Summary

In this paper Robert Forward suggests to utilize the Casimir Force between electrically charged conducting films with very small spacing (1 - 20 nm) to generate a net gain in electricity. The idea has been further validated by recent experiments on measuring the casimir forces. However, the device suggested in this paper is an energy storage battery, not a true energy source. None the less, it is the first practical engineering application of zero point fluctuations and the associated casimir forces

Abstract

Any pair of conducting plates at close distances (less than 1 micrometer) experience an attractive Casimir force that is due to the electromagnetic zero-point fluctuations of the vacuum. A "vacuum-fluctuation battery" can be constructed by using the Casimir force to do he work on a stack of charged conducting plates. By applying a charge of the same polarity to each conducting plate, a repulsive electrostatic force will be produced that opposes the Casimir force. If the applied electromagnetic force is adjusted to be always slightly less than the Casimir force, the plates will move toward each other and the Casimir force will add energy to the field between the plates. The battery can be recharged by making the electrical forces slightly stronger than the Casimir force to re-expand the foliated conductor.

Paper