Re-examination of Energy Conservation Principle ‎in ‎Charged Capacitors and the Reported ‎Anomalous Energy ‎Devices

Abstract

Energy conservation is one of the most fundamental and well-established principles of physics. E. Noether ‎extended the ‎energy conservation principle to the quantum field theoretical domain in empty space by ‎relating the time-translation ‎invariance of the universe with energy conservation. While this is the case in ‎an open empty space, it seems that the local ‎space enclosed by conducting metallic plates has an ‎unexpected property, suggesting that the energy conservation principle ‎may not necessarily apply to ‎localized bound systems of capacitors in electrodynamics. This point of view was raised by ‎noting that the ‎spherical capacitor has calculable electrostatic self-potential energy in both the inner and outer shells, ‎which is ‎not considered in the conventional consideration of the total energy stored in the capacitors. It ‎seems that the concept of ‎moving charges one by one into the capacitor plates has helped bypass the ‎necessary steps to account for the additional ‎repulsive self-potential energy that accumulates ‎simultaneously in both capacitor plates in the process of charging the ‎capacitor. We present itemized ‎details of the repulsive potential energy stored in the capacitors and discuss its physical reality ‎in relation to ‎the anomalous energy devices reported in the past.‎