Randy Davis Patents/Marathon, and New Energy Power Systems

    As indicated above, the program can begin with previously discussed system concepts and parameters, e.g.:

    - scaling-up from liquid electrolysis experiments to industrial systems would be difficult.

    - deuterium gas loading in gaseous systems can be just as operative as electrolytic loading for liquid systems.

    - the role of microscopic crevices and channels of the system’s cathode reaction material.

    - reasons for consolidated metal powder as cathode reaction material.

    - the role of deuterium diffusion rate.

    - the role of reaction material (cathode) temperature (e.g., from a built-in electric heater).

    - the requirement to remove the additional heat produced by cold fusion.

    - the need to remove helium produced by cold fusion.

    - (added) the need (desire) to use pressure (i.e., density of gas), electric fields and thermal diffusion to load the cathode reaction material.


    Perhaps readers of this post could add their own "one liner" concepts and parameters of most interest to them. After a good list is composed, it would then be possible to add explanatory comments to each one.

    Quote from NEPS*NewEnergy

    The Pentagon is the only agency able to do this and serve effectively as program manager.

    Effectiveness in R&D? Military intelligence?

    Just basic accounting is a problem for the Pentagon

    The Pentagon's Bottomless Money Pit
    When the Defense Department flunked its first-ever fiscal review, one of our government’s greatest mysteries was exposed: Where does the DoD’s $700 billion…
    www.rollingstone.com


    The DoD sounds a bit expensive

    somewhere around $30 million to reduce conventional nuclear reactors to the 1-5 Mw range

    and that's just to begin the design work..

    For LENR unconventional multiply that inefficiency by 10


    Portable nuclear reactor project moves forward at Pentagon
    The Defense Department wants a portable, small nuclear reactor for use in the field.
    www.defensenews.com


    Isaac Asimov has stated that “Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world.” Albert Einstein said, “Scientists investigate that which already is; engineers create that which has never been.” Freeman Dyson has said, “A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering.” Yuan-Cheng Fung stated: “Engineering is quite different from science. Scientists try to understand nature. Engineers try to make things that do not exist in nature. Engineers stress invention.” And, Theodore von Karman said, “Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that never has been.”


    Some engineering concepts suggested for consideration include, e.g.:

    - Need for sufficient number of reaction sites in cathode.

    - Need to be physically robust when subjected to related nuclear reactions and internal temperatures.

    - Need the cathode to be replaceable.

    - Need for gas manifold(s).

    - Need to supply heat to downstream generators.

    - Need to monitor gamma radiation.

    - Need to handle any radioactive tritium.


    Perhaps readers of this post could also suggest their own "one liner" engineering concepts and parameters of most interest to them. After a good list is composed, it would then be possible to add explanatory comments to each one.

    Thanks Neps,


    As an engineer, I have always felt somewhat inferior to the scientists at Fermi, Argonne and the U of C.


    We shouldn’t, brilliant tho they may be, when we are surrounded by the tools of our trade we can be also, our tasks differ.

    I always considered my job, as bridging.

    Between science, clients, technicians, managers.

    Connecting people, connecting machines, connecting ideas, connecting needs, connecting capacities.

    Reusing, sharing, bringing, taking...

    Invent less, share more.


    Great considerations here... Teamwork is the rule.

    ants standing on the shoulders of...

    ants


    Just found the full quote of Yan Cheng Fung


    Yuan-Cheng ("Bert") Fung Quotes - 1 Science Quotes - Dictionary of Science Quotations and Scientist Quotes


    Quote

    ...

    Almost all engineers working on new designs find that they do not have all the needed information. Most often, they are limited by insufficient scientific knowledge. Thus they study...

    In a way I suspect most jobs end that way, when you try to do them well...

    Maybe is it just a difference in image...

    Scientists have to learn every hour, but their limits are less visible than the one of an engineer...

    “Only puny secrets need keeping. The biggest secrets are kept by public incredulity.” (Marshall McLuhan)
    twitter @alain_co

    Like 4

    When my father passed, we had a celebration of life for him, 200+ people showed up from all over the country.


    All of the children spoke for a minute,

    When it was my turn, I channeled Sir Issac Newton, told everyone that if I can be counted as being successful and able to see what some couldn’t, it’s because I was able to stand on his shoulders all of my life.

    Dad was still doing calculus in his head at 89, his body was ruined, but he was still very sharp.


    We engineers still have our parts to play, keep on keeping on.

    Some system concepts and parameters suggested for consideration include the following.:

    - a. scaling-up from liquid electrolysis experiments to industrial systems would be difficult.

    - b. deuterium gas loading in gaseous systems can be just as operative as electrolytic loading for liquid systems.

    - c. the role of microscopic crevices and channels of the system’s cathode reaction material.

    - d. reasons for consolidated metal powder as cathode reaction material.

    - e. the role of deuterium diffusion rate.

    - f. the role of reaction material (cathode) temperature (e.g., from a built-in electric heater).

    - g. the requirement to remove the additional heat produced by cold fusion.

    - h. the need to remove helium produced by cold fusion.

    - i. the need (desire) to use pressure (i.e., density of gas), electric fields and thermal diffusion to load the cathode reaction material.

    - j. Need for sufficient number of reaction sites in cathode.

    - k. Need to be physically robust when subjected to related nuclear reactions and internal temperatures.

    - l. Need the cathode to be replaceable.

    - m. Need for gas manifold(s).

    - n. Need to supply heat to downstream generators.

    - o. Need to monitor gamma radiation.

    - p. Need to handle any radioactive tritium (safely).

    The case for Most Likely Success: The technical literature indicates that, in a cold fusion setting, hydrogen-deuterium, or proton-deuteron (p-d) reactions could or would have greater probability of occurrence than deuteron-deuteron (d-d) and other types of fusion reactions. Reactions between protons and deuterons are discussed in the literature to be an important step with high probability in nucleogenesis of the early universe. And, p-d fusion has been shown to have a high reaction probability compared with d-d fusion in high-density stellar environments. The importance of proton-deuteron (p-d) reactions can be understood by focusing on a type of high-density reaction called "pycnonuclear". This term is derived from the Greek word "pyknos", meaning "compact, dense". This is where positive ions (e.g., the proton and deuteron nuclei) in a material, due to high pressure at relatively low temperature, are able to form a Coulomb lattice structure surrounded by electrons. The electrons act to weaken/screen the Coulomb repulsion between the ions. As a result, nuclear reaction rates can increase considerably. "Metallic hydrogen" is an example where electrons act to weaken/screen the Coulomb repulsion between its proton (p) nuclei. In an October 2001 paper, "Radiative Proton-Capture Nuclear Processes in Metallic Hydrogen,” (Physics of Plasmas, Vol 8 (#10), 4284-4291), Setsuo Ichimaru has indicated that "For a possible laboratory detection of, and for the ultimate goal of power production by pycnonuclear reactions, the p-d reactions may (thus) be looked upon as the most promising process. The fusion yields of stable helium-3 and gamma rays (at 5.494 MeV) would not produce dangerous radioactive byproducts." Theory of p-d pycnonuclear reactions and related cold fusion calculations are further discussed by Ichimaru in "Nuclear Fusion in Dense Plasmas," Reviews of Modern Physics, vol 65 (#2), 255-299, April 1993. The importance of these references on nucleogenesis to cold fusion system development is simply that fusion of hydrogen and deuterium in a cold fusion environment should occur more easily than d-d fusion using all deuterium. Also, as Ichimaru indicated, the energy from any gamma ray would be less than about 20 MeV which could induce dangerous radioactive by-products into the system. Another benefit of p-d reactions is that energy from the gamma rays is low enough to be absorbed by, and produce heat in, construction materials used for the systems’ cathode, reaction chamber and heat exchanger/boiler.

    With regard to item c in the above list of system concepts/parameters, "the role of microscopic crevices and channels of the system’s cathode reaction material," consider small, one-micron long, linear channels or microscopic cracks in the system’s cathode reaction material that are sparsely populated with several hundred hydrogen and deuterium atoms/ions, and each of these attempting to move with kinetic energy related to temperature of the surrounding material. The linear channels could be manufactured, for example, with carbon nanotubes or layers of hydrogen-absorbing metals. At some point a type of two-component cold fusion reaction (produced by phonons) is believed to occur where one of the atoms gains an electron from the reaction material or local environment while one loses an electron. At this instant, velocity of the two ions attracted by their Coulomb forces can be estimated by applying Coulomb's equation, along with Newton's law, F = ma, and the equation for velocity under constant acceleration, v2 = 2ad, with initial velocity assumed to be zero. F is in units of newtons. This results in an estimated velocity of 0.5 x 105 cm/sec. From the standpoint of these equations, fusion is possible due to an ability to accelerate very small masses of ions in the channel to a sufficiently high velocity.

    The above post regarding item “c” in the list of system concepts indicates that deuterium ions (i.e., with opposite charges) accelerated towards each other through a distance of one-micron might have a velocity of 0.5 x 105 cm/sec when they collide. In order to verify if this velocity is sufficient to overcome the Coulomb barrier so that fusion is possible, it may be a little useful to consider operation of a typical industrial neutron generator. Some of these generators use an electric potential of about 100 kV to accelerate deuterium ions through a 0.5 meter-long evacuated tube. Currents of 0.06 to 10 milliamperes are reported to produce 108 to 109 neutrons per second, for example. An ampere is defined as the movement of one Coulomb of charge per second. If each ion carries a charge of 1.6 x 10-19 Coulomb, then the ion current would be about 0.04 to 6.0 x 1016 ions/second. Many of the ions would not reach the target, and many would not fuse to produce neutrons. But, the force (F in newtons) from the electric field on an ion that moves from its source to the target can be determined by multiplying its charge (1.6 x 10-19 Coulomb) by the electric field (105 volts across 0.5 meter, or 2 x 105 volts/meter). The ion’s velocity can be estimated again by applying Newton's law, F = ma, and the equation for velocity under constant acceleration, v2 = 2ad, with initial velocity assumed to be zero. This results in an estimated velocity of 1400 x 105 cm/sec. Although this velocity is many times greater than that calculated for a one-micron-long channel, it is conceivable that the velocity of 0.5 x 105 cm/sec is in the ballpark to be great enough to overcome the Coulomb barrier so that fusion is possible.

    I think before you can go after all these questions you would need a basic working experiment which is fully understood and has a high or at least very promising energy density/yield, with a low risk profile. 10-30W/cm^2?

    Anything else is probably too risky or not economical enough.

    Then the engineering will kick in....

    Quote from gerold.s

    Then the engineering will kick in.

    After reviewing Metzler at the ARPA-E LENR workshop..

    Engineering the lattice structure first is paramount, the stepwise process (which is well underway) is intelligently described. What is significant is others who are approaching what to do next in ways he describes. Data exists from many solid state systems to engineer the lattice from. Follow what he suggests next... including points you make.

    NEPS*NewEnergy Thanks


    I've been learning from ARPA-E projects at LBNL like this one which is relevant to your last post.

    Quote

    "The team proposes to scale ion accelerators based on MEMS to higher beam power and pack hundreds to thousands of ion beamlets on silicon wafers."

    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)

    From

    "MEMS RF Accelerators For Nuclear Energy and Advanced Manufacturing"

    https://arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/projects/mems-rf-accelerators-nuclear-energy-and-advanced-manufacturing

    The above post for item “c” in the list of system concepts/parameters indicates that it might be possible for a single deuteron with a velocity of 0.5 x 105 cm/sec to overcome the Coulomb barrier so that fusion is possible. Theoretical graphs of d-d plasma fusion cross section and reaction parameter (i.e., cross section x velocity) might be able to give some insight into deuteron velocities needed for cold fusion compared with neutron generators. These graphs indicate that d-d plasma fusion cross section at 100 keV is about 0.05 x 10-24 cm2 (0.05 barn) and the reaction parameter (cross section times velocity) is 5 x 10-17 cm3/second. This indicates that many deuterons in a plasma would need to have velocities of 109 cm/sec for fusion. At 20 keV, the fusion cross section is about 0.001 x 10-24 cm2 (0.001 barn) and the reaction parameter (cross section times velocity) is 1 x 10-19 cm3/second. This indicates that (many) deuterons would need to have velocity of 108 cm/sec for fusion. These values are “close” to the above estimate of 1400 x 105 cm/sec for neutron generators. But, additional information is needed to explain fusion in small linear channels and microscopic cracks of a cold fusion system’s cathode reaction material. The needed insight is believed to be provided in "A Theoretical Model for Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions," by K.P. Sinha, Infinite Energy Magazine, January-February 2000.

    Quote from Gregory Byron Goble

    "The team proposes to scale ion accelerators based on MEMS to higher beam power and pack hundreds to thousands of ion beamlets on silicon wafers

    Starwars II or already III ? Spielberg would know it...


    I like such intelligent nonsense even more if they find an idiot to finance it. At least it is more creative than enlightening a cigar with a 1000$ bill...

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