ENVR 110 |
| In 1912 Max Plank upgraded his quantum theory realizing that the ground state is half a Plank's constant and not equal to zero. The famous chemist Walter Nernst expanded this concept to space itself, stating that the vacuum must be filed with energy in the form of quantum fluctuations. Feynman, Tomonaga and Schwinger formed the modern quantum field theory, in which empty space is full of energy. The sum of these quantum fluctuations is the energy density of space. These fluctuations give rise to a number of effects including van der Waals force and the Casimir effect. The author will present his measurements of the Casimir force and concepts how this vast energy resource can be tapped to power new energy technologies. The knowledge of this sea of energy that we live in is very useful for technologies such as catalytic hydrogen production, plasma-, magnetic technologies and advanced nuclear chemistry. |
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New Energy Technology
1:30 PM-4:25 PM, Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Doubletree -- Maestro B, Oral
Division of Environmental Chemistry |