Magnetic energy? Perhaps

The nation’s energy industry is struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Gas prices are soaring as a result of the catastrophic storm. America’s reliance on overseas oil increases every year.

And from his office in the North Bay city of Sebastopol, Mark Goldes envisions a day — perhaps not so far off — when none of this will be a problem.

Goldes, 73, is chief executive of a small company called Magnetic Power Inc., which has spent years researching ways to, yes, generate power using magnets.

Within a few months, he says, he might just have a breakthrough to report that could revolutionize where people get fuel.

"We’re not yet ready to talk about what’s happening in our lab because, honestly, we don’t know what’s happening," Goldes told me. "All we know is that we’re seeing more energy output than input.

"We’re still having trouble making it repeatable, but we think that’s more an engineering problem than a scientific problem," he said.

David Lazarus

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