BlackLight’s physics-defying promise: Cheap power from water – Jul. 2, 2008.
“For when we cease to worship God, we do not worship nothing, we worship anything.”
— G. K. Chesterton
It would seem that the same is true regarding our worship of fossil fuels. As fuel prices skyrocket there has been a run on alternative energy ideas. I’ve covered several on this blog.
http://mwiner.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/over-unity-cavetation-water-heater/
http://mwiner.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/thane-heins-perpetual-motion-free-energy-or-simply-releasing-a-brake/
http://mwiner.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/perpetual-motion-claim-if-its-a-hoax-its-a-good-one/
http://mwiner.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/solution-to-the-energy-crisis-aluminum-hydrogen-cycle/
This one, like that of Thane Heins breaks some laws of physics. In the case of Heins, it was the Law of Conservation of Energy. Randall Mills has broken some laws of Quantum Mechanics in suggesting that there is a lower energy state below the currently known ground state of hydrogen. Mills terms such hydrogen atoms in this new lower energy state: ‘hydrinos’.
Electrons orbit the nucleus at well defined distances. These distances (states) are finite, discrete or quantized as it were. If an electron is excited by an influx of energy, it jumps to a higher state. Conversely when an electron jumps to a lower orbital state, it releases some energy (a quanta of energy). There is a theoretical limit to how low an electron can go in this scheme. It’s called the ground state and it’s analogous to the lowest floor an elevator can go.
Hydrogen is the simplest, and most studied atom in modern science. It consists of a proton and an electron. It’s no wonder then that when Mills claims to have discovered a new ‘basement’ state below the known ground state that many physicists dismiss him out of hand. If Mills is correct however, then this new ‘basement’ state could be used to cause hydrogen to release much more energy than simply burning hydrogen.
The crown jewel of science is the scientific method. It avoids any political and otherwise human failings. In short, can Mills produce this effect reproducibly and reliably. The answer so far appears to be yes. Mills’ company Blacklight has released prototype commercialized applications of his technology which are slated to be installed in power stations in 2009.
During the interim, there is soft evidence which is also compelling. Mills doesn’t want your money. He has plenty of it in the form of $60 million in investments. Mills also doesn’t want your help. He has plenty in the form of an all star board of directors featuring many energy magnates. All Mills needs to do now is to demonstrate his technology working on industrial scales. He promises to deliver energy at 2 cents per kilowatt hour, whereas the current national average is 8.9 cents.
This blog will continue to track events on this front.
