[RightWhale]

if somebody found a way to harness the power of static electricity in the air in a meaningful way

Ayn Rand put that in her book. Possibly modeling the character on Nikola Tesla. She was possibly a philosopher, but probably not a scientist.

[blam]

"Ayn Rand put that in her book."

Yup. That was John Galt's motor in Atlas Shrugged."