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Few lines about me:

Well, let's start from my military service!

13 glorious months! I was located at the Head Quarters of the Italian Air Force in Rome: telecommunications, meteorology and radar control for Central Italy! I really spent this period with great enthusiasm! And Rome is a very interesting city under all aspects! Gosh, the number of attractive foreign girls coming on visit!!!!!

London was my next step! 7 years of hard study  and work to pay for my fees but I GOT my degree!

Soon after, long flight to Borneo to meet my girl friend's parents. But also the famous or infamous head hunters' tribe: The DAYAK. Very gentle people, I must say, chewing beetle-nuts at all times and spitting its red juice anywhere! Some of them still keep a collection of small, long-haired skulls hanging down from the wooden ceiling of their huts!! The only consolation was the view of those beautiful bear-breasted  Dayaky girls! Good old times!

       Under construction......................  ..

      The Rodin coil test

            http://jnaudin.free.fr/html/rcoil.htm

                                                 Inside Zero Point Energy

©1999 Thomas Valone, M.A., P.E.
Integrity Research Institute

Introduction

For the first time in history, a lot of media attention is being paid to the sea of energy that pervades all of space. It just happens to be the biggest sea of energy that is known to exist and we’re floating inside it. (Credit due to The Sea of Energy by T. Henry Moray for the idea.) Not only is it big but its energy is estimated to exceed nuclear energy densities, so even a small piece of it is worth its weight in gold. What is it? Many people are not sure what “zero point energy” (ZPE) is. Most agree that virtual particle fluctuation contributes to it and van der Waals forces don’t explain everything. Does it offer a source of unlimited, free energy for homes, cars, and space travel? Depending on who we talk to, ZPE can do everything and ZPE can do nothing useful. How can the energy be converted to a usable form? What are the basic explanations of ZPE and the new discoveries, which have rocked the U.S. Patent Office, Physical Review Letters, Science, Scientific American, and the New York Times? Why is ZPE implicated in the latest confirmation of cosmological antigravity? Can the Casimir effect be a source of energy? This article is intended to give a review of the latest developments (as well as an introduction to the topic for those who are non-specialists).

The Casimir Effect

Zero point energy has been called “the ultimate quantum free lunch” (Science, Vol. 275, 1/10/97). During the early years of quantum mechanics, Paul Dirac theorized that the vacuum was actually filled with particles in negative energy states (Proc. R. Soc. London A, 126, 360, 1930) thus giving rise to the concept of the “physical vacuum” which is not empty at all. Quantum mechanics also predicted that invisible particles could become materialized for a short time and that these virtual particle appearances should exert a force that is measurable. Hendrik B. G. Casimir (Phys. Rev. 73, 360, 1948) not only predicted the presence of such a force but also explained why van der Waals forces dropped off unexpectedly at long range separation between atoms, predicting that force F=K/d⁴ where K=πhc/480. Though the Casimir effect subsequently was verified using non-conductive plates, there was always a scientific need for a verification of the Casimir force using conductive plates based on Casimir’s 1948 paper. For the first time, Dr. Lamoreaux, now at the Los Alamos Labs, performed the experiment with less than one micrometer (micron) spacing between gold-plated parallel plates attached to a torsion pendulum (Phys Rev. Ltrs., 78, 1, 97). In retrospect, he found it to one of the most intellectually satisfying experiments that he ever performed since the results matched the theory so closely (within 5%).

The Casimir effect has been posited as a force produced solely by activity in the vacuum. The Casimir force is also very powerful at small distances. Besides being independent of temperature, it is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the distance between the plates! Therefore, as the plates are brought closer, the virtual particles outside the plates increasingly overpower the decreasing quantity of virtual particles appearing between the plates with an exponentially increasing force. (Also notable is the fact that its frequency dependence is a third power and the force can be altered with dielectrics or resonate with narrow-band mirrors—see Phys. Left. A 225, 1997, 188-194.) Lamoreaux’s results come as no surprise to anyone familiar with quantum electrodynamics (QED), but they serve as a material confirmation of an unusual theoretical prediction that QED predicts the all-pervading vacuum continuously spawns particles and waves that spontaneously pop in and out of existence. Their time of existence is strictly limited by the uncertainty principle but they create some havoc while they bounce around during their brief lifespan. The churning quantum foam extends throughout the universe even filling the empty space within the atoms. A diagram showing “The Shape of Nothing” (The New York Times 1/21/97) is pictured to be not only subatomic but subelementary particle in size. Physical theories predict that on an infinitesimally small scale, far, far smaller than the diameter of atomic nucleus, quantum fluctuations produce a foam of erupting and collapsing, virtual particles, visualized as a topographic distortion of the fabric of space time.

Another implication for free energy from ZPE comes from the fact that Casimir also mentioned a three-dimensional volume effect (Physica XIX, 1956, 846). This has recently been used with the relativistic stress-energy tensor to analyze the quantum electromagnetic field inside any given volume. With a “relatively” simple calculation it has been shown that as the electron density increases due to gravitational compression, there is an energy creation. “The energy output produced by the Casimir effect during the creation of a neutron star turns out to be sufficient to explain nova and supernova explosions” (Sokolov, Phys. Left. A, 223, 1996, 163-166).

The New Scientist (July 1987, “Why Atoms Don’t Collapse”) gives an impressive endorsement of the importance of ZPE: 

“There is a dynamic equilibrium in which the zero-point energy stabilizes the electron in a set ground-state orbit. It seems that the very stability of matter itself appears to depend on an underlying sea of electromagnetic zero-point energy.”

Lamb Shift

Another historically valid test in the verification of ZPE has been what’s been called the “Lamb shift.” Measured by Dr. Willis Lamb in the 1940’s, it actually showed the effect of zero point fluctuations on atomic levels. The electrons are slightly shifted upwards in their atomic orbits. (The implications of the Lamb shift were never fully explained when I took quantum mechanics except that the professor was forced to mention God as he tried to explain the “all-pervading electromagnetic field” which caused the problem.) Physicist Margaret Hawton describes the Lamb shift as “a kind of one atom Casimir Effect” (Phys. Rev. A 8/94) and predicts that the vacuum fluctuations of ZPE need only occur in the vicinity of atoms or atomic particles; which seems to agree with Dr. Koltick’s findings cited above.

The ZPE fluctuations are fundamentally based upon the uncertainty principle, which has been predicted to be “signed into law” someday soon, since no violations have so far been found. Furthermore, the majority of physicists today attribute spontaneous emission and the Lamb shift entirely to ZPE (as noted in Hawton’s paper). This may lead everyone to believe that though it is random, it can no longer be called “spontaneous emission” but instead should properly be labeled “stimulated emission” much like laser light is stimulated emission, even though there is a random quality to it. Textbooks on quantum theory already agree with this new interpretation:

“The smallest possible energy of the field one-half quantum per state. This suggests emission as being induced by the zero-point oscillations of the electromagnetic field; note, however, that these oscillations are twice as effective in producing emissive transitions as are real photons and are of course incapable of producing absorptive transitions.” — Schiff, Quantum Mechanics, 3rd edition.

The Classical Vacuum

One of the best educational viewpoints on ZPE has been given by Dr. Timothy Boyer, in an article entitled, “The Classical Vacuum” (Sci. Amer., 8/85, p. 70). Boyer, a well-published and highly respected physicist, describes all of the features to be expected from ZPE including the frequency spectrum, even in a moving reference frame, as well as the energy and force. Boyer traces the historical “creation of the vacuum” as proceeding in stages in parallel with the historical development of ideas about the vacuum. To paraphrase, he says that in the 17th century, it was thought that a totally empty volume of space could be created by simply removing all matter and, in particular, all gases. That was our first concept of the vacuum. Just get rid of all the gas. Late in the 19th century, it became apparent that the region still contained thermal radiation. But it seemed that the radiation might be eliminated by cooling. So the second concept of getting a real vacuum is to cool it down to zero temperature. Just go all the way to absolute zero. Then we’ve got a real vacuum. Right? Well, since then, both theory and experiment have shown that there is a non-thermal radiation in the vacuum and that it persists even if the temperature could be lowered to absolute zero. Therefore, it was simply called the “zero point” radiation. Further proof is evident, as Dr. Forward points out in his tutorial below, when physicists have cooled helium to within microdegrees of absolute zero and still it remains a liquid! Only ZPE can account for the source of energy is keeping helium from freezing.

Another aspect of the vacuum is that the constant virtual particle flux of the vacuum ZPE can become less virtual (short-lived) near the boundaries of bigger particles, with atomic number Z=137 or higher. This is because the intense electric field gradient causes a more prodigious decay of the vacuum when the binding energy equals or exceeds the rest mass of the electron. Furthermore, if superheavy atoms are created with Z=173, the binding energy then exceeds twice the rest mass of the electron and pair production ensues with matter and anti-matter appearing out of the vacuum. The electron is driven into the nucleus and spontaneous positrons (anti-electrons) are produced constituting a true source of free energy.

“Paradoxically, the vacuum near an over-critical charge is a vacuum that cannot be emptied” (Sci. Amer. Dec. 1979, p. 150).

Such a physics discovery vindicates the provocative name of Infinite Energy magazine which has provided a forum for cutting edge energy discoveries.

It is interesting to note that the above-mentioned phenomena was first labeled the “Klein paradox” when the Klein-Gordon equation mysteriously predicted the “reflection” of an electron with more energy than the incident with a simultaneous “transmission” of the particle into a negative kinetic energy state, only if the voltage barrier exceeded 2mc² or twice the particle’s rest mass (Klein, Z. Phys. 53, 157, 1929). In retrospect, this paradox helped physicists decipher a free energy source much as I hope the runaway solution of the Lorentz-Dirac equation will do someday.

Tutorial

For those who may want more scientific detail, a tutorial and derivation of ZPE follows. (Note: this section can be skipped with no loss of continuity.) Dr. Hal Puthoff, in his papers, discusses the fact that the existence of the electromagnetic zero point fluctuations is a clear prediction from quantum theory resulting from quantization. Basically, quantum mechanics just simply deals with compartmentalizing energy and compartmentalizing matter. So really what we’re talking about, is “quantization of matter and energy”. That’s all we need to presume in order to derive the existence of zero point energy! What Dr. Robert Forward does in his very interesting Phillips Laboratory Report entitled, “Mass Modification Experiment Definition Study” (#PLTR 96-3004), is to help us understand the simple harmonic oscillator basis of ZPE:

Quantum Lesson 101: we have two categories of phenomena that we’re dealing with: 1) matter quantization, and therefore “matter zero point fluctuation” as well as 2) energy quantization, and therefore energy or “radiation-type” of quantization. So that’s the first lesson to keep in mind.

Now, in regards to the material aspect, inside an atom, or inside matter (picture a crystal), we can actually use the equation applied to a spring, which is the standard force F equals the square root of k over the mass m. Now k normally designates the spring constant. In this case we’re using it as the spring constant of the electron cloud, which is the electron cloud is acting as a spring in a crude terminology to react to the mass of the nucleus of the atom. And, of course, there is a little bit of give and take here. We have both attractive and repulsive forces that are at play, and the natural frequency of vibration is going to be quantized only if we’re looking at the material part of it. So, as we derive this in the quantum mechanical viewpoint as physicists say, “the formality”, (the formal approach to translating into quantum mechanics), we get the Einsteinian equation, E=hf. This relates energy to frequency in terms of Planck’s constant (h)

These are very simple equations, so far, and also the next one will be as well. But what they do is describe the vibrational quanta in matter and also the radiational portion, the photons, in the vacuum. As Dr. Forward mentions in his derivation, when equations of quantum mechanics are used to determine the average energy (with a bracket on both sides of the E) of the vibrations of the atoms, the answer is E = n(T) + hf/2. Therefore, when T goes to zero, then the number of phonons or photons that are being created also goes to zero.

Thus, even at zero temperature quantum mechanics predicts that each of the atoms will still have an average residual energy, (as we can see if we let n go to zero) of hf/2. Physicists have been grappling with this for years because there appears to be an infinite amount of energy available if f is allowed to increase without limit. Ever since Casimir predicted it and various other scientists have verified it, this simple equation is really all that is underlying the theory of the zero point field and zero point fluctuation. What’s funny about it is that the one-half is there, which is a little bit deceiving. However, we have to keep in mind, as Dr. Forward points out too, that the real equation is E = hf (Rigorously, quantum field theory performs an infinite sum over eigenvalues of zero point field modes to obtain the vacuum energy—see “Absence of a zero-point ambiguity”, Phys. Left. B, 358, 1995, 56). So, we’re dealing with an amount of energy on the average that is available to only half the quanta. Another phrase called “partons” is used by Puthoff to indicate the smallest quanta of vibration oscillators: Planck oscillators that are available in a vacuum or in matter. Therefore, instead of half photons or half particles existing everywhere, we’re looking at only half of the possible photons or particles really being materialized at any one time.

More tutorial information on ZPE is also available in the two-hour video for which I was the technical consultant: “Free Energy: The Race to Zero Point” produced by Lightworks Audio and Video also available from Integrity Research lnstitute.

Cosmological ZPE

Recently, ZPE was mentioned in Science (Vol. 282, Dec. 18, 1998, p. 2157) in an article called the “Breakthrough of the Year.” Two teams of astronomers have confirmed that distant galaxies are accelerating apart. Furthermore, 2/3 of all astronomers now acknowledge the data as valid. Thus the cosmological constant envisioned by Einstein is being reconsidered and an antigravity force being postulated. Physicists have also interpreted the force as “the evanescent particles that flicker in and out of existence in ‘empty’ space that gives space its springiness, shoving it apart.” Scientific American seems to agree (“Cosmological Antigravity”, January, 1999, p. 53): “The aggregate energy represented by these ‘virtual’ particles, like other forms of energy, could exert a gravitational force, which could be either attractive or repulsive depending on physical principles that are not yet understood.” The cosmological constant represents energy inherent in space itself and coincidentally is almost exactly equal to the average density of ordinary matter in the universe (1 gm/cc), at this particular time in its evolution.

To help explain the concepts raised above, it is important to mention that a repulsive Casimir force may be experimentally obtained in the lab by utilizing a cavity built with a dielectric and a magnetic plate (see Boyer, Phys. Rev. A, 9, 1974, 2078 or Kupiszewska, J. Mod. Opt 40, 1993, 517). Thus the cosmological effects may be easier to explain than the popular journals are indicating at this time.

Experimental ZPE

Since ZPE is due to virtual particle flux and high electric field gradients cause the flux to increase, it is reasonable to assume that near the surface of an electron, the ZPE virtual particle flux would be very high, like a bunch of flies buzzing around it. 

Science News reports (2/8/97), “Since the 1930’s, theorists have proposed that.. .virtual particles cloak the electron, in effect reducing the charge and electromagnetic force observed at a distance.” Therefore, for the first time, Dr. Koltick (Phys. Rev. Ltrs. 1/20/97) performed an experiment designed to penetrate the virtual particle cloud surrounding the electron with a particle accelerator at energies of 58 gigaelectronvolts without creating other particles. From his data, the newly obtained value of the fine structure constant is 1/128.5 instead of the smaller 1/137 that is traditionally observed for a fully screened electron. The fine structure constant equals the electron charge squared divided by Planck’s constant and the speed of light.

As to the concept of free energy from ZPE, one of the first journal articles to investigate the possibility is “The extracting of electrical energy from the vacuum by cohesion of charge foliated conductors” (Phys. Rev. B 30, 4, 84). Dr. Forward describes this “parking ramp” style corkscrew or spring as a ZPE battery that will tap electrical energy from the vacuum and allow charge to be stored. The spring tends to be compressed from the Casimir force but the like charge from the electrons stored will cause a repulsion force to balance the spring separation distance. It tends to compress upon dissipation and usage but expand physically with charge storage. It is similar to the multilayer mirror in the article, “The Casimir force for passive mirrors” (Phys. Left. A, 225, 1997, 188) or the “Casimir forces between beads on strings and membranes” (Phys. Left. B, 347, 1995, 56) where virtual particle exchange between the beads is analyzed. It seems that any closely spaced matter in the submicron range will invoke the Casimir force. The last article could be useful for ZPE experimentalists since the Casimir force equations provided for the N “beads” allow for them to be stuck on a membrane or freely placed, with a variable D for the spatial dimension of interest.

Since the ground-breaking work on the “one-atom micromaser” (Phys. Left. A, 217, 1996, 219), such concepts as “virtual photon tunnel effect” and “virtual photon quantum noise” are being explored. Further work is also suggested by the finding that “pressing zero point energy out of a spatial region can be used to temporarily increase the Casimir force” (Weigert, Phys. Left. A, 214, 1996, 215). This article describes the process of squeezing energy states in quantized electromagnetic fields to distribute the uncertainty over position and momentum at will. In fact, a future job market may be opening for the quantum mechanic or the vacuum engineer with such precision in ZPE emerging.

Dr. Forward subscribes to the classical notion that there is no known limit to the electromagnetic wavelength or frequency in the vacuum. What we see from Dr. Puthoff’s approach to this is that he supports the majority view of a cutoff, which is based on Sakharov’s work. The cutoff frequency (perhaps considering hf=mc²) is called the Planck frequency which is around 10⁴³ Hertz. This opposes what we see as far as Moray King (in the book, Tapping the Zero Point Energy) and Dr. Forward saying that there is an infinite amount of energy available. In a later section we will see that Dr. Puthoff s theory derives gravity, inertia, heat, and also electricity directly from ZPE considerations. In Dr. Forward’s paper, he suggests using micro-fabricated sandwiches of ultrafine metal dielectric layers. He also points out that ZPE seems to have a definite potential as an energy source. 

Another possible experiment for ZPE is the “Casimir Effect at Macroscopic Distances” (Phys. Rev. A 48,1,93) which proposes observing the Casimir force at a distance of a few centimeters using confocal optical resonators within the sensitivity of laboratory instruments.

To summarize, the experimental evidence for the existence of ZPE is:

1) the Casimir Effect, 2) the Lamb shift, 3) Van der Waal’s forces, 4) diamagnetism, 5) spontaneous emission, 6) microdegree liquid Helium, 7) quantum noise and most recently, 8) cosmological antigravity. Awaiting experimental verification is that inertia and gravity are also proof of ZPE.

The First ZPE Patent

History was made on 12-31-96 when for the first time ever, ZPE was the subject of U. S. patent (#5,590,031). Dr. Frank Mead, from Edwards AFB, has designed receivers to be spherical collectors of zero point radiation with hemisphere reflectors of beat frequencies. He states that:

“zero point electromagnetic radiation energy which may potentially be used to power interplanetary craft as well as provide for society’s other needs has remained unharnessed.”>

Proposing to convert zero point electromagnetic radiation to electrical energy, Dr. Mead grapples with the high frequencies that may extend up to around 10⁴⁰ Hertz. (To gain a perspective, gigahertz radar is only 10¹⁰ Hz or so. Visible light is about 10¹⁴ Hertz and gamma rays reach into the 20th power, where the wavelength smaller than an atom) With slightly different sized receivers, the system produces a beat frequency. A difference frequency is produced with the rest of the circuitry amplifying that lower “step down frequency”. For example, if 1 part in a million accuracy was achieved in making the microspheres, then the subtraction of two 10²⁰ Hz signals would yield a 10¹⁴ Hz beat frequency. However, I have recommended to Dr. Mead a real step down frequency involving “frequency division” which would mean less accuracy is required in the machining of the hardware and a bigger difference in the frequency output. The important part of his design is that the physical apparatus itself, whether a conductor or dielectric, is responding to the frequencies that it resonates with ZPE. Similar to the passive mirror article cited above, Mead realizes that the physical design of the conductor will determine resonant characteristics. If using large spheres, then it would resonate with very long, low energy frequencies. However, he points out, if this is miniaturized (nano­lithography, down to submicron levels), then as the frequency cubed (f³) dependence goes up very fast, the energy density is much higher. The implications are that not only can it be made as a solid state device, but the smaller you make it, the better it is. In fact, Mead has confided that he is interested in working with single particles like protons or neutrons that may be slightly different by parts per trillion for example. This raises the question of what type of antenna would be appropriate for such an atomic resonator. So there’s a lot of potential for this invention, and I think we’re going to see other follow-up patents.

As to understanding and concepts behind ZPE, Frank Mead calls it “zero point electromagnetic radiation energy.” Dr. Lamoreaux wants to refer to it as “a flux of virtual particles”, because the particles that react and create some of this energy are popping out of the vacuum and going back in. So, that’s another viewpoint. And of course The New York Times simply calls it “quantum foam”. But the important part about it, from Dr. Robert Forward’s excellent paper, is that “the quantum mechanical zero point oscillations are real.” 

ZPE and Sonoluminescence

Does sonoluminescence tap ZPE? This question is based upon the experimental results of ultrasound cavitation in water which emit light and extreme heat. “The Chemical Effects of Ultrasound” (Sci. Amer., 2/89) explains how the bubbles 100 microns in diameter can implode violently creating temperatures of 5,500 degrees Celsius, or about the temperature of the sun’s surface!

Physicist Seth Putterman from UCLA explains in “An Expanding Knowledge of a Tiny Bubble’s Burst” (Washington Post, 8/5/96) that there is enough energy in the 1 mile per second shock wave to tear electrons off of the vapor atoms in the water (ionizing them) and heat them to light-emitting levels. Apparently, the presence of argon dissolved in the water is a crucial ingredient for the visible/ultraviolet light to glow brightly. Critical to the understanding of the nature of this light spectrum however, is whether it matches the known spectra of ionized gases. Dr. Claudia Eberlein in her pioneering paper “Sonoluminescence and QED” (Phys. Rev. Left., 76, 3, 842, 10/96) describes her conclusion that only the ZPE spectrum matches the light emission spectrum of sonoluminescence, which therefore must be a ZPE phenomena.

This helps explain products such as Grigg’s Hydrosonic Pump, whose water glows blue when in cavitation mode, that consistently has been measuring an over-unity performance of excess energy output (Inter. Symp. on New Energy, Denver, 1996 & U.S. Patent #5,188,090).

The Post article, also discusses the possibility of the heat being sufficient for cold fusion as it reviews the movie “Chain Reaction” featuring Keanu Reeves. (This movie is highly recommended because it is the first movie ever made to actually mention the words “free energy.”) The movie, which also was featured as a cover story of In finite Energy magazine, shows the demonstration of a cold fusion cell and the concept behind the frequencies and the power availability that makes it threatening. What I find memorable is Morgan Freeman who acts as the banker’s representative, a veritable archetype of J. P. Morgan resurrected. When he talks about the concept of free energy, he says, “that’s a noble concept, but it would cause the collapse of the world’s economies...” This reminds us of how the utilities have a vested interest in energy consumption.

Sonoluminescence and cavitation create the necessary shock waves to access zero point energy but some scientists claim that 100 times more heat is needed to create fusion. However, some cold fusion scientists who use “high pressure” cold fusion say that they have achieved that requirement. In fact, the January 1997 issue of IEEE Spectrum cites UCLA physicist Robert Hiller’s calculation that the black body equivalent of the sonoluminescence radiation corresponds to a temperature of 100,000 degrees Kelvin. The Yam article from Scientific American (12/97) continues the work of the late Noble prize winner Julian Schwinger and states,

“Basically the surface of the bubble is supposed to act as the Casimir force plates; as the bubble shrinks, it starts to exclude the bigger modes of the vacuum energy, which is converted to light.”

Scientists at UCLA have recently measured the length of time that sonoluminescence flashes persist. Barber and Putterman discovered that they only exist for 50 picoseconds or shorter, which is too brief for the light to be produced by some atomic process (IEEE Spectrum 1/97). Atomic processes, in comparison, emit light for at least several tenths of a nanosecond which leads many to appreciate Eberlein’s proposal that ZPE is the source of the radiation.

Dr. Harold Puthoff’s ZPE

Dr. Harold Puthoff is a physicist who has continued to develop Dr. Andrei Sakharov’s theories of gravity and inertia. What he has achieved, which is now causing shock waves even at NASA, is that gravity has now been theoretically proven to relate directly to ZPE. Thus, a very fascinating new theoretical imagery is presented. For example, Dr. Puthoff, in his paper, “Gravity as a Zero Point Fluctuation Force”, (Phys. Rev. 3/89) points out that gravitational mass and its associated gravitational effects are shown to derive in a self-consistent way from electromagnetic zero point induced particle motion (in other words, ZPE). “Zitterbewegung” or particle jittering may also be the result of that zero point fluctuations. Puthoff believes that it constitutes an already unified field. He refers to the Gravitation text by Meisner, Thorne and Wheeler, often used in graduate courses on general relativity. There are basically six approaches to gravitation that are outlined in that book. The one that Dr. Puthoff emphasizes is specifically the one that Sakharov developed. In the paper, “Gravity as a zero-point-fluctuation force” (Phys. Rev. A 39,5,1993), he points out that Dr. Sakharov regards gravitation as not a fundamental interaction at all, but an induced effect that’s brought about by changes in the vacuum when matter is present. The fascinating part about this is that the mass is shown to correspond to the kinetic energy, the zero point induced internal particle jittering, while the force of gravity is a long range effect. Low frequency, long range forces are now associated with van der Waal’s forces. (Van der Waal’s forces are seen in colloids and various other liquids weakly interacting.) In Puthoffs theory, gravity is related directly to zero point fields, by the low frequency end of the zero point radiation spectrum.

When we consider ZPE as having a third order dependence on frequency, it reminds me of the Hutchison effect, (see Intro. to ‘Free Energy: The Race to Zero Point’, report published by Integrity Res. Inst.) which also has been shown to be a 3rd derivative (3rd order) effect. The Hutchison effect is used to explain an object (conducting or non-conducting) which repels gravity under the influence of high voltage AC-modulated DC fields, with the object continually and uniformly increasing its acceleration. Scientists have never seen that happen before except in the third order Lorentz-Dirac equation treating radiation reaction which may help explain the Hutchison effect. Forces in nature tends to create a constant acceleration. (due to F=ma) The third order effect predicted by the equation of motion in Puthoffs paper is directly related to zero point energy and also yields an insight into the Hutchison effect. It is also worth noting that the “Free Energy: The Race to Zero Point” video shows the evaluation of the Hutchison effect by the U. S. military, who promptly classified the report.

Inertia is a ZPE Effect

The Lorentz force is used to describe Faraday’s law, for example, when we have a charged particle moving in a perpendicular magnetic field and use the right hand rule to describe where the magnetic field is going to force that particle to go. In this example, the electric field, magnetic field, and the force are all perpendicular to each other. The Lorentz Force now has been proven by Puthoff in his derivation in Physical Review A (49, 2, 94), to be directly responsible to what he calls the “electromagnetic resistance arising from the known spectral distortion of the zero point field in an accelerated frame.”

Physicists often hear that Einstein was very interested in Mach’s principle. Ernst Mach was a philosopher more than a scientist and developed the concept that we could only understand inertia if we have some unmoving reference frame. He chose the distant stars as the reference frame. This has been interpreted, not only by Einstein, but others since then to actually explain the principle of inertia, since the distant stars can be regarded as a relatively stable reference frame in the universe from our perspective. Puthoff states, “The ZPF could thus serve as the Machian cosmic reference frame... and the interesting point is that the bulk of the contribution to the effect, in this case the inertial mass, comes from the very-high-frequency components of the ZPF.” He then demonstrates a causal and quantifiable basis for Mach’s principle and explains that the magnetic component of the Lorentz force arises in ZPE and matter interactions.

Newton’s Law is a ZPE Effect

Another theoretical breakthrough by Puthoff is the derivation of Newton’s Law (F=ma) from ZPE electrodynamics. It appears to be related to the known distortion of the zero point spectrum in an accelerated reference frame. We therefore have an understanding as to why force and acceleration should be related, or even for that matter, what is mass. Puthoff explains that the resistance to acceleration defines the inertia of matter and it appears to be an electromagnetic resistance. To summarize: the inertia effect is a distortion at high frequencies whereas, the gravity effect has been shown to be low frequency effect, according to the Puthoff theory.

It is important to mention that Drs. Rueda and Haisch have also contributed to this field by proposing to have found an explicit origin for the reaction force of Newton’s second law (F=ma), which has traditionally been attributed to inertia. Their article (Physics Letters A 240, 1998, II 5-126) proves that the acceleration-dependent scattering of ZPE radiation, which the accelerated object is force to move through, interacts with standard electrodynamics to cause a Lorentz force on the object. Their work cites Puthoff and is supported by a NASA contract.

The distortion of the ZPE field under acceleration is the cause of inertia that we feel from the bound electrons in our body reacting to the sudden change of direction, according to Puthoff. Perhaps there are ways to prevent that interaction. Maybe there are some ways that we can actually turn on a dime, accelerate really quickly and also take off on a space drive. This is what Arthur C. Clarke believes constitutes a space drive in his new book, 3001, The Final Odyssey. He specifically cites Dr. Puthoffs theory with the idea that it is written in the 3001 era, looking back 1000 years as to what was most breakthrough news in making the space drive possible. Arthur C. Clarke pointed out years ago that “the earth is the cradle of civilization but mankind cannot live in the cradle forever!”

ZPE Critical Acclaim

Certainly such an impressive theoretical achievement as Puthoff’s cannot go unnoticed. Philip Yam, in “Exploiting Zero-Point Energy” (Scientific American, 12/97) addresses the issue critically. He admits that, “Energy in the vacuum...is very much real.” Yam also explains, “Specifically, zero-point energy emerges fr9m Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which limits the accuracy of measurements... Residual energy must therefore exist in empty space... And given the equivalence of mass and energy... the vacuum energy must be able to create particles. They flash briefly into existence and expire within an interval dictated by the uncertainty principle.” He then goes on to dryly summarize the Casimir effect and Puthoff's research with a demand for proof of principle.

Dr. Marc Millis of NASA’s new Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Research Program has also addressed the above “emerging technology” in several articles in the past year, including his “Challenge to Create the Space Drive” (J. Prop. & Power, V. 13, No. 5, 1997, p.577). There his search for asymmetrical modifiers leads him to consider the “Remaining Research” of the ZPE field (which he calls the ZPF) “because of its high-energy density”. Dr. Millis states, “Electromagnetism is also suggested as a target phenomenon for space drive research because of the ZPF. The ZPF is an electromagnetic phenomenon. Discovering any way to react asymmetrically with the ZPF would likely create a space drive.” Further on he concludes, “. . .these theories provide new, alternative approaches to search for breakthrough propulsion physics.” Perhaps we can start a new trend by blaming everything on ZPE (pronounced “zippy”)! For an interesting theoretical physics paper on zero point energy, download from http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/hep-th/9901011 .

Lastly, Dr. John Bahcall from the Inst. for Adv. Study at Princeton (where Einstein worked) says, “We are all quantum fluctuations. That’s the origin of all of us and of everything in the universe.”

The Author

Mr. Thomas Valone has degrees in electrical engineering and physics and is a professional engineer. He is presently the President of the Integrity Research Institute in Washington, DC providing technical consultation for engineering and law firms, authors, videos.  Clients include Lightworks AV, Alternative Energy Institute, Starburst Foundation, The Magnetizer Group, Saladoff and Associates, ELF International, Sachs-Freeman Associates, AquaQueen, Newline Investments.  Services provided: Electrical product design/development, engineering testing, expert testimony and opinion, magnetic field measurement & shielding, circuit design.  He is the Editor of the Future Energy newsletter and has 3 books and 50 articles in print covering a broad range of engineering and energy issues.

Video from The University of Tromso, Norway. Lens flare? (wait for the media to load)

Video from The University of Tromso, Norway. Lens flare? (wait for the media to load)

Video from The University of Tromso, Norway. Lens flare? (wait for the media to load) 

Video from The University of Tromso, Norway. Lens flare? (wait for the media to load)  

Link to a Video:  Press release on UFO Disclosure

                 Gaia Theory
                                                                                        JAMES LOVELOCK AND THE GAIA THEORY
Page prepared by Noel Charlton
James Lovelock has developed the "Gaia theory" over the last twenty-five years as a scientific claim that the earth's "biota", tightly coupled with its environment, acts (and has acted since life on earth developed any complexity) as a single, self regulating living system in such a way as to maintain the conditions that are suitable for life. The system includes the near-surface rocks and atmosphere. In particular, it regulates the chemistry of the oceans, composition of the atmosphere and surface temperature.
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More about the theory
Lovelock was working with NASA in the 1960s as a consultant to the "life on Mars" Viking spacecraft project. Questions about whether Martian life, if any, might be in any way comparable to life on earth, about how life can be recognised, indeed, about what life is, led him to see that a reduction or reversal of entropy in a planet's systems would necessarily be a sign of life. In particular, the atmosphere of a planet with life would be different from that of a dead planet. The consequent reassessment of earth's own atmosphere revealed it to be a "highly improbable" mixture of gases which could only be maintained if it was "manipulated on a day-to-day basis" by life on the surface. And so the hypothesis was born.Lovelock tells the story of how the Gaia hypothesis was named. Walking with novelist neighbour William Golding, he explained his excitement about the idea. Golding, thinking of the ancient Greek earth-mother goddess and of her dual character of caring supporter of beings who "fit" and ruthless annihilator of those who do not, suggested the name. Lovelock heard Golding as saying "gyre" and, thinking of cyclical weather-systems or the behaviour of circling birds, thought it was not a bad idea. The two continued at cross purposes until Golding said "I don't know what the blazes you're talking about, Jim….". As Lovelock said (Schumacher College, 1996) "It has caused quite a lot of misunderstanding but you don't turn down a gift like
that from a wordsmith like Golding."
The Gaia theory suggests that, in some sense, the earth is "alive". Lovelock writes: "I recognise that to view the Earth as if it were alive is just a convenient, but different, way of organising the facts of the Earth. I am of course prejudiced in favour of Gaia and have filled my life for the past twenty-five years with the thought that Earth may be alive: not as the ancients saw her—a sentient Goddess with a purpose and foresight—but alive like a tree. A tree that quietly exists, never moving except to sway in the wind, yet endlessly conversing with the sunlight and the soil. Using sunlight and
water and nutrient minerals to grow and change. But all done so imperceptibly, that to me the old oak tree on the green is the same as it was when I was a child." (in "Gaia: The Practical Science of Planetary Medicine", Gaia Books Limited, London, 1991, p.12.)
The idea of a living earth is ancient. Plato wrote: "We shall affirm that the cosmos, more than anything else, resembles most closely that living Creature of which all other living creatures, severally or genetically, are portion; a living creature which is fairest of all and in ways most perfect." Gaia, goddess and earth mother, the Anima Mundi - the "world soul", the idea of "spirit" in things - we have only lost this understanding since Descartes and the coming of objective science. There were some advocates of a living earth even in the scientific period: James Hutton (earth as a super-organism,
a physiological system), Lamark, Goethe, Humbolt and the (little known until recently) Russian scientist Vladimir Vernadsky who introduced the concept of the biosphere, recognised matter as "living", life as "a geological force" and the atmosphere as an extension of life.

Evidence and an example
Lovelock claims that there is strong evidence to suggest an overall systemic control of the earth's surface temperature, atmospheric composition and ocean salinity. The processes are complex and the following notes are simplistic reductions.
Temperature: there has been a 25% increase in heat from the sun since life began but surface temperature has remained approximately constant.
Atmosphere: the present highly unstable mixture of reactive gases (79% nitrogen, 20.7% oxygen, 0.03% carbon dioxide with traces of methane and other gases) could not be maintained without constant replacement or removal by the biota. The early earth had an atmosphere with more carbon dioxide and, at that stage, the consequent greenhouse effect warmed the earth beneficially. Subsequent increase of methane, then oxygen - all produced by biota and cycled through oceans and rocks has been maintained by evolving species. Now carbon dioxide is minimised in the atmosphere by biological pumping down of carbon. Without greenhouse gases our present surface temperature would be about minus 19C.
Ocean salinity has been maintained at about 3.4% for billions of years. Cells cannot tolerate salt concentrations much above 5%. Salinity is at least partly controlled by evaporite beds/lagoons where marine life causes limestone deposits, later buried. This process may be involved in initiating the movement of tectonic plates with consequent removal of salts to land masses.
One example of the complex processes which Lovelock sees as maintaining conditions suitable for life is that involving the Coccolithophores. These and other ocean algae are key agents in the great cycle of carbon from its introduction to the atmosphere by volcanoes, the weathering of limestone rocks accelerated by biotic life in the soil (which also draws down carbon from the air), the combination of these as calcium bicarbonate which, washed into the oceans, is used by algae to form shells which eventually fall to the sea floor to be buried, so locking away the excessive carbon dioxide. Additionally the Coccolithophores release a gas (DMS) which is important in forming the condensation nuclei around which clouds form.
Increased cloud cover reflects sunlight, so controlling surface temperature. There is some evidence that concentrations of ocean algal blooms are increasing. This may be a Gaian response to the present global warming. (see illustrations) ILLUSTRATIONS BY PERMISSION OF JULIA PONSONBY
AND DR. STEPHAN HARDING OF Schumacher College, DEVON, ENGLAND.
Criticisms
THE Gaia Theory has been attacked, particularly by neo-Darwinist thinkers W. Ford Doolittle and Richard Dawkins. They challenge Lovelock to show how organisms could produce concerted action, arguing that there is no way that natural selection could lead to altruism on a global scale. This, they argue, would require foresight and planning on the part of the organisms, such ability would need to be built into their genetic structure. They find it impossible to see how the feedback loops which Lovelock says stabilise the Gaian system could have evolved. They argue that, as Gaia can't reproduce herself, she cannot be alive in any meaningful sense. They also claim that the theory is not scientific because it is impossible to test it by controlled experiment. Lovelock offered The Daisyworld model as mathematical evidence to refute most of these criticisms.
The Daisyworld model
Daisyworld is a computer model of a hypothetical planet with characteristics similar to Earth including a rising input of solar heat. On its surface are, evenly scattered, the seeds of only two species: black daisies and white daisies. Early in the life of the planet conditions are cool; only at the equator is it warm enough for seeds to germinate and there the black daisies have the advantage as they more readily absorb what heat there is. As solar input rises the black daisies spread away from the equator and white ones gain a hold in the increasing warmth. When heat increases to the point where black daisies are overheated they can survive only near the poles, the rest of the surface being covered by the highly reflective white daisies. Surface temperature is initially increased by the absorptive black daisies, then stabilised for a long period by increasing concentrations of the heat reflecting whites. Eventually the increasing solar heat is too much for even the whites; these die and the planet becomes too hot for life. (see illustration)
Lovelock points out that, in this model, the effects beneficial to life are obtained by means of natural selection only - there is no need for purpose, altruism, teleology or anything beyond normal genetic process. In subsequent models grey daisies, herbivores and their predators have been added.
These have proved more stable than other models that do not take environmental feedback into account.
Philosophical implicationsGaian theory inevitably raises the issues of "teleology": whether non-human beings, ecosystems or genetic and evolutionary processes can have any sort of "purpose" and what that means. Lovelock claimsthat his theory demands responsiveness in the system(s) but not awareness, foresight or intention. The action of organisms is always automatic but natural selection "chooses" those that are fitted for the conditions - as in Daisyworld.
Questions, however, remain. Why, for instance, should the needs of coccolithophores be exactly what will serve to take CO[NGC1]2 (excessive for other planetary life) out of the atmosphere? If the system is in control, does this gives ontological status to the system itself? Is the whole system somehow able to value the continuance of "life"?
In Lovelock's view humanity is peripheral, though dangerous, to the life systems of the planet. Our anthropocentric concern is to preserve the earth as we want it. Lovelock believes that ideas of stewardship of the planet are absurd and dangerous "hubris": "We'll never know enough…….. The answer is 'hands off". The large plants and animals are the icing on the cake; the basis of life - what matters for a living planet - is the microbiological. Micro-organisms drive the system and we cannot influence them. We are probably incapable of destroying life on Earth. We can refrain from doing what we
see is damaging but little more. This raises profound questions about responsible action for individual humans and social groups. Is value related to the continuance of life in general, to the experience of humans or of sentient animals? Why does it matter if species are destroyed?
Gaian thinking suggests an alternative to the view that the world is mechanistic, best understood by reducing everything to "parts", that life has come about by chance operation of the laws of physics and chemistry, that evolution is a matter of ruthless competition and that the natural world is there to be exploited. The new view shows the living world as interconnected, in some sense meaningful. What follows from instituting a new metaphor for the old "world as machine" one? David Abrahm's paper in "Gaia in Action" (see reading list) suggests that the change to an organic metaphor removes the assumption of an external "maker" who is in some way like a human creator of machines. This undermines our assumption that we can treat nature as a machine and allows recovery of our sense of being encompassed by and immersed in the world as participants. In his introduction to the same book, Peter Bunyard suggests that the Gaian world has more to do with co-operation than competition, with integration of organisms and environment rather than struggle and competition. This provides, he says, fertile metaphors for community. Lancaster's own Kate Rawles follows this with a paper which asks what ethics follow from the Gaian view. Does it imply that ethical concern extends beyond humans to other sentient beings?
To ecosystems? To the planet? What sort of obligations and responsibilities could this meaningfully involve? Does Gaia theory suggest that there are specifically environmental goals and values? Does it tell us how we ought to act? Does it depose humans from their assumed position at the "apex of evolution" and, if so, what follows?
There are further implications. The Gaian view may make it possible for humans to see themselves as significant (because conscious and self-reflexive) parts of a symphonic interaction. Could the whole earth as a single life preserving system command our respect, awe, even reverence?
Could an understanding of Gaia become the focus for attitudes we have called "religious", thus influencing change in human impact on the planetary process? Lovelock has written "For me, Gaia is a religious as well as a scientific concept , and in both spheres it is manageable… God and Gaia, theology and science, even physics and biology are not separate but a single way of thought". ("The Ages of Gaia", pp. 206, 212. See reading list.)
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                               Great Mother of the Gods  

                                                         Link: http://deoxy.org/index.htm
From The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia
by Columbia University Press

Great Mother of the Gods, in ancient Middle Eastern religion (and later in Greece, Rome, and W Asia), mother goddess, the great symbol of the earth's fertility. As the creative force in nature she was worshiped under many names, including Astarte (Syria), Ceres (Rome), Cybele (Phrygia), Demeter (Greece), Ishtar (Babylon), and Isis (Egypt). The later forms of her cult involved the worship of a male deity (her son or lover, e.g., Adonis, Osiris), whose death and resurrection symbolized the regenerative power of the earth.

Gaea, in Greek mythology, the earth; daughter of Chaos, mother and wife of both Uranus (the sky) and Pontus (the sea). She was mother, by Uranus, of the Cyclopes, the Titans, and others, and, by Pontus, of five sea deities. She helped cause the overthrow of Uranus by the Titans and was worshiped as the primal goddess, the mother of all things.

Adonis, in Greek mythology, beautiful youth loved by Aphrodite and Persephone. When he was killed by a boar, both goddesses claimed him. Zeus decreed that he spend half the year above the ground with Aphrodite, the other half in the underworld with Persephone. His death and resurrection, symbolic of the seasonal cycle, were celebrated at the festival Adonia.

Aphrodite, in Greek mythology, goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She was either the daughter of Zeus and Dione, or she emerged from the sea foam. Married to Hephaestus, she loved and had children by other gods and mortals, e.g., Harmonia was fathered by Ares, and Aeneas was the son of Anchises. Aphrodite was awarded the apple of discord by Paris, leading to the Trojan War. Probably of Eastern origin, she was similar in attributes to the goddesses Astarte and Ishtar. The Romans identified her with Venus.

Apollo, in Greek mythology, one of the most important Olympian gods; son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis. He was concerned with prophecy, medicine (he was the father of Asclepius), music and poetry (he was also the father of Orpheus and the patron of the Muses), and the pastoral arts. A moral god of high civilization, he was associated with law, philosophy, and the arts. He was widely known as a god of light, Phoebus Apollo; after the 5th cent. B.C. he was often identified with the sun god Helios. Apollo's oracles had great authority; his chief shrine was at Delphi, where he was primarily a god of purification. In art he was portrayed as the perfection of youth and beauty. The most celebrated statue of him is the Apollo Belvedere, a marble copy of the original Greek bronze, now in the Vatican in Rome.

Ares, in Greek mythology, Olympian god of war; son of Zeus and Hera. The Romans identified him with Mars.

Artemis, in Greek mythology, goddess of the hunt. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo. Artemis is associated with chastity, marriage, children, wildlife, and, as a complement to the sun god Apollo, with the moon. The Romans identified her with Diana.

Astarte, Semitic goddess of fertility and love. Dominant in ancient Eastern religions, she was the most important goddess of the Phoenicians, corresponding to the Babylonian Ishtar and the Greek Aphrodite. See also Great Mother of the Gods.

Athena or Pallas Athena, in Greek mythology, one of the most important Olympian deities, sprung from the forehead of Zeus. She was the goddess of war and peace, a patron of arts and crafts, a guardian of cities (notably Athens), and the goddess of wisdom. Her most important temple was the Parthenon and her primary festival the Panathenaea. A virgin goddess, Athena is represented in art as a stately figure, armored, and wielding her breastplate, the aegis. The Romans identified her with Minerva.

Atlas, in Greek mythology, a Titan. After the defeat of the Titans by the Olympians, he was condemned to hold the sky upon his shoulders for all eternity.

Bacchus, in Greek and Roman religion, god of wine, vegetation, and fertility. His worship was celebrated in orgiastic rites such as the Bacchanalia

caduceus, wing-topped staff, wound about by two snakes, carried by Hermes. In earlier cultures, notably the Babylonian, the intertwined snakes symbolized fertility, wisdom, and healing. The staff was carried by Greek officials and became a Roman symbol for truce and neutrality. Since the 16th cent. it has served as a symbol of medicine; it is the insignia of the medical branch of the U.S. army.

Ceres, in Roman mythology, goddess of grain; daughter of Saturn and Ops. Her worship involved fertility rites and rites for the dead, and her chief festival was the Cerealia. She was identified with the Greek Demeter.

Chaos, in Greek mythology, the vacant, unfathomable space from which everything arose. In the Olympian myth Gaea sprang from Chaos and became the mother of all things.

Cronus or Kronos, in Greek myth, the youngest Titan; son of Uranus and Gaea. He led the Titans in a revolt against Uranus and ruled the world. By his sister Rhea, he fathered the great gods—Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Hestia. Fated to be overthrown by one of his children, he tried unsuccessfully to destroy them. Zeus later led the Olympian gods in defeating him in a battle, described by Hesiod, called the Titanomachy. Cronus is equated with the Roman god Saturn.

Cybele, in ancient Asiatic religion, Great Mother of the Gods. The chief centers of her early worship were Phrygia and Lydia. In the 5th cent. B.C. her cult spread to Greece and later to Rome. She was primarily a nature goddess, responsible for maintaining and reproducing the wild things of the earth. Her annual spring festival celebrated the death and resurrection of her beloved Attis, a vegetation god.

Cyclops plural of Cyclopes, in Greek mythology, immense one-eyed beings. According to Hesiod, they were smiths, sons of Uranus and Gaea, who gave Zeus the lightning bolts that helped him defeat Cronus. In Homer, they were a barbarous people, one of whom (Polyphemus) was encountered by Odysseus in his wanderings.

Delphi, town in Phocis, Greece, near the foot of Mt. Parnassus. It was the seat of the Delphic Oracle, the most famous and powerful oracle of ancient Greece. The oracle, which originated in the worship of an earth-goddess, possibly Gaea, was the principal shrine of Apollo. It was housed in a temple built in the 6th cent. B.C. The oracular messages were spoken by a priestess in a frenzied trance and interpreted by a priest, who usually spoke in verse. The oracle's influence prevailed throughout Greece until Hellenistic times. Delphi was the meeting place of the Amphictyonic League and the site of the Pythian Games. It was later pillaged by the Romans, and the sanctuary fell into decay.

Demeter, in Greek mythology, goddess of harvest and fertility; daughter of Cronus and Rhea; mother of Persephone by Zeus. She and her daughter were the chief figures in the Eleusinian Mysteries, and her primary festival was the Athenian Thesmophoria. The Romans identified her with Ceres.

Diana¹, in Roman mythology, goddess of the moon, forests, animals, and women in childbirth. Both a virgin goddess and an earth goddess, she was identified with the Greek Artemis.

Dionysus, in Greek mythology, god of fertility and wine, later considered a patron of the arts. Probably of Thracian origin, Dionysus was one of the most important Greek gods and the subject of profuse and contradictory legends. He was thought to be the son of either Zeus and Persephone or of Zeus and Semele. Dionysus was attended by a carousing band of Satyrs, Maenads, and Nymphs. He taught humans viticulture but was capable of dreadful revenge upon those (e.g., Orpheus and Pentheus) who denied his divinity. His worship was characteristically drunken and orgiastic. The chief figure in the Orphic Mysteries and other cults, Dionysus had many festivals in his honor. From the music, singing, and dancing of the Greater Dionysia in Athens developed the dithyramb and, ultimately, Greek drama. The Romans identified him with Liber and Bacchus, who was more properly the wine god.

Eleusinian Mysteries, principal religious Mysteries of ancient Greece, held at Eleusis. The secret rites, which celebrated the abduction of Persephone and her return to her mother Demeter, symbolized the annual cycle of death and rebirth in nature, as well as the immortality of the soul. Dionysus was also much honored at the festival.

Eleusis, ancient city of Attica, Greece, NW of Athens. It was the seat of the Eleusinian Mysteries, dedicated to Demeter. The Eleusinian games were also held there.

Elysian fields or Elysium, in Greek mythology, happy otherworld in the west for heroes favored by the gods.

Furies or Erinyes, in Greek mythology, goddesses of vengeance. Born from the blood of Uranus, they punished wrongs committed against blood relatives regardless of the motivation, as in the case of Orestes. Named Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto, they were usually represented as crones with bats' wings, dogs' heads, and snakes for hair.

Hades, in Greek mythology, 1. The ruler of the underworld, commonly called Pluto. 2. The world of the dead, ruled by Pluto and Persephone. Guarded by Cerberus, it was either underground or in the far west, and was separated from the land of the living by five rivers. One of these was the Styx, across which the dead were ferried. Three judges decided the fate of souls; heroes went to the Elysian Fields, evildoers to Tartarus.

Hebe, in Greek religion, goddess of youth; daughter of Zeus and Hera and wife of Hercules.

Hecate, in Greek mythology, goddess of ghosts and witchcraft. An attendant of Persephone, she was a spirit of black magic, able to conjure up dreams and the spirits of the dead. She haunted graveyards and crossroads.

Helios, in Greek mythology, the sun god; son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia; father of Phaëthon. Each morning he left a palace in the east and crossed the sky in a golden chariot, then returned along the river Oceanus. He was a national god in Rhodes, where a Colossus represented him. In Rome, he was known as Sol and was an important god.

Hephaestus, in Greek mythology, Olympian god; son of Hera and Zeus; husband of Aphrodite. Originally a Middle Eastern fire god, in Greece he was the divine smith and god of craftsmen, worshiped in centers such as Athens. Usually a comic figure, he was represented as bearded, with mighty shoulders, but lame. He worked at huge furnaces, aided by Cyclopses. The Romans identified him with Vulcan.

Hera, in Greek mythology, queen of Olympian gods; daughters of Cronus and Rhea; wife and sister of Zeus; mother of Ares and Hephaestus. A jealous wife, she plagued Zeus, his mistresses, and his progeny, e.g., Hercules. Hera was powerful and widely worshiped as the protectress of women, marriage, and childbirth. The Romans identified her with Juno.

Hercules, Heracles or Herakles, most popular Greek hero, famous for strength and courage. The son of Alcmene and Zeus, he was hated by Hera, who sent serpents to his cradle; he strangled them. Later Hera drove Hercules mad and he slew his wife and children. He sought purification at the court of King Eurystheus, who set him 12 mighty labors: killing the Nemean lion and Hydra; driving off the Stymphalian birds; cleaning the Augean stables; capturing the Cerynean hind, Cretan bull, mares of Diomed, Erymanthian boar, cattle of Geryon, and Cerberus; and procuring the girdle of Hippolyte and the golden apples of the Hesperides. He was later involved in the Calydonian hunt and the Argonaut expedition. At his death he rose to Olympus, where he was reconciled with Hera and married Hebe. Represented as a powerful man with lion's skin and club, he was widely worshiped. He is the hero of plays by Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca.

Hermes, in Greek mythology, son of Zeus and Maia; messenger of the gods and conductor of souls to Hades. He was also the god of travelers, of luck, music, eloquence, commerce, young men, cheats, and thieves. He was said to have invented the lyre and flute. The riotous Hermaea festival was celebrated in his honor. Hermes was represented with winged hat and sandals, carrying the Caduceus. He is equated with the Roman Mercury.

Hestia, in Greek mythology, goddess of the hearth; daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Widely worshiped, she was a kind deity who represented personal and communal security and happiness. The Romans identified her with Vesta.

Horus, in ancient Egyptian Religion, sky god, god of light and goodness. The son of Osiris and Isis, he avenged his father's murder by defeating Set, the god of evil and darkness.

Ishtar, ancient fertility deity, the most widely worshiped goddess in Babylonian and Assyrian religion. Ishtar was important as a mother goddess, goddess of love, and goddess of war. Her cult spread throughout W Asia, and she became identified with various other earth goddesses (see Great Mother of the Gods).

Isis, nature goddess whose worship, originating in ancient Egypt, gradually extended throughout the lands of the Mediterranean world and became one of the chief religions of the Roman Empire. The worship of Isis, together with that of her brother and husband, Osiris, and their son, Horus, resisted the rise of Christianity and lasted until the 6th cent. A.D.

maenads, in Greek and Roman mythology, female devotees of Dionysus or Bacchus. Waving the thyrsus, they roamed the mountains and forests, and performed frenzied, ecstatic dances. They are also known as Bacchae.

Muses, in Greek mythology, the nine patron goddesses of the arts; daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, a Titan who personified memory. They were: Calliope (epic poetry and eloquence), Euterpe (music and lyric poetry), Erato (love poetry), Polyhymnia (oratory or sacred poetry), Clio (history), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy), Terpsichore (choral song and dance), and Urania (astronomy).

mysteries, important secret cults in Greek and Roman religion. Possibly based on primitive fertility rites, their elaborate, mystic ritual appealed to individuals who had tired of the formalistic, state-centered rites of traditional Greek and Roman religion, and who sought a promise of personal salvation and immortality. Some mysteries were survivals of indigenous rites, while others (e.g., the cult of Cybele) were of foreign origin. Especially important in Greece were the Eleusinian and Orphic Mysteries.

nymph, in Greek mythology, female divinity, immortal or long-lived, associated with various natural objects or places. Some represented specific localities, e.g., the acheloids of the River Achelous; others were identified with more general physiographic features, e.g., oreads with mountains, naiads with bodies of fresh water, nereids with the Mediterranean, oceanids with the ocean, dryads with trees; and some were associated with a function of nature, e.g., hamadryads, who lived and died with a particular tree. Nymphs were regarded as young, beautiful, musical, and amorous.

Olympian, in Greek myth, one of the 12 gods who ruled the universe from their home on Mt. Olympus. Led by Zeus, they were: Hera, his sister and wife; Poseidon and Pluto (Hades), his brothers; Hestia, his sister; and his children, Ares, Hermes, Apollo, Hephaestus, Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis. Similar to humans in appearance and character, the Olympians are known to us mainly from the works of Homer and Hesiod.

oracle, in Greek religion, priest or priestess who imparted a god's response to a human questioner; also the response itself and the shrine. Methods of divination included interpretation of dreams, observation of signs, and interpretation of the actions of entranced persons. Among the famous oracles were those of Zeus at Dodona and of Apollo at Delphi.

Orphic Mysteries or Orphism, religious cult of ancient Greece, ascribed to Orpheus. The Orphics affirmed the divine origin of the soul, but also the dual aspect of human nature as good and evil. They believed that through initiation into the Orphic Mysteries and through the process of transmigration, the soul could be liberated from its inheritance of evil and achieve eternal blessedness. Orphism followed a strict ethical and moral code and adopted practices such as Vegetarianism for purification.

Osiris, in Egyptian Religion, legendary ruler of predynastic Egypt and god of the underworld. Osiris symbolized the creative forces of nature and the imperishability of life. Called the great benefactor of humanity, he brought to the people knowledge of agriculture and civilization. In a famous myth he was slain by his evil brother Set, but his death was avenged by his son Horus. The worship of Osiris, one of the great cults of ancient Egypt, gradually spread throughout the Mediterranean world and, with that of Isis and Horus, was especially vital during the Roman Empire.

Pan, in Greek mythology, pastoral god of fertility (god of woods, fields and flocks); worshiped principally in Arcadia. He was depicted as a merry, ugly man with a goat's horns, ears, and legs. All his myths deal with his amorous affairs. He came to be associated with the Greek