I recently watched a passionate video of a Stanford MBA student from India that shared the insight: "Cause of poverty: there isn't enough energy to go around.".Mercury wrote: ↑October 29th, 2022, 5:27 pmIt's difficult to appreciate how having limitless clean energy to spend would change the equation; it would be a new phase in human existence - as different as the industrial age was from every preceding era. We'd have a future to grow into; not a cul-de-sac, but an open road ahead - a vast landscape of previously un-imagined opportunity would be opened to us.Sy Borg wrote: ↑October 29th, 2022, 3:24 pmIf there comes a time when over 90% of wealth is contained in the upper echelon, they can drop the rest of us off like a leprotic arm, operating purely B2B. Why bother with the hassle of the poor millions when you can have smooth transactions with peers and professionals who have all the money?
Two recent scientific discoveries may enable two humanitarian innovations:
- limitless 100% clean and free energy
- de-centralization of the energy source
This topic is intended to discuss the potential impact of such technologies. Especially the idea of de-centralization of energy might be unconsidered and undiscussed as of today.
Invention 1: Graphene energy chip: unlimited free energy
(2020) Physicists build circuit that generates clean, limitless power from graphene
"A low cost energy-harvesting circuit based on graphene could be incorporated into a chip to provide clean, limitless, low-voltage power for small devices or sensors," said Paul Thibado, professor of physics and lead researcher in the discovery.
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-physicist ... phene.html
Rippling Graphene Sheets May Be the Key to Clean, Unlimited Energy
The next generation of smart devices could be powered by nano-scale power generators.
https://futurism.com/potential-clean-unlimited-energy
Graphene May Someday Power the World
Scientists have discovered an endless energy supply in the naturally occurring Brownian motion of graphene.
https://bigthink.com/surprising-science ... the-world/
Invention 2: Neutrino energy chip
An invention (apparently) from Germany that is actively marketed internationally through the website https://neutrino-energy.com/
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I haven't noticed any scientific articles on the neutrino energy chip technology however the Graphene energy chip technology appears to be feasible in the short term and has received a lot of attention from scientific journals.
The prototype chip is a 10 mm chip (the size of a coin) and produces 10 milliwatts of power (0.01 watts). Graphene is a cheap and ambundant resource that can be constructed using 3D printing technology.
A simple calculation shows its promise at scale:
1 million of the first prototype chips combined in an array would produce 10,000 watts of continuous power. The combined size of those chips may be that of a living room.
With 1 trillion chips in a large factory hall, the output would be 1 gigawatt (continuous output, also at night), similar to that of a coal-fired power plant, but free of charge during the production of energy and 100% clean.
A modern nuclear power plant produces 1 to 3 gigawatts of power and would therefore provide about the same capacity of 1 factory hall of the prototype Graphene energy chips.
The chips work underground, making it possible to realize a safe and clean energy facility deep underground under large cities that continues to work day and night.
A large mine with 1000 trillion chips produces 1 terawatt of energy, enough for entire countries. The city of London (supposedly) only needs 2 gigawatts of power.
Graphene is an economical raw material. If the chips can be mass-produced, an automated system could ensure that 1000 trillion chips work optimally at all times or be replaced by a new chip. In time, the technology would become more efficient for more power, greater reliability and lower costs.
For spacecrafts, the technology would make it possible to travel unlimited distances, while, for example, a nuclear-powered spacecraft has a limited number of life years, and can therefore only travel a limited distance. A 3D printer on the spaceship could recycle and replace defective chips so that the energy source continues to work optimally during a journey.
Because the basic material of the chips is simple (graphene comes from the material in pencils), it is probably a solution that will be more reliable in practice because the source material can be harvested in space. For example, the basic ingredient for graphene (graphite) is available and abundant on Mars.
If plans are made in the near future to send a reconnaissance vehicle to 1 billion galaxies, he graphene energy chip technology would make it possible to reach galaxies thousands of light-years away.
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Media attention faded away
The last media articles on the technology date from 2020 (Google News). That is almost 3 years ago.
Could the technology be suppressed, for example due to the multi-trillion USD/Euro investments in nuclear fusion technology that is about to become available and is likely to have been paired with a grand political plan for semi-long term (decades long) investment recovery?
De-centralization of energy
A new concept for philosophical exploration might be the idea of de-centralization of the energy source. While today energy is provided through controlled channels, what will happen when energy is abundant and free on an individual person level?
Question: what are the possible societal implications of the availability of infinite free energy on an individual level (de-centralization of energy)?