434 lines
21 KiB
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434 lines
21 KiB
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(word processor parameters LM=1, RM=70, TM=2, BM=2)
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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
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PO BOX 1031
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Mesquite, TX 75150
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April 10, 1990
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This paper was written and courteously shared by
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Dr. H. E. Puthoff of the
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Institute for Advanced Studies,
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1301 Capital Of Texas Highway S., Suite B 121
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Austin, Texas 78746
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(512) 328-5751
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Quantum Fluctuations of Empty Space :
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A New Rosetta Stone of Physics?
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In a recent article in the popular press (The Economist, January
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7, 1989, pp. 71-74) it was noted how many of this century's new
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technologies depend on the Alice-in-Wonderland physics of quantum
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mechanics, with all of its seeming absurdities.
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For starters, one begins with the observation that classical
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physics tells us that atoms, which can be likened to a miniature
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solar system with electron planets orbiting a nuclear sun, should
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not exist.
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The circling electrons should radiate away their energy like
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microscopic radio antennas and spiral into the nucleus. But atoms
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do exist, and multitudinous other phenomena which don't obey the
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rules do occur.
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To resolve this cognitive dissonance physicists introduced quantum
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mechanics, which is essentially a set of mathematical rules to
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describe what in fact does happen. But when we re-ask the
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question, "why didn't the electron radiate away its energy?" the
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answer is, basically, "well, in quantum theory it doesn't."
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It's at this point that not only the layman but some physicists
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can begin to feel that someone's not playing fair. I say only
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some physicists because the majority of working physicists are
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content simply to use quantum rules that work, that describe (if
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only statistically) what will happen in a given experiment under
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certain conditions.
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These are the so-called "logical positivists" who, in a
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philosophical sense, are like the news reporter whose only
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interest is the bottom line.
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There are nevertheless individuals here and there who still want
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to know why the electron didn't radiate, why Einstein's equations
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are in this form and not another, where does the ubiquitous zero-
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point energy that fills even empty space come from, why quantum
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theory, and perhaps the biggest question of all, how did the
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universe get started anyway?
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Page 1
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Surprisingly enough, there may be answers to these seemingly
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unanswerable meta-level questions. Perhaps even more surprising,
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they seem to be emerging, as a recent book title put it, from
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"Something called Nothing" (1), or to put it more correctly, from
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empty space, the vacuum, the void.
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To comprehend the significance of this statement, we will have to
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take a detour into the phenomenon of fluctuations with which
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quantum theory abounds, including the fluctuations of empy space
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itself.
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Before the advent of quantum theory, physics taught that any
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simple oscillator such as a pendulum, when excited, would
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eventually come to rest if not continuously energized by some
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outside force such as a spring. This is because of friction
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losses in the system.
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After it was recognized that quantum theory was a more accurate
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representation of nature, one of the findings of quantum theory
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was that such an oscillator would in fact not come to total rest
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but rather would continue to "jiggle" randomly about its resting
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point with a small amount of energy always present, the so-called
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"zero-point energy."
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Although it may not be observable to the eye on your grandfather
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clock because it is so minute, it is nonetheless very real, and in
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many physical systems has important consequences.
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One example is the presence of a certain amount of "noise" in a
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microwave receiver that can never be gotten rid of, no matter how
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perfect the technology. This is an example which shows that not
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only physical devices such as pendulums have this property of
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incessant fluctuation, but also fields, such as electromagnetic
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fields (radio waves, microwaves, light, X-rays, etc.).
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As it turns out, even though the zero-point energy in any
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particular mode of an electromagnetic field is minute, there are
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so many possible modes of propagation (frequencies, directions) in
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open space, the zero-point energy summed up over all possible
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modes is quite enormous; in fact, greater than, for example,
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nuclear energy densities. And this in all of so-called "empty"
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space around us. Let us concentrate on the effects of such
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electromagnetic zero-point fluctuations.
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With such large values, it might seem that the effects of
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electromagnetic zero-point energy should be quite obvious, but
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this is not the case because of its extremely uniform density.
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Just as a vase standing in a room is not likely to fall over
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spontaneously, so a vase bombarded uniformly on all sides by
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millions of ping pong balls would not do likewise because of the
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balanced conditions of the uniform bombardment.
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The only evidence of such a barrage might be minute jiggling of
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the vase, and similar mechanisms are thought to be involved in the
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quantum jiggle of zero-point motion.
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However, there are certain conditions in which the uniformity of
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the background electromagnetic zero-point energy is slightly
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disturbed and leads to physical effects.
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Page 2
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One is the slight perturbation of the lines seen from transitions
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between atomic states known as the Lamb Shift (2), named after its
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discoverer, Willis Lamb.
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Another, also named for its discoverer, is the Casimir Effect, a
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unique attractive quantum force between closely-spaced metal
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plates.
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An elegant analysis by Milonni et. al. at Los Angeles National
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Laboratory (3) shows the Casimir force to be due to radiation
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pressure from the background electromagnetic zero-point energy
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which has become unbalanced due to the presence of the plates, and
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which results in the plates being pushed together.
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From this it would seem that it might be possible to extract
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electrical energy from the vacuum, and indeed the possibility of
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doing so (at least in principle) has been shown in a paper of that
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same name by Robert Forward (4) at Hughes Research Laboratories in
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Malibu, California.
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What does this have to do with our basic questions? Let's start
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with the question as top why the electron in a simple hydrogen
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atom doesn't radiate as it circles the proton in its stable ground
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state atomic orbit.
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This issue has been re-addressed in a recent paper by the author,
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this time taking into account what has been learned over the years
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about the effects of zero-point energy. (5) There it is shown
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that the electron can be seen as continually radiating away its
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energy as predicted by classical theory, but simultaneously
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absorbing a compensating amount of energy from the ever-present
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sea of zero-point energy in which the atomm is immersed, and an
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assumed equilibrium between these two processes leads to the
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correct values for the parameters known to define the ground-state
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orbit.
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Thus the ground-state orbit is set by a dynamic equilibrium in
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which collapse of the state is prevented by the presence of the
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zero-point energy. The significance of this observation is that
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the very stability of matter itself appears to depend on the
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presence of the underlying sea of electromagnetic zero-point
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energy.
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With regard to the gravitational attraction that is described so
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well by Einstein's theory, its fundamental nature is still not
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well understood. Whether addressed simply in terms of Newton's
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Law, or with the full rigor of general relativity, gravitational
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theory is basically descriptive in nature, without revealing the
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underlying dynamics for that description.
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As a result, attempts to unify gravity with the other forces
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(electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear forces) or to develop a
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quantum theory of gravity have foundered again and again on
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difficulties that can be traced back to a lack of understanding at
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a fundamental level.
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To rectify these difficulties, theorists by and large have
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resorted to ever-increasing levels of mathematical sophistication
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and abstraction, as in the recent development of supergravity and
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superstring theories.
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Page 3
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Taking a completely different tack when addressing these
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difficulties in the sixties, the well-known Russian physicist
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Andrei Sakharov put forward the somewhat radical hypothesis that
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gravitation might not be a fundamental interaction at all, but
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rather a secondary or residual effect associated with other (non-
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gravitational) fields. (6)
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Specifically, Sakharov suggested that gravity might be an induced
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effect brought about by changes in the zero-point energy of the
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vacuum, due to the presence of matter.
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If correct, gravity would then be understood as a variation on the
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Casimir theme, in which background zero-point-energy pressures
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were again responsible.
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Although Sakharov did not develop the concept much further, he did
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outline certain criteria such a theory would have to meet such as
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predicting the value of the gravitational constant G in terms of
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zero-point-energy parameters.
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The approach to gravity outlined by Sakharov has recently been
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addressed in detail, and with positive reults, again by the
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author. (7)
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The gravitational interaction is shown to begin with the fact that
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a particle situated in the sea of electromagnetic zero-point
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fluctuations develops a "jitter" motion, or ZITTERBEWEGUNG as it
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is called.
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When there are two or more particles they are each influenced not
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only by the fluctuating background field, but also by the fields
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generated by the other particles, all similarly undergoing
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ZITTERBEWEGUNG motion, and the inter-particle coupling due to
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these fields results in the attractive gravitational force.
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Gravity can thus be understood as a kind of long-range Casimir
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force. Because of its electromagnetic unerpinning, gravitational
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theory in this form constitutes what is known in the literature as
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an "already-unified" theory.
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The major benefit of the new approach is that it provides a basis
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for understanding various characteristics of the gravitational
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interaction hitherto unexplained.
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These include the relative weakness of the gravitational force
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under ordinary circumstances (shown to be due to the fact that the
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coupling constant G depends inversely on the large value of the
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high-frequency cutoff of the zero-point-fluctuation spectrum); the
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existence of positive but not negative mass (traceable to a
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positive-only kinetic-energy basis for the mass parameter); and
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the fact that gravity cannot be shielded (a consequence of the
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fact that quantum zero-point-fluctuation "noise" in general cannot
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be shielded, a factor which in other contexts sets a lower limit
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on the detectability of electromagnetic signals).
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As to where the ubiquitous electromagnetic zero-point energy comes
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from, historically there have been two schools of thought:
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existence by fiat as part of the boundary conditions of the
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universe, or generation by the (quantum-fluctuation) motion of
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charged particles that constitute matter.
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Page 4
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A straightforward calculation of the latter possibility has
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recently been carried out by the author. (8)
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It was assumed that zero-point fields drive particle motion, and
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that the sum of particle motions throughout the universe in turn
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generate the zero-point fields, in the form of a self-regenerating
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cosmological feedback cycle not unlike a cat chasing its own tail.
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This self-constistent approach yielded the known zero-point field
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distribution, thus indicating a dynamic-generation process for the
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zero-point fields.
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Now as to the question of why quantum theory. Although knowledge
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of zero-point fields emerged from quantum physics as that subject
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matured, Professor Timothy Boyer at City College in New York took
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a contrary view.
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He bagan asking in the late sixties what would happen if we took
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classical physics as it was<61>and inroduced a background of random,
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clasical fluctuating fields of the zero-point spectral
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distribution type. Could such an all-classical model reproduce
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quantum theory in its entirety, and might this possibility have
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been overlooked by the founders of quantum theory who were not
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aware of the existence of such a fluctuating background field?
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(First, it is clear from the previously-mentioned cosmological
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calculation that such a field distribution would reproduce itself
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on a continuing dynamic basis.)
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Boyer began by tackling the problems that led to the introduction
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of quantum theory in the first place, such as the blackbody
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radiation curve and the photoelectric effect. One by one the
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known quantum results were reproduced by this upstart neoclassical
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approach, now generally referred to as Stochastic Electrodynamics
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(SED) (9), as contrasted to quantum electrodynamics (QED).
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Indeed, Milonni at Los Alamos noted in a review of the Boyer work
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that had physicists in 1900 thought of taking this route, they
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would probably have been more comfortable with this classical
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approach than with Planck's hypothesis of the quantum, and one can
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only speculate as to the direction that physics would have taken
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then.
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The list of topics successfully analyzed within the SED
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formulation (i.e., yielding precise quantitative agreement with
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QED treatments) has now been extended to include the harmonic
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oscillator, Casimir and Van der Waals forces and the thermal
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effects of acceleration through the vacuum, to name a few.
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Out of this work emerged the reasons for such phenomena as the
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uncertainty principle, the incessant fluctuation of particle
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motion, the existence of Van der Waals forces even at zero
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temperature, and so forth, all shown to be due to the influence of
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the unceasing activity of the random background fields.
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There are also some notable failures in SED, such as transparent
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derivation of something as simple as Schrodinger's equation, which
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turns out as yet to be an intractable problem.
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Therefore, it is unlikely that quantum theory as we have come to
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Page 5
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know it and love it will be entirely replaced by a refurbished
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classical theory in the near future.
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Nonetheless, the successes to date of the SED approach, by its
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highlighting of the role of background zero-point-fluctuations,
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means that when the final chapter is written on quantum theory,
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field fluctuations in empty space will be accorded an honored
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position.
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And now to the preeminent question of all, where did the Universe
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come from? Or, in modern terminology, what started the Big Bang?
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Could quantum fluctuations of empty space have something to do
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with this also?
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Well, Prof. Edward Tryon of Hunter College of the City University
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of New York thought so when he proposed in 1973 that our Universe
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may have originated as a fluctuation of the vacuum on a large
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scale, as "simply one of those things which happen from time to
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time." (10)
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This idea was later refined and updated within the context of
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inflationary cosmology by Alexander Vilenkin of Tufts University,
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who proposed that the universe is created by quantum tunneling
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from literally nothing into the something we call our universe.
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(11)
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Although highly speculative, these types of models indicate once
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again that physicists find themselves turning again and again to
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the Void (and the fluctuations thereof) for their answers.
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Those with a practical bent of mind may be left with yet one more
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unanswered question. Can this emerging Rosetta Stone of physics
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be used to translate such lofty insights into mundane application?
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Could the engineer of the future specialize in "vacuum
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engineering?" Could the energy crisis be solved by harnessing the
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energies of the zero-point sea?
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After all, since the basic zero-point energy form is highly random
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in nature, and tending towards self-cancellation, if a way could
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be found to bring order out of chaos, the, because of the highly
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energetic nature of the vacuum fluctuations, relatively large
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effects could in principle be produced.
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Given our relative ignorance at this point, we must fall back on a
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quote given by Podolny (12) when contemplating this same issue.
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"It would be just as presumptuous to deny the feasibility of
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useful application as it would be irresponsible to guarantee such
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application."
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Only the future can reveal the ultimate use to which Mankind will
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put this remaining Fire of the Gods, the quantum fluctuations of
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empty space.
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Page 6
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REFERENCES
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1. R. Podolny, "Something Called Nothing" (Mir Publ., Moscow,
|
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1986)
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2. W. E. Lamb, Jr., and R. C. Retherford, "Fine Structure of the
|
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|
|
Hydrogen Atom by a Microwave Method," Phys. Rev.
|
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|
|
72, 241 (1947)
|
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|
|
|
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|
|
3. P. W. Milonni, R. J. Cook and M. E. Goggin, "Radiation
|
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|
|
Pressure from the Vacuum : Physical
|
|||
|
|
Interpretation of the Casimir Force," Phys. Rev.
|
|||
|
|
A 38, 1621 (1988)
|
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|
|
|
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|
|
4. R. L. Forward, "Extracting Electrical Energy from the Vacuum
|
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|
|
by Cohesion of Charged Foliated Conductors,"
|
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|
|
Phys. Rev. B 30, 1700 (1984)
|
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|
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|
|
5. H. E. Puthoff, "Ground State of Hydrogen as a Zero-Point
|
|||
|
|
Fluctuation-Determined State," Phys. Rev. D 35,
|
|||
|
|
3266 (1987)
|
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|
|
See also science news article, "Why Atoms Don't Collapse," in
|
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|
|
New Scientist, p. 26 (9 July 1987)
|
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|
|
|
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|
|
6. A. D. Sakharov, "Vacuum Quantum Fluctuations in Curved Space
|
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|
|
and the Theory of Gravitation, Dokl. Akad. Nauk.
|
|||
|
|
SSSR (Sov. Phys. - Dokl. 12, 1040 (1968).
|
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|
|
See also discussion in C. W. Misner, K. S. Thorne and J. A.
|
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|
|
Wheeler, Gravitation (Freeman, San Francisco,
|
|||
|
|
1973), p. 426
|
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|
|
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|
|
7. H. E. Puthoff, "Gravity as a Zero-Point Fluctuation Force,"
|
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|
|
Phys. Rev. A 39, 2333 (1989)
|
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|
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|
|
8. H. E. Puthoff, "Source of Vacuum Electromagnetic Zero-Point
|
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|
|
Energy," subm. to Phys. Rev. A, (March 1989)
|
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|
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|
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|
|
9. See review of SED by T. H. Boyer, "A Brief Survey of
|
|||
|
|
Stochastic Electrodynamics," in Foundations of
|
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|
|
Radiation Theory and Quantum Electrodynamics,
|
|||
|
|
edited by A. O. Barut (Plenum, New York, 1980)
|
|||
|
|
See also the very readable account "The Classical Vacuum," in
|
|||
|
|
Scientific American, p. 70 (August 1985)
|
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|
|
|
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|
|
10. E. P. Tryon, "Is the Universe a Vacuum Fluctuation?" Nature
|
|||
|
|
246, 396 (1973)
|
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|
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|
|
11. A. Vilenkin, "Creation of Universes from Nothing," Phys.
|
|||
|
|
Lett. 117B, 25 (1982)
|
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|
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|
12. R. Podolny, Ref. 1, p. 211
|
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|
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|
We of Vangard Sciences wish to express our thanks to Dr. Puthoff
|
|||
|
|
for allowing us to list his excellent paper on Zero Point Energy
|
|||
|
|
on the KeelyNet. If you have questions or comments, you may
|
|||
|
|
address them to KeelyNet or
|
|||
|
|
directly to Dr. Puthoff at the address on the title page.
|
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|
|
Thank you for using KeelyNet!
|
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Page 7
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