The History of Zero-Point Energy The existence of zero-point energy (ZPE) was first postulated by Max Planck in 1912. Heisenberg uncertainty principle mandates that there can never be a condition of no energy present. A pendulum operating at the quantum level will never come to a complete stop, and will have a minimum average energy as represented by hf/2, where h is Planck’s constant and f is the oscillation frequency. This energy is referred to as “zero-point” because it is present even at a temperature of absolute zero, where all thermal activity ceases. The existence of ZPE has been experimentally confirmed by the Lamb Shift and the Casimir Effect. The Casimir force is powerful enough that operators of scanning electron microscopes must take special precautions to prevent metal surfaces in close proximity from joining together. Helium remains a liquid at a temperature of absolute zero, impossible unless it is receiving some form of energy to keep it in a liquid state. Hydrogen atoms don't radiate energy at rest implying they are sitting at an equilibrium state. Zero-point energy is present at every point in the universe, being embedded in the fabric of space itself. ZPE is the energy that powers the universe itself, giving subatomic particles their energy. An electron orbiting the nucleus of an atom would quickly radiate away its energy as Larmor radiation and crash into the nucleus unless it was receiving energy from an outside source to stabilize this orbit. That energy is ZPE, and the electron’s interaction with ZPE can be seen with the Lamb Shift, where the ZPE perturbs or “jiggles” the electrons slightly, leading to a shift in frequency in transitions of quantum levels of about 1000 MHz. The Aharonov-Bohm effect shows a phase shift even in the absence of electromagnetic fields. Zero-point energy has an enormous energy density, once estimated by NASA to be anywhere from 10^24 to 10^58 Joules/m3. Richard Feynman and John Wheeler once said there's enough energy in a tiny area of space to boil all the Earth's oceans. Because of this enormous energy density, its unlimited supply, the ubiquitous and isotropic quality of ZPE and its non-polluting nature, ZPE would represent the ultimate form of useful, green energy for mankind. In mainstream physics, gravity is modeled as a curvature of space (general relativity) and one of the four fundamental forces in nature. However, there are profound problems with this model. For over 100 years mainstream physics has tried to integrate this model with quantum theory (“quantum gravity”) and has failed. Additionally, attempts to unify the theorized four fundamental forces in nature (“grand unification”) have also failed. Mainstream physics currently maintains that the force of gravity has no proven connection to any of the other three “forces,” although there is powerful evidence in the form of the “Biefeld-Brown effect” that gravity is electromagnetic in nature (i.e. US 2949550, US 3018394, US 3187206). This evidence has either been ignored by the physics establishment or dismissed as nothing more than “ionic wind,” although two US government physicists working for the Army Research Laboratory determined that the Biefeld-Brown effect force is at least three orders of magnitude too large to be accounted for by the ionic wind explanation. The effect also has been observed in a full vacuum at a NASA research facility, thereby negating the “ionic wind” theory. Mainstream physics currently has no understanding of the origin of gravity, inertia and mass. Even if Higgs theory is correct, it can only account for approximately 2 percent of the mass of the atomic nucleus (quark mass). Furthermore, mainstream physics has no explanation for why the force of gravity cannot be shielded, why it is so weak, and why there is no negative mass. It is possible that these mainstream theories, including general relativity, are simply wrong, a possibility that one current mainstream theoretical physicist stated as being “too scary to contemplate.” For some time there has been an alternative theory of gravity that models it as an induced effect resulting from the interaction of the zero-point field with subatomic charge and thus not a fundamental force of nature. This theory of gravity solves all of the problems with the general relativity model in that since gravity is being generated at the subatomic level, it is already integrated with quantum theory, and does not need to be unified with the other alleged fundamental forces, because it is not such a force. The experimental observations used to support the general relativity model have an alternative explanation in this theory of gravity. For example, the bending of light rays near a massive body, rather than due to the curvature of space near this body, would result from a change in the refractive index of the dielectric constant of space itself, as a result of the intense interactions between the collective subatomic charge of the massive body with the electromagnetic fluctuations of the zero-point field that are embedded in the fabric of space. A rough analogy would be the observed “bending” of a stick inserted in water due to the increased density of the medium (water) through which the light is traveling. Additionally, the other observations about gravity such as why it cannot be shielded are answered by this theory. For example, the force of gravity cannot be shielded because it is generated by ZPE, which is embedded in the fabric of space, and space exists at every point and therefore cannot be isolated for shielding. Some of the physicists involved with this alternative model of gravity also discovered that as with gravity, inertia results from an interaction between the zero-point field and the subatomic charges in the object that is being accelerated. This can be illustrated by remembering the fundamental discovery that allowed for the creation of electric motors: moving charges in the presence of a magnetic field produces a force. Therefore, the moving charges in the object experiencing acceleration interact with the magnetic fluctuations of the zero-point field, resulting in a force applied to the accelerating object. These physicists found that their equations regarding this interaction actually precisely derived Newton’s second law, F=ma. The principle of equivalence states that inertial mass and gravitational mass are identical in strength. However, mainstream physics does not have an explanation as to why this is so. This alternate theory explains that it is because both inertia and gravity are being created by the interaction of matter with the zero point field. If gravity and inertia, and by extension, gravitational and inertial mass, are not intrinsic properties of matter, but rather are created by an extrinsic, external interaction with the zero-point field, it could be possible to eliminate the effect of both gravity and inertia in a vehicle by interfering with this interaction, resulting in a craft that could be accelerated to virtually unlimited speeds with little energy. It is this property of spin-alignment in magnetic fields that allows for the random fluctuations of ZPE (which are mostly electromagnetic in nature) to be cohered for the purpose of extracting useful energy. Prigogine was awarded a Nobel Prize for defining the conditions under which a system could change from randomness to coherence. These conditions are to drive a system far from equilibrium that is nonlinear in its dynamics and has an energy flux through the system. The Schwinger Limit is the point of highly condensed electromagnetic field such that a region of spacetime becomes non-linear. A plasma is nonlinear in nature, the pulsed, high-frequency, high-voltage discharges represent the energy flux through the system, and the property of spin alignment in magnetic fields allows these particles to be driven far from their natural state of equilibrium (randomness).