Harnessing Zero-Point Energy

Chas Blakemore
December 10, 2017
Submitted as coursework for PH240, Stanford University, Fall 2017

Introduction
From the fictional universe of Stargate Atlantis and Marvel Comic's Realm of Kings to NASA's Eagleworks
Propulsion laboratory, zero-point energy, also known as vacuum energy, is touted as a potentially limitless
and ubiquitous source of energy, if one can only find the means to harness it. [1] Zero-point energy can be
formulated in a few different ways, but in its most basic form, it is the minimal yet non-zero energy of a
quantum mechanical system. In quantum field theory, zero-point energy can be considered by computing the
expected energy of the zero photon mode. [2] In a system with no physical boundaries, the expected energy of
the zero photon mode diverges! Yet, if this energy uniformly permeates all of space-time, it is not directly
observable.

Conceptual Framework
For pedagogical reasons, we will consider the popular formulation of zero-point energy. The most interesting
and relevant framework for zero-point energy can be understood from the quantum field theory for photons
and electrons: quantum electrodynamics. Glossing over an exceptional amount of mathematical and
conceptual background, the energy of a state in quantum field theory is computed as an expectation of a
Hamiltonian, <H>, which describes the energy of the state in terms of operators acting on wavefunctions. The
final computation usually requires an integral over the allowed momenta of particles in the state.

Following Schwartz, we can compute the energy of a zero-photon vacuum state with infinite boundaries, a Fig. 1: Demonstration of the force resulting
system that is in no way physical, realizable or complete in it's description, but pedagogical nonetheless. [2] from discrepancies in the energies of vacuum
Again glossing over much of the background information (which we encourage the interested reader to states, and thus pressure exerted on
peruse in reference [2]), we find that, Evac = <H> ∝ ∫ k3 dk → ∞. And thus we see that the expected energy boundaries. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

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of the vacuum state diverges! Of course this isn't truly a physical system as no other particles are present and there are no boundaries, but it illustrates the idea of
energy present in empty space.

A Dutch physicist by the name of Hendrik Casimir took this formalism even farther and considered a slightly more physical system consisting of a conducting
and hollow cube of side length L in vacuum. [3] Within this cube is a conducting square plate of side length L, parallel, and positioned in close proximity, to one
of the sides of the cube. He then computed two energies: the energy of the zero-photon state, or electromagnetic vacuum state, in the region bounded by the two
closely separated planes; and the energy of the vacuum state in the rest of the cube. The two quantities are different as the boundary conditions only allow
certain modes, or standing waves, to exist in either region.

Formally, both energies are divergent, yet the difference between the two expressions is well-defined and can be manipulated to compute a force. Casimir
interpreted this as an interaction between the closely separated plates and found that there is an attractive force that falls off sharply with separation. A cross-
section of the geometry of the two plates and the resulting force is illustrated in Fig 1., where the force is given by the rather simple expression, F =
(π2ℏc/240a4) L2 for some separation a. Although the effect is exceptionally small, he predicted "an experimental confirmation seems not unfeasible and might
be of a certain interest". [3]

This calculation ignores a significant number of things, such as physical properties of the metals constituting Casimir's box. However, different materials, either
metal or non-metal, simply change the coefficient of the computed force, while the dependence on separation and surface area remain the same.

Experimental Verification
So we've seen that there is a reasonable theoretical framework for the energy associated to electromagnetic vacuum states, and that certain electrode geometries
can provide indirect means to observe these vacuum energies. One then might ask, has such a thing been experimentally verified. Although there was a
dedicated measurement in 1958 by M. J. Sparnaay, he only found that his measurements did not contradict Casimir's prediction, and indeed they were far from
precise. [4]

More recently, circa 1997, a physicist at the University of Washington made use of a torsion pendulum to measure the force been two conductors: one flat and
the other hemispherical. [5] He found that at separations of less than 1 micron, there was a comparatively substantial force between the plates that was most
readily explained by Casimir's predicted interaction. He took into account modifications to the force from the differing geometry, finite conductivity of real
metals, and backgrounds due to both thermal and electrostatic effects. This was the first direct observation and statistically sound analysis to verify the force
which Casimir had postulated almost 50 years before.

Since 1997, there has been a wealth of work dedicated to constraining some of the finer and more finicky details of the Casimir effect, as well as studies that
have observed other phenomenon associated to vacuum energy, oft referred to as corollaries of the original Casimir effect. The interested reader might try
investigating the plasma model vs. the Drude model or the Dynamical Casimir Effect.

The Ultimate Goal: Thrust Without Fuel

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 Measuring a force between two metal plates is all well and good (exceptional in fact), but the pragmatist
might wonder what use could come of said measurement, or even the applicability of the driving theory itself.
With this line of thinking, we finally return to our first reference: an alleged measurement of thrust from a
"Casimir Rocket" at NASA's Eagleworks Laboratories. [1] By investigating the relatively new realm of
observable consequences of quantum vacuum fluctuations, and making use of highly-skilled space-flight
engineers, NASA hopes to construct a propulsion system that does not require a fuel, only energy in the form
of electrical power.

To power rockets and provide thrust, current space-flight technologies depend almost entirely on the use of
chemicals as fuels, including liquid oxygen, hydrazine, composite solid fuels, and many more. The most
significant disadvantage of such a fuel is the fixed thrust to weight ratio. If you want more thrust, or thrust for
a longer period of time, you need to bring more fuel. It would be much nicer if you could bring along a little
solar-powered space engine, of fixed weight, and get it to push your spaceship around. But what would
provide the thrust?

NASA's answer: quantum vacuum fluctuations. And thus Eagleworks was born. Their aim is to make use of
complex and highly-specialized conducting cavities to generate a thrust that "pushes" against the vacuum of
space by directing the flow of virtual electrons and positrons generated from a standing radio-frequency wave
Fig. 2: Photograph of the thruster cavity inside the closed cavity. If this were possible, all it would need is a little electricity and the only barrier
(copper, left), its supporting structure and between humankind and a future in the stars would be the time it takes to get anywhere.
enclosing vacuum chamber (rear). (Source:
Wikimedia Commons) In fact, Eagleworks has recently published a paper detailing a supposed, and exceedingly contentious,
measurement of thrust from a prototype Electromagnetic (EM) Drive, depicted in Fig. 2. [1] Their initial
2014 test was not performed in vacuum, which led a number of opponents to claim the thrust was likely due to convection of heat induced by the source of the
electromagnetic driving field. However, their recent publication involves a more precise measurement performed in vacuum, which can often be decidedly more
conclusive. As with the Great Superluminal Scare of 2011, NASA's result requires extensive scrutiny and where possible, reproduction.

Opposition
As was mentioned before, this measurement of thrust generated by pushing against the vacuum of spacetime has significant opposition from the physics
community, and rightly so. The most obvious issue is a simple violation of conservation of momentum. NASA has claimed to build a "thruster" which, in
theory, can propel itself from rest without ejecting either matter or photons. Trivially, pfinal ≠ pinitial which is a problem! Although unlikely, it is possible that the
drive is generating thrust by ejecting some other type of weakly-interacting particle, maybe even through a mechanism not currently encoded by the Standard
Model.

All physical arguments aside, the measurement claimed supposedly observes a thrust of 10s of micro-Newtons, with a slow (1/f) drift on the order of 100s of
micro-Newtons. [1] Purely from a metrological standpoint, this type of measurement is fraught with error, even using techniques to identify signals by their

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spectral properties. In time, it's possible that better measurements could be made.

Conclusions
Harnessing energy and thrust from the vacuum of space would be undeniably astounding, and is the main project goal at NASA's Eagleworks labs. Yet, such an
idea must contend with physical laws like simple conservation of momentum and would benefit from a well-described mechanism, even if it's only an effective
description.

Recently in 2017, vacuum fluctuations have allegedly been demonstrated to provide thrust in a prototype EM drive. This is preposterous measurement that is is
physically impossible, both from fundamental arguments and a metrological standpoint, as the brief discussion above demonstrated.

© Chas Blakemore. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing
guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes
only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.

References
[1] H. White et al., "Measurement of Impulsive Thrust from a Closed Radio-Frequency Cavity in Vacuum," J. Propul. Power 33, 830 (2017).

[2] M. D. Schwartz, Quantum Field Theory and The Standard Model (Cambridge University Press, 2013).

[3] H. B. G. Casimir, "On the Attraction Between Two Perfectly Conducting Plates," Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch. Proc. 51, 793 (1948).

[4] M. J. Sparnaay, "Measurements of the Attractive Forces Between Flat Plates," Physica 24, 751 (1958).

[5] S. K. Lamoreaux, "Demonstration of the Casimir Force in the 0.6 to 6 μm Range," Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 5 (1997).

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