Plunger Physics and the Casimir Effect

Plunger Physics and the Casimir Effect

How and Why would one think about solving the World's Energy Problems with a Photonic Plunger? That boggles my mind...:)

This is another case of Physics going down the toilet..:)

I couldn't resist the pun..:)

Oh no, there I go again...

Since I was forced to think about UFOs, Energy from Vacuum etc... I might as well provide you with another interpretation of the Casimir Effect and its implications. In the prior blog I brought about answered questions about Ball Lightening and Kiril Chucanov quest to solve energy problems with microwave ovens and plasma balls. Now I will tackle another fashionable Ponzi Scheme for Getting Rich Quickly (in energy terms, of course) - Energy from Zero Point Fluctuations and the Casimir Effect...

This effect is the basis for the hope for energy out of nothing. There is nothing wrong with asking something for nothing...:) The problem is that most people don't know how to ask...:)

Don't ask me from where did I get my inspiration for this blog...:)

Let's first analyse what is involved in the Casimir Effect. This is the observation of an attractive force when two metalic plates are placed very close...:)

Where there is a force, there is the possibility of extracting work or energy..>:)

The problem with Casimir effect is that everyone knows how to measure the attractive force and how to use it to justify seeking an infinite source of energy out of electromagnetic vacuum...write those grant proposals, executive summaries...:) I say electromagnetic because one needs metalic plates to observe the phenomenon and of course, the derivation involves electromagnetic modes..

Let's consider another physical experiment - I will not try to make a Gedanken Experiment in this special situation...:)

Let' consider Plunger A on contact with a metalic surface B. Under those conditions there are no forces between A and B. Now let's expel the air between Plunger A and Metalic Surface B....:)

Now, suddenly an attractive force appears out of nowhere...:)

Notice that nobody asks if there is a way to solve the world's energy problems using a plunger...:)

The reason is because everyone knows that it takes work to expel the air from the plunger...If you ever get anything out of it, it will be the work you put in...

That is, you get out what you put in...

The attractive force will never create a useful work...:) It is in the wrong direction to begin with...:) This is even more true in the Casimir Effect experimental setup...

I guess, in the plunger experiment it is difficult to see how one gets the energy back, but I am sure you get it back. As air slowly gets into the space between A and B, it pushes A out and returns the work, adiabatically.

In the Casimir effect everyone talks about the attraction between the plates, but not about the work done to get the plates together. That is a logical flaw in this pursuit of infinite energy out of nothing...:)

Of course, the plunger being pushed towards the metalic plate is due to the collision of the molecules in the air (air pressure). If you remember that photons also carry momentum (have this particle-like character in addition to having a wavelenght) and that the proximity of the plates also displace them (shrinks the phase space available for stationary modes), then the analogy becomes obvious. Photonic pressure is the source of the Casimir Effect..:)

The plates in a Casimir Effect experiment are nothing more than a Photonic Plunger...:)

The simple answer is that in this case, you get what you put in... Nothing else..:)

We (I) know that the Universe is a Free Lunch...:)

You people have to learn how think a little better to be invited for some free food...:)

Cheers,

MP

ps- if there is an interest, I wold be happy to explain the Kohn anomaly and its relationship with superconductivity...:) By now, it should be self-evident what I would say...:)

Let's see a show of hands..:)