Test of zero-point energy emission from gases flowing through Casimir cavities

A recently issued patent [1] describes a method by which vacuum energy is extracted from gas flowing through a Casimir cavity. According to stochastic electrodynamics, the electronic orbitals in atoms are supported by the ambient zero-point (ZP) field. When the gas atoms are pumped into a Casimir cavity, where long-wavelength ZP field modes are excluded, the electrons spin down into lower energy orbitals and release energy in the process. This energy is collected in a local absorber. When the electrons exit the Casimir cavity they are re-energized to their original orbitals by the ambient ZP fields. The process is repeated to produce continuous power. In this way, the device functions like a heat pump for ZP energy, extracting it globally from the electromagnetic quantum vacuum and collecting it in a local absorber. This energy can be used for heating, or converted to electric power. We carried out a series of experiments to test whether energy is, in fact, radiated from Casimir cavities when the appropriate gas flows through them. The Casimir cavity devices we tested were nanopore polycarbonate membranes with submicron pores having a density of 3x10 pores/cm. Gas was pumped through the membranes in a stainless steel vacuum system, and emitted energy was measured using a broadband pyroelectric detector and lock-in amplifier. Emission in the infrared was clearly observed. We analyzed the emission from different gases and cavities to determine its origin. None of the conventional thermodynamic models we applied to our data fully explain it, leaving open the possibility that it is due to Casimir-cavity-induced emission from ZP fields. © 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Institute for Advanced Studies in the Space, Propulsion and Energy Sciences PACS: 84.60._h