"Dark Energy" as a Power Source: A Thought Experiment

A Unified Field Theory is that theory which proposes that there is only one form of energy field in the universe, the electromagnetic field, and that all other fields are manifestations of this single field being expressed in different forms. Therefore in the universe as it must be described by any Unified Field Theory the ‘warped space' surrounding a ‘mass' (the gravitational field) must also be an electromagnetic field, and this would mean that what we think of as ‘three dimensional empty space' is actually an energy field.





There exists in nature a hydrological cycle, represented in over-simplified form in the above diagram. The tree withdraws moisture from the earth, and then through evapotranspiration the tree exhausts moisture into the atmosphere (this is required to maintain the siphoning effect and withdraw more water from the earth). This atmospheric moisture then feeds clouds, and the clouds then produce rain which waters the earth, which then once again waters the tree.

An energy cycle also exists in nature. The turbine of the hydroelectric dam transforms one form of energy (the energy of the motion of flowing water) into electricity. There also exist circuits which transform heat energy into electricity or electricity into heat. In all its various forms, energy can be translated from one form to another. Energy is never created and energy is never destroyed. It can only be transformed and transferred.

If we make the assumption, consistent with the Unified Field Theory, that the ‘warped space' of the ‘three dimensional universe' is just one more manifestation of this energy field, then it follows from this that it must be possible to translate energy in the form of this ‘three dimensional space' into usable electrical energy. We will call this energy encapsulated in this form of ‘three dimensional space' the ‘dark energy of the universe'.





It is a characteristic of an energy field to seek ‘the lowest possible energy configuration'. The result is a consistent and even energy field, which then becomes a stable state. When a discontinuity is present in the field the result is the generation of a force, and the purpose of such forces in nature is to ‘reduce the potential energy' and recreate this stable state. In the diagram above we represent a very simple circuit. One element (red) we will consider a positive element with a surplus of energy, while the dark black element we will consider ‘negative' in that it has a deficit of energy (relative to the red positive element). Therefore a relative charged state exists between these two elements when they are connected by a copper wire (represented by the yellow line) and this then results in the creation of a force (represented by the blue line) which is the voltage, which is the potential difference between the two elements. Current then flows from the positive element to the negative element in response to the force, until finally both the energy is found to be evenly distributed between both elements. At this point the voltage no longer exists. The force disappears because in this closed system this state represents the lower possible energy configuration and there no longer exists any potential difference.





With this idea in mind, it would seem logical to assume that if we wish to translate the ‘dark energy' of three dimensional space into electrical current, one of the first steps must be to create a discontinuity in space. This is represented in the diagram above by the dark red area, which is the lowest possible evenly distributed energy state of a region of three dimensional space in the midst of which we have created a lower energy discontinuity, which then results in the creation of a force, a type of voltage potential in space, represented by the blue line.





It is that this point that we consider the humble bar magnet as being one element known to generate a force as the consequence of creating a discontinuity in the field of three dimensional space. Here we see the two similar poles of a bar magnet coming together, with the result being a force generated within three dimensional space which pushes the poles of the bar magnet apart. Anyone who has ever tried would know that this force is so powerful that it is next to impossible to push together the two similar poles of a bar magnet. Whenever a force exists in nature this means that a discontinuity in the field exists and that there is potential energy that must be dealt with by this force if the energy field is to return to the state of lower potential energy.





There exist electrical components that translate mechanical force into electrical energy (piezoelectric and ferroelectric circuit components are some examples). Now let us suppose that you ate a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, to fuel up, and then, using all your strength, you squeezed together the two similar poles of two bar magnets, which generated mechanical stress in a piezoelectric circuit, which then generated electricity, which then illuminated a bulb. You have successfully transformed the energy found in oatmeal (recall Einstein's equation, E=MC2) into electromagnetic radiation in the form of light.





Let's assume that you wanted to repeat the experiment, only this rather than exhaust yourself, you decided to use heavy weights and the force of gravity to pull the two magnetic poles together so as to generate the mechanical force required to stress the piezoelectric circuit so as to generate the electricity required to light the bulb. In this case, instead of converting oatmeal into light you have converted gravitational force into light energy.


What we have demonstrated here is that ‘gravitational energy' is equivalent to the energy encapsulated in one bowl of oatmeal. We have also demonstrated that ‘gravitational energy' is equivalent to ‘electrical energy' and is also equivalent to the energy in the form of ‘electromagnetic radiation'. So therefore it logically follows that ‘gravitational energy' is part of the universal energy cycle, and if we can convert gravitational energy into these other forms then it must also be true that these other forms can also be converted into ‘gravitational energy', for the energy cycle is a cycle through which energy transforms into all of these various states. The gravitational field manifests itself visibly as a ‘warped space field' and so therefore we entertain the strange idea that it is possible to translate one bowl of oatmeal into ‘warped three dimensional space'.

Now let us consider the moon-earth system. The moon tugs on the world's oceans by means of the force of the moon's gravitation. The oceans respond to the pocket of warped space surrounding by the moon by ‘falling' into this space which causes the high tides twice a day. This results in a transfer of energy between the earth moon system which manifests itself in a change in the momentum of the moon, such that the moon is spiraling away from the earth at a steady rate of 3 centimeters per year.

Consider a small sub-atomic particle being accelerated to near light speeds by the Large Hadron Collider. One of the consequences of the equation ‘E=MC2' (the equivalence of energy and ‘matter') is that an effective increase in the energy results in an effective increase in mass, and so therefore the small sub-atomic particle, accelerated to this velocity, acquires the mass/energy equivalent of a Greyhound bus, before being directed into a head on collision with another particle with an equivalent velocity, resulting in the equivalent of a head-on collision between two Greyhound buses traveling at near light speeds. Now it makes sense that a mass accelerated to a high velocity must also become a powerful gravitational source (due to this effective increase in mass) and so therefore high velocity objects must be surrounded by a pocket of extremely warped space (for we know that the gravitational field manifests itself in this form of warped three dimensional space). The ‘momentum' of an object must therefore be stored in the form of the warped space around the object, and we would assume that the transfer of momentum to an object is also the transfer of ‘three dimensional space'. The ‘dark energy of the universe' would therefore be the momentum of the universe, and when we convert this ‘gravitational energy' to any other form of energy it must be true that we are translating this ‘dark energy' which is another way of saying that we are translating three dimensional space into another form of energy.

The purpose of this thought experiment is to justify the assumptions of the Unified Field Theory. As for using this ‘dark energy' as a new power source, this would involve reducing the momentum of the earth in space, resulting in a shift of the earth's orbit, and possibly a new form of global warming would be the result. However, my back of the envelope calculations suggest that this would take millions of years to manifest itself. Let us assume that the orbit of the earth shifted by 3 centimeters per year, much like the moon. This would result in the earth moving about one third of a kilometer in one thousand years, and when we consider that the earth is 99 million miles away from the sun, this results in a minuscule change in the earth's orbital radius. One of the consequences of the Unified Field Theory could be the development of cheap and abundant power sources with a minimal environmental impact. Furthermore, it is possible to imagine a transfer of momentum to momentum and since momentum is conserved quantity, the momentum borrowed from the earth could then be transferred back to the earth, with only small net loss (drag caused by air resistance.... if you made toast in the morning, some of the energy would radiate out into space in the form of infrared radiation). We might also consider robbing the moon of about 3 centimeters of momentum per year, thus keeping the moon from spiraling out of orbit, while at the same time preventing that momentum robber from robbing the earth of anymore momentum (thus no doubt causing our days to become a little tiny bit longer every single year, and we do want to keep the earth rotating, so that one side does not bake and boil while the other cold size freezes).

A few ideas to think about....