@redewenur - Correct, we are getting into the realm of "Science Fiction". However, in my mind science fiction is a way for us to describe possibilities. From what I've observed, the more popular and long lived a science fiction idea (think meme, natural selection of the truth) the higher probability of the idea becoming "reality". The difficult part is knowing the time frame in which they will come to pass. The prediction of future events seem to obey Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in that if we know more certainly What is going to happen, the When gets harder to pinpoint, and conversely, knowing that "something" important is going to happen at a certain time limits our ability to determine the nature of that event . If you view the theory of zero point energy generators, its been passed around quite a bit. Because of the greater frequency of such a concept in the human consciousness on this planet, I believe that we are coming closer (on a logarithmic scale) to the realization of what was formerly science fiction.
To talk about ZPG's, I'm sure that when the time is right, we will find the right dark, cold place to build our apparatus.
-A
