘tplate’ made by our tiny observer A inside the Casimir plates. The general relativists could argue that the 4D space-time inside the Casimir plates is altered compared to outside, and that the light velocity is still an absolute constant in all cases! This argument results because of the crucial importance of light propagation to the fundamental nature of space and time measurements, a theme that was first championed by Einstein. This same controversy rears it’s ugly head in gravity where we are forced to choose between the two experimentally indistinguishable views; 4D curved space-time in general relativity and variable light velocity proposal of EMQG. It turns out to be impossible to distinguish between curved 4D space-time in gravitational frames, and variations in light velocity in gravitational frames experimentally [ End Quote] 

           

   In a relativistic interpretation, Casimir Cavities  like the 10 nm pores  in the skeletal catalysts used by Black Light Power, the 100nm cavities proposed in the Haisch-Moddel prototype or  the geometry formed between grains of nickel nano powders used by the Rossi e-cat are all used to REDUCE  vacuum energy density.     We  know that energy density is the sum of all vacuum fluctuation wavelengths and that even in deep open space without mass there still remains an energy density background.  These flux (aka virtual particles) aren’t hanging around but rather are streaming through our spatial axis at a rate represented by energy density (what Puthoff calls pressure) and when they meet a conductive boundary in Casimir geometry it reduces their ability to stream. As it turns out this “streaming” rate can even be manipulated below zero to negative values! Now it doesn’t matter if you accept my relativistic interpretation of Casimir theory where longer wavelengths only appear shorter inside an accelerated inertial frame due to the suppression or the standard fare that the longer wavelengths being displaced to lower the energy density, The point is that if the opening between Casimir boundaries is small enough you end up with a permanent  stream between the higher energy density outside the boundary and lower densities in the interior. It isn’t the different energy densities  but rather the streams between these zones that represent a “negative pressure”  less than the background levels that the Casimir boundaries are supressing and even less than zero, like the wind speed through a small hole in a sail it can be many times faster than even the ambient wind filling the sail.

Suppression is much easier and more  direct than time dilation and relativistic contraction caused by spatial acceleration where a particle must be accelerated to near luminal velocity before it can start to exhibit Lorentzian contraction in a Pythagorean relationship between its own velocity and C.  IMHO Supression of vacum energy density directly modifies the inertial frames inside the cavity in a “tail wagging the dog” sort of scenario such that Space-Time itself is forced to reshape (upshift) its own wavelengths to fit in the volume provided. This is perceived relativisticly by us outside the cavity as equivalent acceleration acting on any matter occupying the supressed volume and results in similar Lorentzian contraction and time dilation. The contraction however appears symetrical to us outside the cavity because the displacement is 90 degrees from our spatial axis on what we perceive as the time axis.  The Calvet paper also makes the case for this relativistic interpretation of Casimir effect.   There is no need for near luminal velocity of  the gas atoms on the spatial axis inside the cavity.  There is no Pythagorean relationship needed to derive Gamma under these conditions because the cavity is directly manipulating the time axis experienced by gas atoms inside the cavity.                    

 The theoreticl papers mentioned earlier “The Light Velocity Casimir Effect” and “Cavity QED” , and the math papers by Jan Naudts and Ron Bourgoin which indicate that the hydrino state is actually just relativistic hydrogen make a case for the relativistic interpretation of Casimir effect.   Numerous papers have been published on anomalous heat generated by reactions between atomic gases and catalysts or nano powders. The reactions remain the subject of intense research and controversy spread across several fields of research. LENR, cold fusion, solid state systems used by Arata in Japan or Mills at Black Light Power. Most of these researchers report unusual states of matter such as Fractional hydrogen, hydrino, deuterium clusters or ultra dense deuterium. Recent US government reports  conclude the anomalous heat is undeniable and further research is warranted regardless if this is a nuclear or another as yet unidentified energy source.  Although The Haisch Moddel patent  mentions Casimir cavities most papers only mention catalytic materials, a little research however reveals the  pores in the skeletal catalysts used by Black Light Power or the spacing between the Pd nano powders used by Arata are of Casimir geometry. Another suggestion of a relationship between catalytic action and change in Casimir force is from a recent report by Peng Chen at Cornell that catalytic action as measured with an ATM only occurs at the openings and defects in a nanotubes which otherwise have very constant geometry.                  

Below is a basic description of Reifenschweiler effect from the website of Ludwik Kowalski; which again strongly supports relativistic effects due to supression                 

Ludwik Kowalski; 11/xx/2006 Department of Mathematical Sciences Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ, 07043
About two months ago Albert Alberts, from Netherlands, mentioned some observations made by Otto Reifenschweiler. This was on the restricted Internet list for CMNS researchers. Asked for a clarification, Alberts wrote:
    
              

 “The ‘Reifenschweiler effect’ is the observation that the beta-decay of tritium half-life 12.5 years is delayed reversibly by about 25-30% when the isotope is absorbed in 15 nm titanium-clusters in a temperature window in between 160-275 C. Remarkably at 360 C the original radioactivity reappears. The effect is absent in bulk metal. Discovered around 1960/1962 at Philips Research Eindhoven, The Netherlands Reifenschweiler extensively discussed his observation with o.a Casimir (the director of research at the time), Kistemaker (ultracentrifuge expert), and although no satisfactory explanation was found, R. was allowed to publish it. At the time a unique example as to how an electronic environment might affect nuclear phenomena.”                   

 In a private e-mail message Alberts, who used to be a physics teacher, wrote: “I don’t know if that work was replicated, he was invited to, I think, Sandia and later to Los Alamos to demonstrate the effect, instigated by a fellow named Cox. What I do know is that it was replicated in the Philips labs many times, supervised by the eminent Casimir at the time. The beta-rays were detected by Geiger-Mueller counters, at the time Philips had the most advanced evaporation/evacuation techniques possible. Even electron microscopy. The work was criticized by a German fellow, but Reifenschweiler retaliated. That stuff should be in his reprints.” He also wrote that he is in contact with Dr. Reifenschweiler (who is quite old) and that he has some old manuscripts. Subsequently I asked Alberts to compose an essay on Reifenschweiler effect. He agreed. His essay will be shown below as soon as it arrives. I think Reifenschweiler himself will assist in writing a good summary. Meanwhile let me mention that a French researcher, Fabrice David, also summarized Reifenschweiler effect in 2004. That was the topic of his presentation at ICCF11 (11th International Conference on Cold Fusion) in Marseilles                      

The Reifenschweiler effect described by Otto Reifenschweiler in his paper “Cold Fusion and Decrease of Tritium Radioactivity” describes a small delay in the half life of tritium in contact with titanium powder while a patent by Heinrich Hora “Low Cost elimination of Long-Lived Nuclear waste” describes a large acceleration in radioactive half life of radioactive materials in a catalytic environment. This seems consistent with the segregation of time dilations  in a relativistic interpretation of Casimir effect.  The geometry of different Casimir materials may favor or disfavor the loading of gas atoms into the cavity vs outside the cavity. Those cases where the exterior of the cavity is favored could explain the claims of  anomalous cooling and Reifenschweiler effect.   IMHO you have a dispersed accumulation of pressure on the exterior surfaces of the cavity plates forming a reservoir that only slightly slows time while  feeding a very fast permanent stream through the tiny defect or hole into the cavity between the plates which greatly accelerates time (think venturi) for any gas atoms inside the narrow cavity. Energy suppression due to Casimir geometry results in a pseudo density/gravity of the plate material (Casimir plates are able to accumulate gravity/ oppose vacuum energy at an accelerated rate on their exteriors compared to normal mass because of an insulating effect afforded by the suppression on their interior side). Reports of anomalous cooling could also be related to variations in the type of atomic gas  catalyst and test conditions which could vary the balance between gas populations loading into the cavity vs the reservoir.  I would expect any reports of  anomalous cooling to be a much smaller than reports of anomalous heat for the same reasons reported delays of radioactive  half lives are much smaller than reported claims of accelerated half lives (only a 25-30% delay is mentioned in the Reifenschweiler effect).    

 In Physics clocks in different inertial frames always appear slower to the remote observer regardless of which frame happens to be more accelerated or which frame the remote observer happens to occupy similar to the way an object always appears smaller based on absolute displacement from the observer regardless of which direction the displacement occurs (deriving Gamma). The Beta decay / particle emission rate corresponds directly to the photon bouncing between the mirrors in the classic accelerated spaceship vs the stationary observer used to illustrate the derivation of gamma (time dilation factor) even though the relativistic environment in the Casimir effect is created from equivalent velocity instead of  spatial velocity.  Changes in Beta decay correspond to time dilation and can be in either direction depending on whether the gas particles are inside the fast moving cavity or in the exterior resivoir accumulating outside the cavity. IMHO the multiplying factor for extended half lives (delayed decay) should be much smaller than the multiplying factor for reduced half lives (accelerated decay)  because time inside a Casimir cavity is greatly accelerated trying to deplete a large distributed resivoir in a very small area while outside the cavity time is only slightly delayed by a pseudo density over a very large surface area similar to the sail of a ship – the large surface area accumulates a “pressure” but each area of the sail only contributes a negligible amount of this pressure to the tiny hole in the sail forming a venturi. If the hole is small enough you form a permanent vortex that can’t deplete the sail. 

from article on STARDRIVE On Mar 2, 2010, at 12:16 PM, Bernard Haisch wrote:  A thought experiment clarifying the Haisch-Moddel patent (7,379,286) concept Imagine a monatomic hydrogen gas exposed to Lyman-alpha radiation at 121.5 nm which excites the electron into the n=2 level. Now let some of the gas enter a pipe which blocks the radiation. The hydrogen electron will drop back to the ground state, n=1. We can certainly capture the emitted radiation in the pipe. On exiting the pipe the hydrogen is again exposed to Lyman-alpha radiation and the electron is excited into the n=2 level again.

The process is easily done but not useful because we are simply capturing some of the energy we put there in creating the Lyman-alpha radiation. However this clearly shows that there is no correlation between the electron energy levels and any kind of potential energy relevant to motion into and out of the pipe. The excitation and de-excitation do not produce any forces pulling the hydrogen into or out of the pipe. They are independent processes.

Substitute zero-point radiation for Lyman-alpha and a Casimir cavity for the pipe and assume that because of the Casimir suppression of zero-point radiation there is a temporary reduction in the ground state of the atomic electron (as shown by Puthoff and by Cole) while in the cavity and you have the proposed patent. (Note that this does not produce any so-called stable hydrinos.)”

Bernard Haisch  (also see  Brilliant Disguise: Light, Matter and the Zero-Point Field )

This thought experiment above by Bernard Haisch elicited the thread below on Vortex-l with my subsequent
comments included.
Francis X Roarty

[Vo]:An alternative to LENR
On Fri Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:42 Jones Beene said:
Can the Arata-type experiment (in general) be explained solely by a Lamb
shift modality of the type that Haisch claims – in his patent?
 I would not go so far as to suggest “solely” but it certainly could be a contributor. The Haisch – Moddel prototype should work with or without noble gas but still requires monatomic atoms in order to translate to these exploitable states, this means the h2 or d2 in an Arata – type experiment would need to be disassociated while the noble gases used in the H-M patent should work at room temperature being inherently monatomic – this further supports my contention that it is the diatomic bond that is opposing the translation of the orbitals constituting the diatom because the noble gases in the H-M patent are much larger than hydrogen but are presumed to translate unopposed. I remain on the fence regarding the pinch mechanism itself which is beyond my skill set but agree if correct it is a far better way to exploit the cavity environment then the chemical reactions suggested by Mills or even my own relativistic ash less oscillating reaction between h1 and h2 states due to changes in Casimir geometry opposing diatomic motion.

If so, we would be suggesting that any helium seen (it is often seen) was
already present in the active material, probably as contamination from
extended ball milling in air, and that this helium had survived bake-out,
which is not an unreasonable assumption since tIhere is so little of it.

 I would not rule out a small amount of fusion to account for the helium as a result of the energy released by the H-M, Mills or other ZPE methods.

In 1947 Willis Lamb carried out an experiment using microwaves to stimulate
RF transitions between orbital levels of hydrogen. There was an anomaly and
the energy difference found was a rise of about 1 GHz for one orbital
compared to the other. This energy is supplied (or detracted) by the quantum
vacuum, but there is normally no net gain or loss.
This particular difference is a looping effect of QED – quantum
electrodynamics, and can be interpreted as the influence of virtual photons
from the ZPE which have been emitted and re-absorbed by the atom. In QED the
electromagnetic field is quantized but its lowest state is NOT zero. Thus,
there exist small zero-point oscillations that cause electrons to execute
rapid oscillatory motions known by the lovely German word: zitterbewegung;
but normally these vibrations reach thermal equilibrium in an ambient range
near 300 Kelvin – and are vibrating in the terahertz range, all of which is
conservative, but ..
The value of the Lamb shift has a tiny mass-energy equivalent, which is
about 4^-6 eV = 1 GHz = 4^-23 joules (correct me if I got this wrong) which
is not much to get excited about; and on top of that: the ups and downs
usually cancel each other out . but if your Casimir cavity is an oscillator
in the 10s of terahertz (slightly above ambient) and you make a particular
nanopowder in the form known as “quantum dots”, such that there is a range
of coherency which can be reached with a thermal trigger, then the gain can
(arguably) be made additive and sequential: well, that would be the
underlying hypothesis for the Haisch claim, and the non-nuclear gain via ZPE
via the Lamb shift as the pumping mechanism.
 Addative and sequential energy gain suggests a finite value but in a relativistic environment where Time dilation comes into play becomes considerable.

There could be LENR activity as well, in the same experiment – which is in
addition to this; but for the time being, let’s stick with the goal of
looking for a justifiable way to explain net energy gain (or loss) without
any nuclear reactions. Can it be found?
Probably. It should also be mentioned that in a slightly different geometry
of nanoparticle, there could be a cooling effect, instead of a heating
effect, which can also be derived from additive and sequential Lamb shifts
(with coherent asymmetry) – which will have the net result to take the host
material below ambient in temperature. This would be the key to
falsifiability – an occasional net cooling effect, based on geometry and
coherence.
This corresponds to the well-known Casimir repulsive effect (as opposed to
the normal Casimir attractive force). There can be this asymmetry (plus or
minus), within narrow geometric ranges, and when coherence is reached, the
result can be net heating, or net cooling (or neither or both if the
material is sloppily prepared).

 The Reifenschweiler effect described by Otto Reifenschweiler in his paper “Cold Fusion and Decrease of Tritium Radioactivity” describes a small delay in the half life of tritium in contact with titanium powder while a patent by Heinrich Hora “Low Cost elimination of Long-Lived Nuclear waste” describes a large acceleration in radioactive half life of radioactive materials in a catalytic environment. This seems consistent with the segregation of time dilations in a Casimir system, you have an accumulation of pressure outside the cavity forming a reservoir that slows time for any gas atoms occupying this area while also supplying a permanent focused stream into the tiny mouth of the cavity which greatly accelerates time for gas atoms inside the cavity. The geometry of different Casimir materials may favor or disfavor the loading of these gas atoms into the cavity vs outside the cavity in the reservoir. energy suppression due to Casimir geometry causes a decrease in vacuum energy inside the cavity, this decrease is concentrated inside the cavity to balance an equal but distributed reservoir of energy outside the cavity (Casimir plates are able to accumulate vacuum energy at an accelerated rate compared to normal mass) . Reports of anomalous cooling could be related to the type of atomic gas and catalyst under test where conditions could vary the balance between gas populations loading into the cavity vs the reservoir, I would expect any reports of cooling to be a much smaller anomaly than excess heat just like delays of half lives are much smaller than claims of accelerated half lives. The interface between the cavity and gas populations is far more efficient and concentrated while the interface to the reservoir is diffused over the outer plate area and may be less inviting (repel?) to the gas populations. 

It can be deduced roughly that to get to one joule per unit volume of active
material in gain(loss), there must be at least about 10^10 sites (which are
active Casimir cavities in vibrational coherence per that same volume). In
the context of an Arata-type experiment there would be about 5000 joules of
excess heat, spread out over about 800 minutes, which on first glance could
be consistent with Lamb shift heating via Casimir cavities if there was a
few cc of active powder present, which was optimized for cavities.
However, the best reason to consider the Lamb shift as an alternative
hypothesis to LENR is IF:
1) No transmutation products or ash are found, other than helium, which
can be explained as non-nuclear contamination
2) No gamma radiation is seen during or immediately after the run, and
no neutrons
3) On occasion, there is a cooling effect instead of a heating effect,
or during the same run there is both a heating effect followed by a cooling
effect, both of which are statistically valid.




The material in this press release comes from the originating research organization. Content may be edited for style and length. Want more? Sign up for our daily email.