
Zero Point Energy goes Hollywood!
Date: Saturday, July 17, 2004 @ 17:08:40 UTC Topic: General
Following the progress of Zero Point Energy and it's potential over the years, I've often entertained the thought that the concept of ZPE would some day make the perfect power source for Hollywood science fiction screen writers.
Because of it’s foundation in science, the concept of ZPE would give screenwriters a break from writing more "techno babble" to support a story line. And because you don't have to carry ZPE during space travel and it's available anywhere, it would seem easy to incorporate this concept into science fiction in a big way.
Many of us science fiction fans have seen Hollywood use just about everything as a fuel source. As I grew up, nuclear fuel seems to have been the most favored energy source for past Hollywood writers, and that seemed to make sense as it had a growing place of importance as a viable fuel source in our own reality.
But strange Hollywood energy offshoots abound, everything from Star Trek's dilithium crystals to the current Stargate SG-1's naquida generators.
But now it seems our beloved ZPE has found a home in Hollywood!
Being a fan of SciFi channel's Stargate series, I was eager to watch the premier of the first Stargate spin-off, Stargate Atlantis.
As the story begins, they learn that to get to “Atlantis” through the stargate, it will take much more power than usual…nothing strange there! But, imagine my surprise when the subject of possible power sources was discussed and, lo and behold, the power source of choice was zero point energy!
One of the characters had to explain the concept a bit to the others and I'm glad to report that what he said wasn't just techno babble, it was obvious to this viewer that someone had researched the subject. Energy from the vacuum was used as a description as was energy from space-time!
As the story progresses and they discover Atlantis, the power source of this “lost city of the Ancients” is discovered to be…you got it …zero point energy!
The show uses the term ZPM, an analogy for Zero Point Module.
Obviously, depending on this show's success, we will hear many more references to some form of ZPE, on this show and hopefully others in the future. It’s my belief that this kind of public exposure to the concept of zero point energy is very good for our cause…so tune in and check it out!
Stargate Atlantis – SciFi Channel – Friday – 9PM
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