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Reply to ‘‘Comment on ‘Gravity as a zero-point-fluctuation force’ ’’
Abstract
Although mathematically self-consistent, Carlip’s approach to the reanalysis of Sakharov gravity is flawed by the neglect of important physical constraints associated with the interaction, and leads to an incorrect 1/R4 spatial dependence for the force. When appropriate physical cutoffs are incorporated into the modeling, however, inverse-square-law Newtonian gravity emerges as originally derived.
... Although quite speculative when first introduced by Sakharov in 1967, this hypothesis has led to a rich literature on quantum-fluctuation-induced gravity. (The latter includes an attempt by one of the au-thors to flesh out the details of the Sakharov proposal [9], though difficulties remain [10]). Given the possibility of a deep connection between gravity and the zero-point fluctuations of the vacuum, it would therefore appear that a potential route to gravity decoupling would be via control of vacuum fluctuations. ...
A theme that has come to the fore in advanced planning for long-range space exploration is the concept of "propellantless propulsion" or "field propulsion." One version of this concept involves the projected possibility that empty space itself (the quantum vacuum, or space-time metric) might be manipulated so as to provide energy/thrust for future space vehicles. Although such a proposal has a certain science-fiction quality about it, modern theory describes the vacuum as a polarizable medium that sustains energetic quantum fluctuations. Thus the possibility that matter/vacuum interactions might be engineered for space-flight applications is not a priori ruled out, although certain constraints need to be acknowledged. The structure and implications of such a far-reaching hypothesis are considered herein.
... • There already is extensive theoretical, and more importantly, experimental research proving that the vacuum can be engineered (or physically modified) so that the vacuum ZPE can be exploited (via the Casimir Effect, for example) to extract electrical energy or actuate microelectromechanical devices (see for example, Ambjφrn and Wolfram, 1983;Forward, 1984Forward, , 1996Forward, , 1998Puthoff, 1990Puthoff, , 1993aCole and Puthoff, 1993;Milonni, 1994;Mead and Nachamkin, 1996;Lamoreaux, 1997;Chan et al., 2001; and the references cited therein). But most of this research involves very low energy density regimes. ...
This study was tasked with the purpose of conducting a thorough literature and program search to carry out and document a technical assessment of the latest concepts in science and engineering that show promise of leading to a major advance in Earth-to-orbit (ETO) propulsion. The study also reviewed and evaluated a select number of credible far-term breakthrough propulsion physics concepts pertaining to R&D work done on or related to gravity/inertia modification, spacetime metric modification, and the extraction of energy from the space vacuum environment. The results of the study are presented and summarized in this report. A combined bibliography of advanced propulsion references was assembled and is presented. The report includes an overview of the recent history and present state-of-the-art of ETO launch vehicle and propulsion concepts. Also included is an outline and summary of the criteria and operative guidelines that the author used to examine, select and recommend advanced propulsion concepts. The author identified and selected five promising advanced propulsion concepts, and provides a detailed technical evaluation of their breakthrough potential for ETO propulsion.
... He quantitatively examines the van der Waals force-like interactions between two driven oscillating dipoles and derives an inverse square force of attraction. This part of the analysis has been challenged by Carlip [44], to which Puthoff has responded [45] , but, since problems remain, this aspect of the ZPF-gravitation concept requires further theoretical development, in particular the implementation of a fully relativistic model. Clearly the ZPF-inertia and the ZPF-gravitation concepts must stand or fall together, given the principle of equivalence. ...
Previous studies of the physics of a classical electromagnetic zero-point field (ZPF) have implicated it as a possible basis for a number of quantum phenomena. Recent work implies that the ZPF may play an even more significant role as the source of inertia and gravitation of matter. Furthermore, this close link between electromagnetism and inertia suggests that it may be fruitful to investigate to what extent the fundamental physical process of electromagnetic radiation by accelerated charged particles could be interpreted as scattering of ambient ZPF radiation. This could also bear upon the origin of radiation reaction and on the existence of the same Planck function underlying both thermal emission and the acceleration-dependent Davies--Unruh effect. If these findings are substantiated by further investigations, a paradigm shift would be necessitated in physics. An overview of these concepts is presented thereby outlining a research agenda which could ultimately lead to revolutionary technologies.
In previous work it has been shown that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, or electromagnetic zero‐point field, makes a contribution to the inertial reaction force on an accelerated object. We show that the result for inertial mass can be extended to passive gravitational mass. As a consequence the weak equivalence principle, which equates inertial to passive gravitational mass, appears to be explainable. This in turn leads to a straightforward derivation of the classical Newtonian gravitational force. We call the inertia and gravitation connection with the vacuum fields the quantum vacuum inertia hypothesis. To date only the electromagnetic field has been considered. It remains to extend the hypothesis to the effects of the vacuum fields of the other interactions. We propose an idealized experiment involving a cavity resonator which, in principle, would test the hypothesis for the simple case in which only electromagnetic interactions are involved. This test also suggests a basis for the free parameter η(ν) which we have previously defined to parametrize the interaction between charge and the electromagnetic zero‐point field contributing to the inertial mass of a particle or object.
A model of a three-dimensional quantum vacuum based on Planck energy density as a universal property of a granular space is suggested. The possibility to provide an unifying explanation of dark matter and dark energy as phenomena linked with the fluctuations of the three-dimensional quantum vacuum is explored. The changes and fluctuations of the quantum vacuum energy density generate a curvature of space–time similar to the curvature produced by a “dark energy” density. The formation of large scale structures in the universe associated to the flattening of the orbital speeds of the spiral galaxies can be explained in terms of primary fluctuations of the quantum vacuum energy density without attracting the idea of dark matter.
This NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Workshop seeks to explore concepts that could someday enable interstellar travel. The efiective superluminal motion proposed by Alcubierre (1994) to be a possibility owing to theoretically allowed space-time metric distortions within general relativity has since been shown by Pfenning and Ford (1997) to be physically unattainable. A number of other hypothetical possibilities have been summarized by Millis (1997). We present herein an overview of a concept that has implications for radically new propulsion possibilities and has a basis in theoretical physics: the hypothesis that the inertia and gravitation of matter originate in electromagetic interactions between the zero-point fleld (ZPF) and the quarks and electrons constituting atoms. A new derivation of the connection between the ZPF and inertia has been carried through that is properly co-variant, yielding the relativistic equation of motion from Maxwell's equations. This opens new possibilites, but also rules out the basis of one hypothetical propulsion mechanism: Bondi's \negative inertial mass," appears to be an impossibility.
Recently it has been experimentally demonstrated that non-local (instantaneous) communication between two beams of light (spin direction) can randomly occur. The effect is described as a consequence of the physics of quantum mechanics. Other research has experimentally demonstrated that the zero point radiation/fields (ZPF), which pervade space-time, can effectively be shielded so as to force two parallel plates together (Casimir effect). The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is investigating the possibility that a spinning superconductor can cause a reduction in the weight of nearby objects. Recent ultrahigh-intensity, peta/eta-watt tabletop lasers have achieved extreme electric and magnetic fields, pressure, temperature and space-time curvature that can only be found close to a black hole horizon. Based on these research and experimental efforts, some examples of space experiment and materials/technology testing approaches have been examined to determine the feasibility and potential benefits of using the International Space Station (ISS) to address breakthrough propulsion physics and technology challenges. The ISS's microgravity environment, combined with the access to an extreme vacuum and plasma environment, offers some unique advantages for the testing of various electromagnetically "sensitive" materials, and associated physical interactions. The use of this space laboratory could enable much more rapid progress in the identification and optimization of anomalous and highly nonlinear effects. A modular Breakthrough Propulsion Physics testbed could be developed using one or two mid-deck locker equivalent volumes in a pressurized Express Rack, which would enable the operation or testing of various experiments and devices as part of a long duration, breakthrough physics and technology testing program. Similarly, an Express Pallet adapter site could be used as a breakthrough propulsion physics testbed for those experiments or technology demonstrations which require direct access to the space environment and larger operating volumes. Breakthrough propulsion physics experiments could also be integrated into (or use extra space in or on) micro-/nano- technology (MNT) experiments which are already under development. The International Space Station's research capabilities provide important opportunities for achieving early breakthroughs in physics understanding, and the associated materials/technology interactions, needed to accelerate advances in space vehicle/platform maneuvering and transport.
We analyze the proposal that gravity may originate from a van der Waals type of residual force between particles due to the vacuum electromagnetic zero-point field. Starting from the Casimir-Polder integral, we show that the proposed approach can be analyzed directly, without recourse to approximations previously made. We conclude that this approach to Newtonian gravity does not work, at least not with this particular starting point. Only by imposing different or additional physical constraints, or by treating the underlying dynamics differently than what are embodied in the inherently subrelativistic Casimir-Polder integral, can one expect to escape this conclusion.
Improvements in our knowledge of the absolute value of the Newtonian gravitational constant, G, have come very slowly over the years. Most other constants of nature are known (and some even predictable) to parts per billion, or parts per million at worst. However, G stands mysteriously alone, its history being that of a quantity which is extremely difficult to measure and which remains virtually isolated from the theoretical structure of the rest of physics. Several attempts aimed at changing this situation are now underway, but the most recent experimental results have once again produced conflicting values of G and, in spite of some progress and much interest, there remains to date no universally accepted way of predicting its absolute value. The review will assess the role of G in physics, examine the status of attempts to derive its value and provide an overview of the experimental efforts that are directed at increasing the accuracy of its determination. Regarding the latter, emphasis will be placed on describing the instrumentational aspects of the experimental work. Related topics that are also discussed include the search for temporal variation of G and recent investigations of possible anomalous gravitational effects that lie outside of presently accepted theories.
In previous work it has been shown that the electromagnetic quantum vacuum, or electromagnetic zero-point field, makes a contribution to the inertial reaction force on an accelerated object. We show that the result for inertial mass can be extended to passive gravitational mass. As a consequence the weak equivalence principle, which equates inertial to passive gravitational mass, appears to be explainable. This in turn leads to a straightforward derivation of the classical Newtonian gravitational force. We call the inertia and gravitation connection with the vacuum fields the quantum vacuum inertia hypothesis. To date only the electromagnetic field has been considered. It remains to extend the hypothesis to the effects of the vacuum fields of the other interactions. We propose an idealized experiment involving a cavity resonator which, in principle, would test the hypothesis for the simple case in which only electromagnetic interactions are involved. This test also suggests a basis for the free parameter η(ν) which we have previously defined to parametrize the interaction between charge and the electromagnetic zero-point field contributing to the inertial mass of a particle or object.
Sakharov has proposed a suggestive model in which gravity is not a separately existing fundamental force, but rather an induced effect associated with zero-point fluctuations (ZPF's) of the vacuum, in much the same manner as the van der Waals and Casimir forces. In the spirit of this proposal we develop a point-particle--ZPF interaction model that accords with and fulfills this hypothesis. In the model gravitational mass and its associated gravitational effects are shown to derive in a fully self-consistent way from electromagnetic-ZPF-induced particle motion (Zitterbewegung). Because of its electromagnetic-ZPF underpinning, gravitational theory in this form constitutes an ''already unified'' theory.
The large-separation asymptotic forms for the retarded van der Waals forces between a neutral polarizable particle and a conducting wall, and between two neutral polarizable particles, are derived from classical electromagnetism under the assumption that the universe contains fluctuating classical electromagnetic radiation with a Lorentz-invariant spectrum (classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation). These forces were first calculated by Casimir and Polder from quantum electrodynamics, and then recalculated by Casimir using ideas of zero-point energy. The present calculation involves purely classical electromagnetic attractions between classical oscillators driven by fluctuating classical radiation.
The van der Waals forces between a polarizable particle and a conducting wall and between two polarizable particles are calculated within the theory of classical electrodynamics with classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation. This theory assumes the differential equations of traditional classical electrodynamics but changes the homogeneous boundary condition on Maxwell's equations to correspond to the presence of random classical electromagnetic radiation with a Lorentz-invariant spectrum. The van der Waals force calculations are performed exactly within the nonrelativistic equations of motion for the particles represented as point-dipole oscillators. The classical results are found to agree identically to all orders in the fine-structure constant α with the nonrelativistic quantum electrodynamic calculations of Renne. To fourth order, there is agreement with the perturbation-theory work of Casimir and Polder.
A paper by H. Puthoff [Phys. Rev. A 39, 2333 (1989)], which claims to derive Newtonian gravity from stochastic electrodynamics, contains a serious computational error. When the calculation is corrected, the resulting force is shown to be nongravitational and negligible.