[extropy-chat] Some ideas... dumped

Adrian Tymes wingcat at pacbell.net
Tue Aug 17 07:25:27 UTC 2004


--- Emlyn <emlynoregan at gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes! That's the other major reason that I blog my
> ideas, because it'd
> be really cool if someone would "steal" them (hey,
> they are freely
> given)  & implement them. Pleeeese!

Good example: I'm currently working on a theoretical
way to tap zero-point energy.  I emphasize
"theoretical" because the academics who've reviewed it
can't find any reason why it wouldn't work, but are
reluctant to say it would since the result is close to
perpetual motion.  (It actually does have an energy
source it's converting into motion, just one that no
one's been able to tap before, and which appears to
happen to be all around us.  So it would technically
not break the laws of thermodynamics, despite
appearing to...if the theory proves correct, of
course.)  I've got the IP protections in place, but
I've only got 'til March to provide a working example
or release it to the public domain.

If I can make it work, my course is obvious.  If I
can't...well, maybe someone else can follow my course
and find what I missed.  (Or find out why the theory
doesn't work.)  Until then, it's a science experiment
that might or might not produce interesting results,
depending on information it's intended to ferret out.

It's been an interesting project, since one needs good
understanding of quantum mechanics to know why it
might work, and good understanding of nanolithography
to understand how it can be manufactured.  I've been
working with the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility on
the latter; unfortunately, the equipment I need has
been offline for over a month now, and I suspect it
won't get fixed in the next few days.  (I might be
willing to bounce a more detailed version of the
theory off anyone who knows QM, if you're interested -
but please *DON'T* ask unless/until you know all about
the Casimir force and what produces it.  Otherwise,
you won't be able to give useful input, and you'll
have to rely on my possibly mistaken impressions to
understand the field being discussed.  If anyone knows
both QM and nanolithography...tell me, so I can
convince myself I'm not the only one. ;) )

But the moral: even something like this, with obvious
potential for riches (again, if it works)...if I had
to choose between being ripped off or never seeing it
implemented, my choice is clear.  I had to keep
reminding myself of that, to convince myself to seek
academic review.  If I hadn't, I never would have seen
certain flaws in my initial idea that would, in fact,
have stopped it from working even if the basic theory
were correct.

> You have to do *something* yourself. But I find (no
> idea what other
> people's experience is) that I have vastly more
> ideas than I have the
> ability to implement.

*nods*  Example: I've got investments in one of the
start-up low-cost reusable rocket ventures most of us
have heard of, and ideas for what I'd like to do once
they succeed...but for the moment, I'm content to wait
for that time, knowing there isn't much I could do
right now to speed it up, while I do something else to
pay the bills.



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