AAWSAP DIRD, Concepts for Extracting Energy from the Quantum Vacuum, April 2010

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Figure 10. Tunable Casimir Effect: Engine Cycle
Another "tunable" conductive-type plate experiment under consideration involves the
use of plates consisting of three-dimensional photonic crystals, with the bandgap of the
photons that can transmit through the structure being a "tunable" value. Using
microelectromechanical processing methods, Sandia National Laboratory has produced
such crystals and is researching methods of actively modifying the structures while in
use (Reference 32). The technology requirements for this concept are the nano­
fabrication of microcavities with thin-film deposited surfaces, RF-driven piezoelectric
mounts for cavity oscillation, mirror-switching modality (for example, hydrogen
pressure modulation), and calorimetric measurement of energy/heat production.
An initial experiment to explore this concept was recently performed by Iannuzzi et al.
(Reference 33). They investigated the effect of hydrogen switchable mirrors (HSMs) on
the Casimir force. HSMs are shiny metals in their "as deposited" state. However, when
they are exposed to a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, they become optically transparent.
Because the electromagnetic ZPF depends on the optical properties of the surfaces, the
Casimir force of attraction between two HSMs in air should be different than the
attraction between the same HSMs immersed in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. That is
because one expects that the Casimir force will be much weaker when the HSM is in the
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