Advanced Concepts: LENR, Anti-Matter, and New Physics of the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space conference

Cold Fusion Now h/t Next Big Future

quote ( Ruby Carat of CFN)

On Friday, March 23 I attended Session 462 Advanced Concepts: LENR, Anti-Matter, and New Physics of the Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space conference, one day after speaking with George H. Miley who would be presenting A Game-Changing Power Source for Spacecraft at the session.

Sounds exciting.  Especially the BECNF ( Bose Einsten Condensates) stuff by Y E Kim.

Znidarsic's lecture at "The Third International Conference for Future Energy"

Mentions Rossi's work.  BEC's once again?  I think so.  My impression is that it seems to be once again about the nature of waves.

The quality of the video is not really too good. Here's a YouTube video that you can see the ideas, perhaps a bit better.

AlienScientist Interview with Frank Znidarsic Part 1 of 2

The SuperWave™ Fusion Process

Uploaded by nofunclub Apr 23, 2009

Not exactly a new video, but I wanted to point out the "Wave" aspect of this process. It seems that waves have a significance in cold fusion. As a collective excitation, could they become bosons and form a BEC?

This video doesn't claim that, however.  Now, if the collective excitation does become a BEC, it could explain the ability to cross the coulomb barrier and fuse.

How can 30% of nickel in Rossi’s reactor be transmuted into copper?

by Dott. Giuliano Bettini Retired. Earlier: Selenia SpA, Rome and IDS SpA, Pisa Also Adjunct Professor at the University of PisaAdjunct Professor at Naval Academy, Leghorn (Italian Navy) link via Rossi's site or blog

This is as good of a post that can describe in as simple a fashion as possible how the E-cat may work.  It depends upon one of the many theories that attempts to explain cold fusion.  Frankly, I like the BECNF theory a bit better.  Why?

Simple, really.  I read about Bose Einstein condensates many years ago.  I think it is fair to say that you favor that which you are most familiar.  I am not familiar with Stremmenos' theory.  It is as simple as that.  It would be incorrect to say that I think one theory is better than another.  I do not know the answer to that question.

It is, after all, a post that I categorize as "armchair physics".  Not professional.  I make no such claims.  It is an attempt by yours truly to understand something that is difficult, and to try to discuss it in an intelligent manner. Hopefully, I don't botch it too badly.

Now, for Stremmenos' theory. Again, not trying to botch it too badly, so here goes a little ditty on that.

There is such a thing as muon catalyzed fusion.  Muons exist and are, for want of a better explanation, are like "heavy" electrons.  They are negatively charged, like electrons, but aren't electrons.  So, they can balance out the electrical charge of a proton, which is the nucleus of a hydrogen atom.  The heaviness of the muon shrinks the size of the hydrogen atom.  It then becomes something like Stremmenos' mini atom.  The mini atom (muon proton combo) tunnels through the Coulomb barrier and fuses with the nucleus.  Ta da!  You have fusion. That's muon catalyzed fusion.

But Stremmenos doesn't depend upon muons, but some other mechanism for making mini atoms.  Let's look at a quote from that post:

it is conceivable that, for a very short time period (e.g. 10ˆ-18 sec), a series of neutral mini atoms of hydrogen could be formed, in an unstable state, of various size and energy level, distributed within the Fermi band, which is enlarged due to the very short time (Heisenberg).

The neutral mini-atoms of high energy and very short wave length – which is in phase with the “cyclic” orbit (de Broglie) – are statistically captured be the nickel nuclei of the crystal structure with the speed of nuclear reactions (10ˆ-20 sec).

It appears that the mini atoms can exist for a long enough period to be captured.  That's because 10 ^-18 is a bigger number than 10 ^-20 . The mini atoms exist long enough for the nuclear reaction to take place. I think that may be the key understanding here. That is, if I didn't botch it.

Update:

You get steam heat from that reaction

BECNF and the E-cat

For a reaction sequence, this looks a whole lot better than Widom Larsen. The sequence goes straight to copper 63. In the case of Widom Larsen, you could go down a few complicated pathways.

In addition, the beta decays occur faster with BECNF. Notice that the slowest reaction is 3.333 hours, as opposed to months or years with some of the beta minus decays in the Widom Larsen scenario.

It could turn out that Rossi Focardi's E-cat is truly a cold fusion device.  If so, it is actually a surprise to me.  I wrote before that I didn't think there was any such thing as cold fusion.  Not to say that this convinces me of the reality of cold fusion, but Widom Larsen left me somewhat disappointed.  This sequence makes it plausible ( to me) as an energy producing possibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_copper

13. Widom-Larsen Theory Simplified

As long as we are destroying everybody's faith in "cold fusion", here's this article about another theory of low energy nuclear reactions.

Incidentally, one of Huizenga's objections to "cold fusion" was how did the Coulomb barrier get surpassed? I wrote about a theory that covered that possibility recently. Check the label, "BECNF Ni-H Theory" for a list of those posts.

Electron-Phonon Coupling at the Tungsten Surface

Another BECNF post here.  At first blush, this may not seem relevant since BECNF doesn't mention this coupling.  I got interested in it because of phonons, as phonons can act as bosons, which are relevant to the theory.

There may also be an objection with respect to Tungsten, since the BECNF is about Ni H systems, not tungsten.

What caught my attention, besides the phonon reference was this quote near the end:

This is an important dissipation channel for energy and will affect chemical reactions at surfaces, such as reactions on catalysts. Another interesting implication is the possibility of an electron-phonon-mediated superconductivity that is confined to the surfaces of metals and has a greatly enhanced critical temperature as compared to ordinary superconductors. [emphasis added]

As I noted before, "cold fusion" has been said to be a surface effect phenomenon.

A closer look at this paper allows another quote that I find interesting:

Since these "many-body" effects are often more prominent in physical systems with less than three dimensions  [ comment: as you would find on the surface] carefully prepared surfaces furnish good two-dimensional test beds for examining these effects in detail.

BCEs in this context probably qualify as a type of "many-body" effects referred to here.

Rossi's catalyst then, could be key.  Maybe that is why it is such a big secret.

Pauli exclusion principle and the BECNF theory

I'm still trying to get my mind around this theory.  The next question is this:  How does a BEC suppress the Coulomb Barrier and allow "cold fusion"?

The answer?  It must be the Pauli Exclusion Principle

It causes atoms to take up the space they do, since electrons cannot all congregate in the lowest-energy state but must occupy higher energy states at a distance from lower-energy electrons, therefore matter made of atoms occupies space rather than being condensed.

As we saw in the last post, distance is key in the Coulomb Barrier

In order to accomplish nuclear fusion, the particles involved must first overcome the electric repulsion to get close enough for the attractive nuclear strong force to take over to fuse the particles. 

Therefore, the BEC allows the atoms to get close enough for the strong force to take over and fusion takes place.

Update 7/26

You know, this wasn't very clearly written.  The point was supposed to be about the Pauli Exclusion Principle and somehow this didn't get explained.  Very well, let me try again.  The Pauli Exclusion Principle is what makes matter the way that it is.  Matter takes up space, as mentioned above.  The Pauli Exclusion Principle is why:  two atoms, which must obey this principle, cannot share the same quantum state, and therefore must be far apart.  For this reason, they are called "fermions", because they obey this principle.  Bosons do not.   As Bose and Einstein predicted, bosons will condense under appropriate conditions.  This means that the atoms of matter will get closer together.  The BECNF theory posits that a condensate is forming that is allowing the atoms to get close enough together in order to allow fusion to take place.  Under normal conditions, this will not happen.  The BECNF theory explains under what conditions these condensates may be forming which are allowing the Coulomb barrier to be overcome which will allow fusion at low temperatures.

With respect to the Coulomb barrier, fusion can take place either by the above theory, if proven correct, or by very high temperatures, which is the way it is being attempted by the hot fusioneers.  Either way may work in theory, but what separates the two is that Rossi may have found out how to do this in a commercially feasible way, which would be quite an achievement.

Rossi's Self Sustaining One Megawatt Reactor

by Hank Mills Pure Energy Systems News

I think that a self sustaining reactor should be the final "nail in the coffin" for the skeptics.  Where does the energy come from if all other sources have been eliminated?

The fact that the one megawatt plant will use no input power (the vast majority of the time) is very important. This will be absolute -- beyond any doubt -- proof that the technology works as claimed. Simply put, the pathological skeptics and naysayers will not be able to refute that cold fusion is taking place.  [emphasis added]

As for why it could work, the Bose Einstein Condensate Theory may check out.  Several weeks ago, I recall seeing this observation about the phenomenon known as "cold fusion"

"cold fusion is a surface effect phenomenon", http://youtu.be/gGJiLrG3fLY, at 46 minutes into video

Now, let's look at the Bose Einstein Condensate Theory, put forth by Yeong Kim, Purdue Nuclear and Many Body Theory Group (PNMBTG) Preprint PNMBTG-6-2011 (June 2011)

(1) additives used (not disclosed in the patent application) form Ni alloy and/or Ni metal/alloy oxide in the surface regions of nickel nano-scale particles, so that Ni atoms/nuclei become mobile with a sufficiently large diffusion coefficient and (2) local magnetic field is very weak in the surface regions, providing a suitable environment in which two neighboring protons can couple their spins anti-parallel to form spin-zero singlet state (S=0). Relatively low Curie temperature (nickel has the Curie temperature of 631 oK (~358 oC)) is expected to help to maintain the weak magnetic field in the surface regions  [emphasis added]

 There may be some objections to the Bose Einstein Condensates forming at these temperatures, but the others who say it can happen.  The theory has to be experimentally tested.

Returning to Mill's article:

Secondly, the nickel powder is processed in such a way that tubercles or protrusions form on it. After this processing, the nickel may resemble filamentary nickel.  

This further supports the notion that it is a surface phenomenon.  Filaments mean more surface area, I gather.

The high surface activity of T255 nickel powder's fine filamentary structure facilitates diffusion during sintering, ensuring high porosity with good strength, superior conductivity and long battery life.[http://www.incosp.com/products/type_255/] 

In a Bose Einstein Condensate, the coulomb barrier is suppressed, which allows the "cold fusion" reaction to take place.

Bose Einstein Condensate and LENR

I won't discuss this much. Just that it struck me like a bolt of lightening. (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration) It did get my attention, put it that way. I put the key phrases in italics and bold for emphasis.

7. Summary and Conclusions
A generalization of the BEC mechanism for one specie LENR processes in condensed matters has been made to the case of a mixture of two different species of positively charged Bose nuclei in harmonic traps. Depending on the ratio of the parameters involved, it is shown that the two components may coexist in same regions of space, in spite of the Coulomb repulsion between two species. We have obtained an approximate selection rule involving nuclear masses and charges of two species.

When it exists in the same regions of space, fusion can take place.  Normally, this is not possible.  Okay, is this big time or am I dreaming?

This paper was created in 2004, so it isn't something dreamed up yesterday in order to explain the E-cat.

Bose Einstein Condensates and the E-cat

Somebody else responded to my question to Andrea Rossi besides Rossi himself.  It was the observation that these condensates form at very low temperatures.  However, a little digging shows that it can be predicted that these condensates can form at very high temperatures too.  I cite the source here:

It has been predicted that a quasi-equilibrium system of bosons could undergo Bose-Einstein condensation even at relatively high temperatures, if the flow rate of energy pumped into the system exceeds a critical value. 

I found the link to this from the Wikipedia entry on Bose Einstein condensates, footnote number 10.  There is more to this, but I have shortened it because of a lack of time.  It should be easy enough to follow, though.

Update:

As I wrote before, the topic here is way above my pay scale, so I think I'll let it drop at this point.  It is interesting reading to a certain extent, but without the formal education to fully understand it, I feel a bit confused sometimes when I read this stuff.

I've been spending the last few hours reading over such topics as "spin" and "anti parallel" and so forth.  As best as I can determine, the theory offered to explain the e-cat's low energy nuclear reaction seems plausible. I'd rather not go much further than that.  That belongs in a discussion elsewhere.

Update:

Here's some information on Yeong E. Kim.  I'd say it looks pretty impressive.

Statistical correlation for the composite Boson

Baigeng Wang, Jian Wang
(Submitted on 16 May 2002)

I found this from a Google search on the words "singlet composite Bosons".  It is not a new theory, since this was published nearly 10 years ago.

Just trying to grasp the theory put forth to explain the E-cat with a scientific theory that I've been looking at recently.

Just asked a question of Mr. Rossi

The question is awaiting moderation.  I am anxious to see what the answer is.

Greg M.
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
July 17th, 2011 at 9:13 AM

Dear Mr. Rossi:

I have read the Bose Einstein Condensate Theory here. If I may quote:

“(2) local magnetic field is very weak in the surface regions, providing a suitable environment in which two neighboring protons can couple their spins anti-parallel to form spin-zero singlet state”

and

“…This may provide a suitable environment in which more of both Ni atoms/nuclei and protons become mobile, thus creating a favorable environment for the case of two species of Bosons (Ni nuclei and composite Bosons of paired two protons).”

and

“The generalized BECNF theory can now be applied to these two-species of Bosons and provides a mechanism for the suppression/cancellation of the Coulomb barrier”

Do you have any comments?

Many thanks,
Greg M.

Update:

Here's the answer:

Dear Greg M.:
Please make your point: I am sure Prof. Yeong E.Kim will answer you. His work is very good, this is my comment.
Warm regards,
A.R.
[emphasis added]

I guess the comment suffices.   What's my point?   Hell, I don't know.   I figured he may have some idea and would like to comment upon it.

It looks to me like the theory is explaining how the fusion can take place.   He wants to conduct some experiments in order to confirm the theory, if my reading is correct.

Bose--Einstein Condensate (video)

In the description section, it says "Bose--Einstein condensate as it relates to Buddhism." I don't know anything about Buddhism, but it seems to explain the phenomenon well enough according to my understanding of it.

I did a google search for "boson" and got this Wikipedia entry. Here's the first part of the entry

In particle physics, bosons are subatomic particles that obey Bose–Einstein statistics. Several bosons can occupy the same quantum state. The word boson derives from the name of Satyendra Nath Bose.[1]

Bosons contrast with fermions, which obey Fermi–Dirac statistics. Two or more fermions cannot occupy the same quantum state.

Since bosons with the same energy can occupy the same place in space, bosons are often force carrier particles

How does that relate to the previous post?  I don't know.  Maybe some of the particles are acting like bosons and are trying to occupy the same quantum state- Bose -Einstein condensate.  If so, it is not at absolute zero temperature, which would appear strange.  But one thing about quantum mechanics, it is one strange phenomenon.




Update:

I've been reading a bit about bosons and fermions. Here's what I was looking for:

Weakly interacting fermions can also display bosonic behavior under extreme conditions, such as in superconductivity.

This could explain why rubidium is used for Bose Einstein condensates. It can act as a boson, presumably.

In 1995, rubidium-87 was used to produce a Bose-Einstein condensate,[29] for which the discoverers won the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics.[30]

Why does rubidium act like a boson? I can't find anything that answers that question. Perhaps it is this hyperfine structure. At any rate, rubidium has unusual properties which make it useful.