Small-scale nuclear fusion could become a new source of energy - Press release from the University of Gothenburg. (Leif Holmlid and Sveinn Ólafsson)


  • Longview writes:


    The Rydberg mechanism as presented is so broad that, if true, it is likely to be cosmogenically significant. Which then makes it important for Holmlid and colleagues to recognize that possibility, and at least take account of the observed abundances of elements and their isotopes with their mechanism in view. For all I know they may have done this already. Such cosmogenic evidence plays strongly in the history of stellar and cosmological theory and in the study of isotopic abundances, dating at least from George Gamow in say the 1940s.


    The physical and chemical features of LENR that seem to me common to this point include:


    1. A refractory substrate such as aluminum oxide.
    2. A transition metal catalyst such as nickel or perhaps palladium or iron, cobalt etc.
    3. An alkali metal such as lithium, potassium or some combination thereof.
    4. Endogenous (as hydride) or exogenous (molecular hydrogen or proton/deuteron beam) source of hydrogen (sometimes protium, sometimes deuterium).
    5. Sufficient thermal heat, electrostatic potential, phonon flux, microwaves, IR or other light, impressed magnetic fields--- either varying or static.
    6. The conjunction of electrical conductor to electrical insulator is very often present.
    7. High surface areas, since very often the LENR phenomena are surface or very near surfaces.
    8. Substantial or complete condensed matter (that is solid and liquid phases) for all components except (perhaps) the hydrogen


    It may well be that any and all of those apply to Holmlid and the Rydberg matter interpretation as well.


    When these acetylides are heated, hydrogen is released, then the alkali metal is released from the carbon as the temperature rises. After the release of hydrogen, potassium/lithium carbide is formed. Potassium carbide was the active LENR material in the DGT reaction. In the old days, this stuff was used in miners lanterns to produce illuminating gas when water was added.


    The acetylide chemistry suggested by Axil may not work well in practice. The quote from Piantelli not withstanding, it is very likely that elemental carbon, in one of its forms (graphitic, nanostructured or diamondlike, but probably not amorphous) is an important player, not so much because of its chemistry but because of its colligative properties, that is because it remains as condensed matter at very high temperatures. Those here must recognize how unlikely hot fusion is in "space", being actually very slow even in the central core of sun-like masses where it is surely well under a kilowatt per cubic meter. Only in supernovas is the rate for hot fusion impressively high on a per unit mass or volumetric basis... .


    Acetylides might be important for something, but they are likely no substitute for carbon isomorphs for substrates of Rydberg matter, mainly because they would lack the structural stability as a "catalyst" for Rydberg formation. A better approach using carbides may involve using the many refractory carbides known, tungsten carbide, silicon carbide, hafnium carbide and so on--- with the possible risk of generating heavy and dangerous radioisotopes from those heavy elements such as tungsten... but not silicon. Here the sustained high temperature rigidity is present, and the partially filled d- or f transition metal orbitals exposed on the surface may contribute reversible reactivity or other features necessary to make a one or two dimensional Rydberg hydrogen structure. How to get to ultradense there, that is for the Rydberg specialist to work out. An important issue may be to determine how "ultradense" the hydrogen is in Holmlid experiments and to what extent that may have already been reflected in earlier successful LENR experiments. There may be complete or partial overlap (Holmlid v. "LENR"), or there may be distinctive mechanisms at play in say Rossi or Parkhomov compared with Holmlid.


    Most certainly that is calcium carbide in miner's lamps, which itself might be an interesting target of LENR and/or Rydberg research. The mentioned "potassium carbide" could have simply been metallic potassium bound to the surface of say graphitic carbon, which then could easily accept a hydride, that is as H-K-Cn--- that is, where the likely complex carbon structure can easily act as a electron donor or acceptor by simply shifting sigma and pi bond structure. But let's look at the work carefully to see exactly what is likely to be present. In any case it still may well conform to the Rydberg hypothesis. The most characteristic feature of alkali metals, as opposed to the alkaline earths such as calcium, is in the univalency of the alkali metals. This leads them to be the easiest chemical path to generate the hydride anion H-, which itself has often played a role in LENR mechanistic theories.


    Perhaps Axil has seen information that the acetylide ion is even more likely to be useful in LENR than hydride?

  • Holmlid may be under a nonproductive misconception; he may be barking up the wrong tree. He believes that the reaction that he has invented is akin to inertial confinement hot fusion. But it seems to be more like the reaction that powered the Papp engine where there was a vigorous expansion of plasma with little heat produced.


    Holmlid would be better advised to follow the route that Joe Papp took; convert the expanding plasma that the Holmlid reaction produces and drive a piston to convert the energy content in the expanding plasma directly into mechanical energy.


    Yes, Holmlid may have rediscovered the Papp reaction.

  • Perhaps this has been covered already, but in case it was not, NextBigFuture.com
    has the following updates --


    "Patent details for Nuclear Fusion using lasers and ultradense deuterium"
    http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/…nuclear-fusion-using.html


    "Near term Commercial Fusion Power Possible - Laser induced fusion of ultra-dense deuterium with double net energy gain has been produced and gain of 20 times is within reach"
    http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/…mercial-fusion-power.html

  • Holmlid's theory is actually quite cute, it almost makes some sense here and there . But I am pretty convinced, it has nothing to do with the observable reality.

  • Holmlid's theory is actually quite cute, it almost makes some sense here and there . But I am pretty convinced, it has nothing to do with the observable reality.


    This is OK, but I suspect you have some evidence to support your case? It is unfortunate that we are not doing actual experiments to confirm or disconfirm the wild ideas presented recently here. Of course experiments, even replications, are costly, difficult and time consuming. This is where Holmlid differs from the other wild ones, he apparently has actual data, which admittedly could be correctly or incorrectly interpreted.


    [And thanks for the "up" votes.]

    • Official Post

    ... this news also covered here ...


    Homeland Security News Wire


    Quote

    Small-scale nuclear fusion may be a new energy source

    Published 28 September 2015


    Nuclear fusion is a process whereby atomic nuclei melt together and release energy. Because of the low binding energy of the tiny atomic nuclei, energy can be released by combining two small nuclei with a heavier one. Fusion energy may soon be used in small-scale power stations. This means producing environmentally friendly heating and electricity at a low cost from fuel found in water. Both heating generators and generators for electricity could be developed within a few years, according to researchers.


    http://www.homelandsecuritynew…ay-be-a-new-energy-source

  • Whoever heard of ultra dense deuterium before? [1] Nobody. But science editors do not seem to care. We have Mats Lewan,and Ny Teknik Magazine, drifted to the dark side of knowledge. By what, or by whom? Some are already taking this confusion seriously, others will soon follow like lemmings.


    But back to the topic. Actually, I am quite sure Holmlid believes he does meaningful research. It may very well be honest too, but it is not modelling the universe we live on.


    Holmlid's research is clearly fringe, sorry to say.


    Period.


    "My research has for quite some time been devoted to Rydberg
    Matter, whihc probably is the most common form of matter in the
    Universe."


    ----------


    -- Leif Holmlid
    Professor emeritus




    ---
    [1]
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/re…/2009/05/090511181356.htm

  • Another article ( Feb 10, 2016 - possibly redundant ) by Mark Dansie --
    http://revolution-green.com/sm…be-a-new-energy-source-2/


    Last section may be of interest:
    "Update (Simon) 11th February 2016: I have a collection of Holmlid’s papers if anyone wants to go check on what he’s done. Be aware this is a 17Mb zip file Holmlid1.tar and a 9.5Mb zip file Holmlid2.tar . I figured it would be useful to have them stored here as well rather than go hunt them all down. You can make up your own mind as to the scholarship involved and the quality of the experiments"

  • Holmlid is suffering from the same nuclear physics meme that plagued F&P in there understanding and communications of the reaction that they found. Dr G. Miley suffers from the delusions of the same meme. Compression to overcome the coulomb barrier through close prosimity of hydrogen atoms to each other may not be a factor in the processes that appears in Holmlids' reaction.


    One way to show that this meme is false is to show that the cause of LENR is not depleted by extended applications of the reaction and/or an increase in the number of laser shots executed per second. This means that the hydrogen rydberg matter is not consumed by the reaction.

  • @axil: actually, from this paper (paywalled) from Holmlid which I've incidentally recently read it appears that the Potassium Rydberg matter cloud surrounding the heated K:Fe2O3 catalyst can get depleted in some circumstances (untreated, fresh catalyst - called 'emitter' - and relatively low temperature). Here's an excerpt from the relevant paragraphs:



    This probably doesn't exactly apply to Hydrogen Rydberg matter (which is formed in this case when Rydberg atoms and matter of potassium transfer their excitation energy to hydrogen atoms and molecules - as far as I have learned), but I think the same would probably also happen in that case. After all he is using a laser beam to disrupt it and study the fragments produced through TOF mass spectrometry.

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