As in the debate over biofuels, the total “environmental accounting” for a new technology should be taken into consideration before declaring one method as environmentally superior or more beneficial than another.  We will look at the possible environmental drawbacks of gMOD (from ore extraction to disposal) at another time.  Today I’d like to focus upon its environmental benefits for transportation.

One environmental benefit of gMOD is its potential to replace the burning of fossil fuels (FF) as a means for producing propulsion.  Configured for propulsion, a gMOD generator could replace the burning of fossil fuels by automobiles, trains and ships to produce both forward movement and braking.  A gMOD generator employed within a family vehicle would therefore be the environmental equivalent of an electric vehicle, since it converts electrical energy into vehicle propulsion, though field propulsion as opposed to mechanical propulsion.

However, any requirement to generate large magnetic fields (e.g. in the multiple Tesla range) or to cool generator coils to superconducting temperatures could easily make a gMOD generator an energy “hog” and unsuitable for mobile applications.  In addition, any need for a coil of several dozen or more meters in diameter (as suggested by Tajmar’s patent) would similarly make it impractical for single vehicle usage.  So a compact profile and efficient energy conversion are essential to its usefulness for many transportation needs.

Reduction of operating friction is another potential advantage of gMOD.  Small devices could provide lift-assist in airplanes, dirigibles and maglev (magnetic levitation) trains to improve their efficiency without relying exclusively on gMOD.  Even the conventional family car could benefit from the reduction of friction on wheel bearings, thus reducing operational temperatures and improving fuel efficiency… all made possible with an assist from a small gMOD generator. If standing fields can be shaped according to need then such fields could also be suitable for forming transient airfoil and hydrofoil shapes for reducing air drag and improving mileage.  The field could either form the entire envelope or provide the ability to dynamically change the displacement of air/water as speed or direction changes.

And then there are “flying platforms”.  A fleet of pilotless (autonomous) platforms controlled by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and carrying a wide range of cargo containers could navigate between cities/nodes via satellite GPS.  Shipping goods between cities is perhaps the largest initial growth area for gMOD, even surpassing transport for people.  Such a system would reduce traffic load on highways and reduce wear and tear by fleet vehicles.  This would reduce maintenance costs and increase the longevity of our highways including the consumption of FF-based bituminous roadway material.

How do you ensure the success of a new technology today?  Answer:  Make it an essential strategy for Wal-Mart.  This has been true with RFID chips and it could be true with gMOD.  The biggest horizontal industry in the world is logistics — getting raw materials in, processing of products, packaging products, transporting, warehousing, distributing and retailing to the consumer.  gMOD platforms could fill that need.

If gMOD is found to be practical, there are only a few criteria which must be met to overcome barriers to introducing a gMOD generator.  These include:

1)The technology must be competitively priced both to purchase and to operate in comparison to alternate conventional technologies.

2)It must operate at an efficiency that allows it to perform work at various scales (ideally from palm-sized generators capable of lifting several kilos to closet-sized generators capable of lifting several tons.)

3)Its operation must not present unacceptably high risks to operators, citizenry, or the environment.

4)Any byproducts of its usage must be managed and disposed of safely.

Of these, items 3 and 4 represent areas of potential environmental impact.  It is these areas which represent the potential negative environmental impacts of gMOD technology.  Unfortunately, not enough is known about byproducts or safety risks specific to this technology to address them today.  We’ll reserve speculation about them for another day.