Measured
The Lamb shift
Willis Lamb measured a small shift in hydrogen’s energy levels in 1947 that arises from the electron’s interaction with vacuum fluctuations. It earned the 1955 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Frontier energy research
Research into zero-carbon energy from new frontier physics.
We are developing a chiral gold cavity whose geometry is designed to break a symmetry that has so far kept the vacuum’s electromagnetic field out of reach as an energy source. The C stands for chiral.
Research stage. Patent pending. A proof-of-concept prototype is in development. No net energy output has been measured, and the effect we are pursuing is a hypothesis.
The physics
The vacuum is not empty. Getting energy from it is the hard part.
Experiment shows that the electromagnetic zero-point field has measurable effects. A theorem by Timothy Boyer explains why simple, symmetric cavities cannot turn it into work, and also what would have to change.
Established
Chirality
A structure is chiral when it cannot be laid over its mirror image, like a left and a right hand. Light has handedness too: circularly polarised light can turn either way, and chiral structures treat the two differently.
Theory
Stochastic electrodynamics
Timothy Boyer’s framework, developed over more than five decades from 1968, treats the zero-point field as real classical electromagnetic radiation, and derives well-known phenomena from it.
The obstacle
Boyer’s conservative-force theorem (1975) shows that a static cavity with mirror-symmetric boundaries is conservative. Whatever it takes from one part of the field spectrum it returns to another, so no net work can be drawn over a cycle.
Our route
The theorem depends on symmetry. If the boundary treats left-handed and right-handed modes differently, the detailed balance it relies on no longer has to hold. Rather than move the walls, we change their shape: a chiral, self-similar interior inside a tetrahedral enclosure.
This is our hypothesis. It has not been confirmed by measurement.
The device
The zero-point field spectral modulator
One enclosure, two counter-wound spirals, one axis. Each element has a job. The design is covered by a UK patent application (GB2609810.3).
- A tetrahedral gold enclosureFour faces, six edges, four vertices. A regular tetrahedron has no centre of inversion, which adds a second break in mirror symmetry, and its A₄ rotation group restricts which modes the cavity can support. It also acts as a Faraday cage.
- Two counter-wound spirals Interleaved without touching. Together they present different boundary conditions to left- and right-circular modes.
- A self-similar pitchThe spirals widen steadily outward, so the geometry repeats at every scale and modifies modes across several decades of frequency, not one.
Why gold
A clean boundary
High conductivity (about 4.1 × 10⁷ S/m at 293 K) approaches an ideal conducting boundary. Gold electropolishes to a very smooth surface, does not oxidise, and is diamagnetic, so the geometry rather than the material sets the boundary conditions.
Arrays
Scaling by repetition
Multiple cavities can be coupled to a common load, with spiral axes aligned so that their effects add. Whether they do is a question for later prototype stages.
Applications
Value along the way
The same geometry has uses that do not depend on net energy extraction. Energy transduction is the most ambitious, and the least proven.
Near term
Broadband shielding
Mode suppression across many decades of frequency, for sensitive electronics and precision measurement.
Near term
Chiral mode selection
Preferential transmission of one circular polarisation, relevant to circular dichroism spectroscopy and optical communications.
Hypothesis
Energy transduction
A passive geometric rectifier for ambient field fluctuations, first for low-power sensors, then scalable clean energy. Subject to further device development.
Status
Where we are
We are at the start of the work. Each stage has to be passed on measurement, not on schedule.
Complete
Design and patent filing
The device is specified in detail and a UK patent application has been filed (GB2609810.3). The invention is patent pending.
In progress
Proof-of-concept prototype
We are developing a prototype of the chiral gold cavity to test the design in practice.
Next
Measurement and verification
Spectral emission and interferometric measurements, with independent verification of any result.
Integrity
What we have not shown
Extraordinary claims need ordinary rigour. These are the questions a sceptical physicist should ask us, and our commitments in answering them.
Open risks
Where this could fail
- The core hypothesis may fail: net extraction may prove impossible or impractical.
- Thermodynamic constraints may prohibit net energy extraction.
- Any effect may work at micro-scale and not scale up.
- Fabrication tolerances may exceed what is currently achievable.
- Distinguishing true output from experimental artefacts is hard.
Commitments
How we will work
- Report all findings, negative results included.
- Seek peer review of key theoretical and experimental outcomes.
- Verify any energy claim independently, using multiple measurement methods and rigorous controls.
- Keep a clear line between proven results and speculative potential.
Get involved
Request a briefing
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