1) Flexible Batteries - Never need to be replaced
2) Energy for the Next 1000 Years - Foundation for the Future Workshop
3) Cheaper Solar Cells - Synthetic dyes much like cholorophyll
4) High Efficiency Solar Cells - StarSolar photonic crystal traps light
5) Zero Point Energy: The Fuel of the Future - Review copies available
6) Superconductors Inspire Test for Dark Energy - Acceleration seen in rotating ring
Extract: 2) An Amazing Conference on Energy
David Houle, April 4, 2007, Evolution Shift, http://www.evolutionshift.com/blog/2007/04/04/an-amazing-conference-on-energy/
This past weekend I had the great good fortune to attend a three day energy
conference attended by some of the world’s greatest energy experts. Thanks to
the good graces of the Foundation for
the Future I was invited to attend the conference as an observer. The
Foundation invited 15 of the foremost physicists and energy experts in the world
to come together for three days of presentations and discussions on the future
of energy. An additional 15 or so people were invited to attend as
observers.
The name of the conference was “Energy Challenges: The next Thousand
Years”. The goal was to “consider all potential sources and technologies for
energy production over three time frames: the near term (rest of this century),
the medium term (next few centuries), and the longer term (thousand-year
future), as well as the challenges facing humans on the planet in developing and
implementing self-sufficient strategies for energy”. This framework was shaped
by the mission of the Foundation for the Future, which is to continue to look
toward the long term future of humanity, under the umbrella “Humanity Three
Thousand”.
This structure led to two clear results. First some incredibly interesting
discussions of long term energy solutions, some that are available to develop,
and some that are almost beyond the minds of even physicists to fully
comprehend. I will take a look at some of these solutions in future posts.
Second a unanimous position that in spite of the title of the conference, new
forms of renewable energy must be developed and fully utilized on a global basis
during this century or humanity and much of the biosphere is at risk of possible
extinction. When Foundation for the Future Executive Director Bob Citron made
his closing remarks, he commented that in the ten year history of Foundation
conferences that looked ahead one thousand years, this is the first one where
the discussions kept coming back to the next one hundred years, and with great
purpose.
The main headline of the conference then was that, simply put, a room full of
some of the greatest experts on energy in the world are concerned that if the
major issues surrounding energy are not dealt with in the next few decades,
cataclysms of various types are almost guaranteed to occur. As far as I am
concerned, based on the evidence passionately presented at the conference, the
discussion on global warming is over. In fact, several times global warming was
described as the “canary in the mine” in the sense that it is the advance
warning of much greater underlying problems.
To emphasis this point, some random quotes from the conference, all from
distinguished and well respected scientists.
-“If the energy consumption of all the countries in the world rose up to that
of the U.S. using current forms and means of energy, the world population would
need three planets’ worth of resources to sustain it.”
-“If all the world gets up to US consumption levels, game over!”
-“72% of the planet is covered by water, so we should really call it Planet
Ocean rather than Planet Earth, but the oceans are dying. If the increase in
acidity of the oceans, which is at the highest it has been in hundreds of
millions of years is not reversed, and soon, then by the year 2100 the oceans
may no longer be able to sustain life.”
The alarmism was to the point that major actions, across the board must be
taken and very soon. It doesn’t have to end badly for us all. There are
solutions, there is developing technology, there are possible breakthroughs of
historic proportions, there are ways to greatly alter energy creation, storage
and usage, but we must start to implement and develop them immediately.
I was greatly honored to observe
and participate in the discussion that occurred over these three days. The
brilliance of the people in the room was staggering. The ideas presented and
discussed could be transformative for humanity. I will try to do my best in the
posts ahead to present some of them in an understandable way. The good news is
that some of the best minds in the world are working intently on the global
energy problems. The bad news is that the work that needs to be done and the
changes that need to occur are massive, and we have just begun to address them.
...
5) Zero Point Energy: The Fuel of the Future is an Instant Classic
Thomas Valone, Integrity Research Institute, April, 2007 http://users.erols.com/iri/ZPENERGY.html
Why are there no books on the market that explain the history, basic science, recent discoveries, and the usefulness of zero point energy for electricity and propulsive force? Especially now that we recognize the need for a new, clean, renewable energy source, Zero Point Energy, The Fuel of the Future has just been published and is destined to become an instant classic. Authored by a former community college physics and engineering teacher, it is the first book designed for the general public, with lots of visuals, on the most intriguing subject in physics today: quantum fluctuations from zero point energy.
What is zero point energy you say? It is the lowest state of energy in the universe but still enough to keep helium a liquid, even at microdegrees of absolute zero. It also gives rise to the mysterious Casimir force, also called van der Waals forces, that keeps geckos stuck to any surface. Most importantly, it also causes nonthermal noise in lots of electronic circuits which this author claims can be rectified by special diodes that have no bias voltage to surmount. Zero point energy is also becoming the leading candidate for dark energy (see story #6 about Dr. Christian Beck).
The book is full of pictures, like all of the famous scientists responsible for the history of zero point energy, inventions that use zero point energy, effects and magic tricks. It also has a good collection of reference articles in the Appendix to prove how exciting the emerging field really is, including a short essay to show how magnetism is related to zero point energy. At 228 pages, the book is a sizable contribution to the field.
Amazon.com and other major book distributors will be listing the book soon. In the meantime, the publisher, Integrity Research Institute, has online ordering available. Review copies for those with organizational affiliations are available. Email iri@erols.com with postal address or fax request on letterhead to 301-513-5728.
...
Provided as a courtesy from www.IntegrityResearchInstitute.org
where a FREE copy of the Progress in Future Energy DVD featuring Dr. Tom Valone
is available upon request (with postal address).