Re: RE: RE: starship-design: Casimir-Foreward balloon

["Kyle R. Mcallister" <stk@sunherald.infi.net>]

> That is the problem with experience...its what you get just after you
needed
> it!

Suggestion:

Perform these experiments a long way away, like beyond the orbit of Pluto.
Don't look directly in the vicinity of the station when you do the test (or
for however long it takes light to get here from there) :)

Seriously, there was something proposed by Robert Forward, I believe, about
using variably separated charged conductors to tap mechanical energy from
the zero-point field. I don't see how it would work though...it sounded to
simple. I don't think anyone can claim to know how to go about getting
energy from the vacuum. The way I see it, there are two groups of people
who are doing anything about this: The establishment, who doesn't like
anything that disagrees with commonly accepted physical principles, (I.E.,
Robert Park), and the Nutcases who don't do real science, (I.E. heck, too
many to name!!). In other words, those of us who want to do real science
are screwed. Dr. Forward is probably one of the few who is open minded, and
also a good scientist. Believe me, I know how messed up the state of
affairs is, as I almost got lured in completely by the pseudoscientists.
I'm proud to say I got out of that mess. 

Opinion: interstellar travel is impossible with today's technology.
Somebody has either got to figure out a way to build an extremely exotic
engine, preferably one that uses little to no reaction mass to operate, or
a sail-type vehicle that can work. We can't do much with the former, but we
can probably work on the latter.

--Kyle R. Mcallister