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The Greatest Breakthroughs of
Science Are About to Occur
Scientists
will develop cheap energy that won’t destroy our environment.
Can we learn
to generate energy more efficiently, like stars do?
Yes we can!
People will be surprised and delighted when scientists soon find
world-changing solutions to the world’s present energy problems.
So says California-based physicist and science educator Dr. Robert
Piccioni, author of the new book Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein,
and the Universe.
Dr. Piccioni has spent his career understanding and revealing the
mysteries of the universe, and developing practical applications of
advanced technologies.
He is convinced that an amazing array of breakthroughs are about to
take place which will save the world and help mankind survive and
thrive into the next millennium.
In Everyone's Guide to Atoms, Einstein, and the Universe, Dr. Piccioni
examines the scientific breakthroughs of the recent times. He lays out
a roadmap for the scientific developments of the near future and the
impact they will have on human kind and society.
For example, Dr. Piccioni believes that we can develop cheap energy
without destroying our environment. To support his case, he
points out numerous developments:
•
Einstein showed us that energy comes from mass. His
discoveries will lead to future energy sources that are a million times
more efficient and less polluting. We will be able to supply energy to
a million people for a penny a day, without harming the environment.
• Burning coal and gas is expensive and
incredibly inefficient, and always will be. Why? Because of the
intrinsic properties of atoms. Less than one-billionth of those fuels
are converted to energy, and all the rest becomes hazardous waste:
greenhouse gases and pollution. We must find ways to convert mass into
energy more efficiently.
• One solution stares us in the face
every day and every night – the stars make energy a million times more
efficiently and cleanly than we do. If the Sun made energy the way we
do now, it would have burned out billions of years ago and mankind
would never have had its day in the sun. Life on Earth is sustained by
nature’s ultimate fire: hydrogen fusion in the Sun. We can learn from
the stars and replicate that source here on Earth.
•
Black holes are the most destructive force in nature. But for
every yin there is a yang. Black holes can be harnessed to produce
energy, with greater efficiency, with less pollution, and at a lower
cost than any other conceivable means. Black holes are the ideal
dumpster – everything that goes in is gone forever – and they could
become ideal energy sources by converting our trash into virtually
unlimited energy. One day, when the Sun burns out, humanity can find
its ultimate sanctuary in orbit around a black hole.
• We can learn
to burn water. Don’t tell your favorite fire department, but water is
500 times more flammable than gasoline. This is because water contains
a small amount of “heavy water.” Heavy water actually is heavier than
normal water and it sinks. But it contains a very valuable substance
called deuterium. When we learn to master fusion, we will be able to
get abundant, clean energy from under the seas rather than having to
buy expensive, polluting energy from overseas.
• Solar energy is a great future option,
but it’s not yet ready for prime time. While sunlight is plentiful,
energy from solar now costs about 3 times as much as energy from coal.
The optimal collection areas are in the deserts of the Southwest, far
from where the energy is needed. With major investments over several
decades, we will develop lower cost solar energy and effective ways to
transport and store that energy to match consumers' demand.
• Wind-powered energy is already cost
effective in some areas. Unfortunately these are not near major
population centers. Technical challenges remain in transporting and
storing energy from wind power, and there are environmental issues and
aviation concerns. However, with sufficient investment, wind can become
a major energy source within a few decades.
Dr. Piccioni says, “You don't need to be a physics or math wiz to
appreciate the beauty of a distant galaxy or to be awed by an exploding
star. We live in the Golden Age of Astronomy. More
has been learned in our lifetime about stars, galaxies, black holes and
the Big Bang than in the entire prior history of mankind. And
the breakthroughs we are about to see will change the face of the earth
as we know it in ways we cannot imagine“.
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