The beginnings
of InterStellar Technologies Corporation can be traced back to the
discovery by company President and CEO, Dr. Fabrizio Pinto, of a
Casimir force system that can be exploited to perform an engine
cycle able to transform energy from one form to another. This invention
shattered the long held opinion, sometimes still found in the literature,
that it is not possible to design an engine cycle based upon the
Casimir force. Progress from this initial theoretical thrust phase
has been rapid. Decisive progress has taken place in such areas
as research on characterizing and modeling Casimir force devices
candidate for commercialization to the deeper issues of fundamental
quantum vacuum engineering. InterStellar Technologies has greatly
enhanced its highly technical know-how and intellectual property
portfolio and, more recently, the company has commenced a very aggressive,
in-house experimental research program.
1. A typical Casimir system
2. The Transvacer™ device: A true Casimir force engine
3. Molding the quantum vacuum
4. Entering the Experimental Arena
5. Our future progress will become our cherished company history
In this section,
we offer a fish-eye view of R&D progress at InterStellar Technologies
Corporation since its inception in 1999. The purpose of what follows
is not to provide the most up-to-date information available, but
to show the path we have followed so far in different areas to fulfill
the main mission of our R&D effort, that is, to bring our first
profitable products to the commercial arena within the shortest
possible time.
1. A typical Casimir system
InterStellar Technologies Corporation arose from the understanding that dispersion forces can be tooled to carry out specific technological tasks on a variety of scales that would be difficult, impractical, or impossible to carry out by other means.
Theoretical developments by many authors accumulated from the middle of the twentieth century on had showed that the Casimir force between two surfaces separated by a gap depends on a variety of parameters, including their mutual distance, their shape, optical properties, and absolute temperature. Therefore, since its inception, InterStellar Technologies undertook a focused effort to deepen our understanding of how such parameters, as well as any others, can be exploited to eventually allow for the commercialization of devices based upon the use of Casimir forces.
The schematization
of the action between two surfaces due to the Casimir force is very
typically given by two parallel, infinite planes with assigned optical
properties facing one another at a given distance. A system of this
type can be referred to as a Casimir system. Since quantum-electro-dynamics
shows that a mutual force exists between two such surfaces, it is
certainly reasonable to conclude that one could cause such interaction
to do work. However, since the force at a given distance cannot
be altered in this simple scheme, it is impossible to use this system
to perform a cycle, such as that of a cylinder engine.
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2. The Transvacer™ device: A true Casimir force engine
Dr. Pinto's initial ideas in this field, first appeared in print in 1999, showed that, by modulating the Casimir force, one could in fact use a Casimir system to perform an engine cycle to transform, for instance, optical energy into mechanical energy or electrical energy. The term TRANSVACER™ (TRANSducer of VACuum enERgy) device was introduced by Dr. Pinto to describe a Casimir system that can carry out an engine cycle of this type. This groundbreaking discovery was of paramount importance in the history of InterStellar Technologies Corporation, since it shattered the long held belief (occasionally still found in contemporary specialized and popular literature) that the Casimir force could not be used in a full thermodynamical cycle.
In these very initial studies, great emphasis was placed at InterStellar Technologies upon accuracy in the modeling and realism in the description of the physical parameters characterizing the process of energy transformation from one form to another. For this reason, and despite the highly intensive computations required, the calculations of the Casimir force in this initial effort were undertaken by making use of the best data available at the time and practically eliminating all analytical approximations in the calculations of the Casimir force typically used until that time.
Just as in the case of any other thermodynamical engine, there are of course many possible implementations of the TRANSVACER™ device, which have been the focus of intense research at InterStellar Technologies. For instance, one can implement a Casimir system engine cycle to transform thermal or optical energy into mechanical or electrical energy.
One further
item of great interest that emerged since the very beginning of
theoretical activities at InterStellar Technologies is that, in
some regimes, it is apparently possible to transform energy associated
to the zero-point-field itself into some other form, such as mechanical
or electrical energy. That is, the energy output of any TRANSVACER™ device is not necessarily equal to its input in the form of, for instance,
thermal or optical energy, but it also contains a term due to the
energy of the zero-point-field. Although this finding does not appear
to violate any accepted conservation law, if confirmed, its implications
would of course be of paramount importance in the area of energy
production.
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3. Molding the quantum vacuum
Since these initial and most exciting discoveries, progress at InterStellar Technologies Corporation has rapidly taken place in all main areas of R&D thrust. For instance, we have been characterizing and refining our theoretical models of prototype devices based upon the TRANSVACER™ device concept, especially in our four areas of potential commercial applicability of the concept. We are continually providing answers to such questions as: how is the TRANSVACER™ device better than other thermodynamical engines at carrying out specific tasks? In what areas will the TRANSVACER™ device be the clear technological winner in the short term? How can we vastly improve the predicted performance of the candidate devices we are studying?
However, even more fundamental than applications research of our proprietary know-how to commercially viable devices is the progress made towards developing the present and future of quantum vacuum engineering itself. In order to appreciate the importance of such results, consider as a hypothetical example the technological limitations one would have to face if all piston engine models had approximately the same efficiency, power, and torque. If all engines had to be as large and powerful as those of a typical World War II fighter, how could one use them in small utility vehicles? If they could not be larger or more powerful than those in a moped, how could they realistically be used in a large ship? Evidently such lack of flexibility and room for improvement would have severely limited applicability of this great invention to our daily lives.
In order to
open an ever-broadening range of potential applications to the Casimir
engine approach, it is of critical importance that dispersion forces
become a much more flexible technological tool than in any experiment
carried out so far in this field. With this premise in mind, InterStellar
Technologies Corporation has in the last three years made great
strides towards the ultimate goal to gain the understanding needed
to mold the quantum vacuum in much the same way as humans learned
how to cast iron tools at the end of the Bronze Age. For this reason,
we believe we can now contemplate applications of dispersion forces
that would not have been realistic just a few years ago.
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4. Entering the Experimental Arena
Hand in hand with our theoretical and intellectual property thrusts, we have also seen our experimental activities develop explosively. Whereas the company initially centered upon the development of new theoretical concepts to become part of our intellectual property portfolio, we have more recently launched a very aggressive experimentation program directed at supporting our ultimate commercialization goals.
InterStellar
Technologies Corporation now operates a full-featured, safe, professionally
run laboratory where to test our original ideas in Casimir force
research. From precision machining to CCD imaging, from vacuum testing
to very high-speed data collection and interpretation, we now carry
out continuous, highly relevant in-house research to support our
ultimate commercialization goals.
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5. Our future progress will become our cherished company history
Born out of a dream that could propel humankind to land in other solar systems, InterStellar Technologies Corporation has been relentlessly pursuing its theoretical and intellectual property thrusts to commercialize its concepts here on planet Earth. These revolutionary ideas are now being put to the test on the benches of our own experimental start-up facility.
In much the
same way as our early days spent pondering on the intuition of an
immense, untapped potential have been replaced by the confident
rush of organized scientific, engineering, legal, and marketing
activities, so we also have a vision for our future progress. In
fact, we firmly believe that the time is fast approaching when our
central goal - to bring our first profitable products to the commercial
arena within the shortest possible time - will also be part of InterStellar
Technologies' glorious beginnings...and a model for the great future
of our company.
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