Gotta luv the patent office for allowing a patent on basic physics. Sadly, the costs to contest and certainly overturn this mistaken ruling are too high.

Today, the US PO is over reacting to its prior willingness to issue patents too capriciously. They're under pressure from political and big industry to reject the majority of applications. I know of some very original nanotech patent applications having to do with electron behaviour thru nanogaps that are being denied because of irrelevant similar 'drawings' on a magnetic field patent application. Bogus. These are not my patents as I got them years ago when it was easy. :)