[extropy-chat] Casimir Torque Project

[Adrian Tymes]

Hal: I think I've come up with a better way of phrasing the point.  It
was actually kind of in my original post...

At any one moment, yes, there may be a finite amount of energy in the
system.  Some of the energy flows from the quantum fluctuations into
mechanical energy of the ring.  But the system is not in isolation: it
is surrounded by empty space where the QFs have not been tapped...and
it seems logical to suppose that their energy would diffuse into the
QFs that have been tapped.

Basically, this creates a well into which energy can flow - kind of
like, in a gas pressure vessel, poking a hole and tapping the escaping
gas.  Except that the "vessel" is the entire universe.  The universe
may have a finite amount of energy; that would be the limit of how much
this can tap, so it's not actually "perpetual" motion.  Just very long
lived.