Six Tiny Utilities Buy "Scientifically Impossible" Energy

August 6th, 2009 by Susan Kraemer

Blacklight Power has signed a contract with Akridge in Maryland, marking the sixth utility to sign up for a mysterious form of energy that defies quantum physics. The company claims that it can create energy by lowering the energy level of hydrogen atoms to below their “ground” state. Most scientists agree that this is impossible.

But that hasn’t stopped “six utilities” from signing on for the theoretical power, (though one of the utilities; Akridge Energy LLC is apparently owned by a property company.)

In an increasingly anti-science culture, scientific consensus doesn’t count for much, but the consensus is that you can’t lower hydrogen atoms below their ground state.

Most scientists agree that this violates the laws of quantum physics.

The six utilities are going out on a limb. Or perhaps they know something we don’t:

Blacklight’s founder; Randell Mills claims he found a way to produce a theoretical form of the hydrogen atom. Although Mills who is a Harvard trained medical doctor, has had trouble claiming patents in the past, two are listed as granted on the USPTO website: 7,188,033, on rendering the chemical bonds of hydrogen, and 6,024,935, on methods for releasing energy from hydrogen atoms. Blacklight’s most recent study titled Commercializable Power Source from Forming New States of Hydrogen is on his website.

The hydrino is a theoretical form in which the electron has entered a lower orbit — meaning the atom itself contains less energy. Mills decided that he could not only produce hydrinos, but also capture the energy released during the transition from hydrogen, using it to generate electricity.

When the hydrino is created through a reaction between hydrogen and a catalyst, according to Mills, it lets go of more than enough energy to fuel electrolysis in common water, thus producing more hydrogen. The excess energy — the majority — would go to producing electricity. The only outside ingredients needed are a catalyst, (which one?) to turn the hydrogen to hydrinos, and heat (which would also be generated once the reaction had started). And the hydrinos created by the process? They’re non-reactive and can be released to float up into space, as they’re lighter than helium. Or be processed into unique chemicals with a range of useful applications.

Venturebeat is saying that BLP has received $10 million from Shelby Brewer, the assistant secretary of nuclear energy under Reagan, among others like electric utilities Conectiv and Pacificorp. Most of the investors are undisclosed.

Between its six deals, the company has given out rights to use the mysterious and secretive process to produce 8,000 megawatts of electricity overall for almost a million customers. Oh, and this theoretical energy would cost $0.01 cent a kwh.

What’s interesting is that Blacklight has now shred its cloak of secrecy. Theories and press releases are one thing, but publicly demonstrating a new way to generate energy is easy to prove — does it work, or not?

Blacklight is not publicly traded and doesn’t appear to be looking for money; so there is little motivation to claim a nonexistent process. On the other hand, if it works, a public demonstration settles it.

This could be a groundbreaking year for quantum physics. Or not.

Photo by the Author

Via Venturebeat









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About the Author Susan Kraemer writes at CleanTechnica, CSP-Today and Renewable Energy World. She has also been published at Wind Energy Update, Solar Plaza, Earthtechling PV-Insider , and GreenProphet, Ecoseed, NRDC OnEarth, MatterNetwork, Celsius, EnergyNow, and Scientific American. As a former serial entrepreneur in product design, Susan brings an innovator's perspective on inventing a carbon-constrained civilization: If necessity is the mother of invention, solving climate change is the mother of all necessities! As a lover of history and sci-fi, she enjoys chronicling the strange future we are creating in these interesting times. Follow Susan on Twitter @dotcommodity.