Over the last few days I have run a Celani-type of experiment using Ni wire and H2 loading: nothing else. I have observed radiation levels 7x or more above background levels. Furthermore, the radiation level drops in an exponential fashion after power is turned off, which is a signature of a half life, in this case approx 1 hour. I have obtained similar radiation levels and decay profiles on 2 consecutive experimental runs. See the attached document for details. This looks like the real thing.
jeff
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Posts by jeff
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The paper referenced previously is relevant to the NiO reduction step, which is performed prior to both the Ni hydrogenation and mixing with LiAlH/Li. Its purpose is to remove any oxides and subsequently evolved water vapor. I performed the reduction step by repeatedly introducing H2, heating to 1100C for 30 seconds, applying vacuum, and refilling with H2. The oxide layer is probably no more than a few tens of nm thick, so there is not that much oxide to remove.
The next step is hydrogenation of the Ni. This step is implicitly called out in the Parkhomov replication, where he uses the term hydrogenated Ni. I would be interested if anyone else is of the same opinion concerning Parkhomov's protocol, ie, that the Ni is hydrogenated before mixing with LiAlH4 and being loaded in the cell.
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The 18 step process calls out a reduction step but does not provide any details. A literature search turned up a very relevant paper that describes the kinetics of NiO reduction as a function of temperature. The most important point is that there exists a critical temperature, below which reduction of NiO occurs slowly and is incomplete. Above this critical temperature (1173 K) reduction occurs in a matter of seconds and is complete. The article goes on to say that reduction at a high temperature results in a very fine, porous surface. See the following reference for details: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b04313
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I have emailed MFMP a set of questions requesting clarification on their protocol, particularly more exact temperatures and time durations for each step. Many of the steps MFMP listed are similar to what I used in replication attempts. However, I used Li only, not Li+ LiAlH, and the max cell temperature was 1100C.
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I was perusing Amazon for a good intro to QED when this ad popped up on my screen:
Has anyone read this book, or know anything about it?
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Has anyone considered heating the cell with induction heating? The circuits are simple and the process is well understood. I once visited a plant where they were heat treating railroad car couplers. So it is possible to generate enormous amounts of highly localized heat using this technique. Another advantage is that there is no heater element to burn out. The max cell temperature is limited by the cell's materials only. There has also been discussion that LENR may require magnetic energy. Induction heating provides plenty of that, and the field can penetrate some distance into ferromagnetic materials.
I have simulated using HSPICE a simple 2-transistor, self resonant design that should not be too difficult to build. See attached file for the schematic.
Jeff
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The attached foilset details the latest run using Ni + Li + Al in a SS capsule at 20-30 psi of H2, depending on temperature. Calibration using a pulsed power source is a bit more involved than for DC, but it can be done by taking advantage of the fact that the heater element is monitored by an IR thermometer, so it is always possible to know the heater's temperature (and hence its resistance.) The rest is just a bit of Ohm's law.
Unfortunately, the calorimetry is depressingly accurate and repeatable, yielding no measurable excess power. While the plots do not show the data point, I ran the heater temperature up to 1120 degrees and still observed no excess power. The one good thing is that the apparatus is readily disassembled, and it takes only a 15 minutes or so to tear down, replace the SS capsule, and reassemble things.
Jeff
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No, I have not gotten that far. I do recall discussion from a couple of years ago that Rossi's early apparatus may have used chopped DC. In any case, it is not particularly more difficult to run with chopped DC than with pure DC. Measuring the power is a bit more complicated because I and V will not be precisely in phase due to the inductance of the heater winding.
Jeff
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Today the power MOSFETs arrived, and I am now able to apply pulsed power to the cell. The useful maximum pulse frequency is limited by the inductance in the heater coil, which for this particular heater is ~0.85 uH, yielding an R-L time constant of approximately 1 usec. So the sum of the rise and fall times would be several usec meaning that the max chopping frequency is ~200 KHz. I'm using a relatively low chopping frequency of 20 KHz with a 75% duty cycle. Power is adjusted by setting the DC voltage into the chopper. From previous runs with the same heater coil, run under DC conditions, I measured I and V to 0.1% and from that calculated the coil resistance at any given temperature. Using this data one can obtain a precise value for R. That value, the chopper duty cycle, and DC voltage permit an accurate computation of power for the pulsed supply into the heater coil.
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I have seen at least two questions regarding the possibility of water vapor in the LENR apparatus previously described. There should be very little since the hydrogen generator I'm using has an in-line dehydrator cartridge and guarantees < 1 ppm water vapor in the hydrogen as long as the dehydrator cartridge is not exhausted. For details see Parker Balston hydrogen generators.
Before adding hydrogen the cell is heated to 350C under continuous vacuum pumping, so there should not be much residual water. If there is any it will quickly react with the Li producing LiOH.
Jeff
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The Li is solid, metallic and is stored under mineral oil. Even under oil it develops a black oxide coating. However, the oxide layer is thin and is easily scraped off prior to loading the Li into the SS capsule.
Jeff
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FWIW, here is the foilset I presented at the Bay Area LENR meeting.
Erratum: The last line on page 16 should read "H-Li DBs", rather than "proton-proton DBs".
Jeff
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A few clarifications:
The talk I presented stated that Edisonian approaches to finding the necessary nano-morphology in Ni/Li/H are not likely to be repeatable and do not address the underlying lack of a theoretical foundation. I then went on to suggest a possible theory based on localization of energy. The nonlinear terms in the inter-nuclear potential may provide a mechanism (discrete breathers) for sufficient localization of energy between Li-H nuclei to achieve a 0.01A inter-nuclear distances. Later on I proposed using molecular modeling tools as a means of simulating nano-morphologies as a means of testing such a theory.
Jeff
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In order for high dV/dt or high DI/dt to have an effect on LENR reactions one would need to demonstrate that one of two conditions occurs. The first possibility is that high dV/dt generates electromagnetic fields of a frequency that can couple to the phonon spectrum. This statement assumes that the NAE operates via tunneling through the Coulomb barrier by means of localized concentration of energy in a few H nuclei oscillating at phonon wavelengths. For two systems to efficiently transfer energy between them they must have similar wavelengths and corresponding eigenmodes. Phonon frequencies are in the hundreds of THz, while the highest edge harmonics for chopped AC are in the Mhz range. So I don't see any mechanism for direct transfer of energy. The second possibility is that external EM fields are strong enough to alter the morphology of an LENR system. This might be possible with sufficiently strong EM fields, but I have not looked at the possibility. If other LENr theories are assumed the same requirements will hold: external EM energy must be efficiently coupled into the LENR mechanism.
Jeff
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Axil,
Thanks for the info on stainless steels. I did not know there so many different kinds. With regard to magnetism influencing LENR effects, I have not researched the possibility. Ferromagnetism is a collective phenomena involving domains that may span macroscopic distances at normal temperatures. As you stated at the end of your thread, the temperature at which the Parkhomov replication is to have occurred exceeds the Curie temperature of magnetic materials, and above Tc ferromagnetic materials become paramagnetic. It would be useful to calculate the effect of feasibly obtainable magnetic fields and field gradients on ensembles of hydrogen nuclei to determine how much energy could be transferred. Then compare that value to the thermal energy (<0.1 eV).
Jeff
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I would agree that Rossi is doing some type of pretreatment, and that is his trade secret. The Ni I'm using is likely to have an oxide layer, but nickel oxide should reduce in a Hydrogen atmosphere at high temperatures. If you Google "Ellingham Diagram" you will find some diagrams that include NiO reduction under Hydrogen and can confirm the necessary minimum temperature to make the reaction proceed at a rapid rate.
Jeff
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Ecco,
Max temperature has been maintained at <1000C. The apparatus could go higher (probably to 1200C) without sustaining any damage. However, it is my understanding that some LENR effects are observed at or below 1000C when COP >>1 occurs at higher temperatures. Since the calorimeter is capable of resolving to 1 watt, even small LENR effects should be observable.
Jeff
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316L SS tubing received earlier this week was machined to fit into alumina outer tube. Initial test material consists of ~1g Hunter Chemical AH50 Ni powder and 35 mg metallic Li. Quartz wool plugs in both ends of the SS tube permits evacuation of atmosphere from and introduction of H2 into capsule. Cell reassembled and evacuated to < 1mT while temperature was slowly raised to ~350C, which is high enough to melt the Li and evaporate water vapor and any other volatiles.
Heater power switched off and cell allowed to cool while maintaining vacuum pumping. Then vacuum was turned off and cell pressurized to ~20 PSI of H2.Testing consisted of applying power to heater winding, starting at 4V and going up to a max of 24V in 2V increments. Surface temperature of heater monitored with a Thermosense IR thermometer that was previously calibrated against type K thermocouple. Pressure was monitored with a 0-100 psi Baratron and Vacuum General controller. Pressure changes as small as 0.1% can be resolved. At temperatures in the 700-800C range the H2 pressure dropped, indicating that it was taken up, either by the heater filament or, more likely, by the Ni/Li. No pressure change was observed when apparatus was powered off for 24 hours, indicating that H2 leakage is not occurring.
Unfortunately, no excess heat was measured. The good news is that the 316L SS capsule tolerated molten Li for 10+ hours with no signs of degradation. By contrast, molten Li attacked and penetrated alumina almost immediately. Next step will be to include aluminum in the mixture. This will, at least, replicate the elemental species and proportions used in the Parkhomov experiment. Beyond that, I suspect that I’ll be in the position of most replicators: trying to understand how to create an NAE environment without a good theoretical model on which to base rational design.
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I suspect that this paper has been referenced before, but it contains such a wealth of information that I'm posting it again. http://www.scribd.com/doc/2703…lysis-of-the-Lugano-E-Cat
The paper indirectly addresses a conundrum that has been bugging me for quite a while. Most Ecat experiments are run at temperatures well in excess of the sintering temperature of Ni. So why doesn't the Ni undergo sintering and stop the heat generation process? I believe the answer lies in the presence of metallic Li (and possibly Al) which wets the Ni and prevents diffusion of the Ni across particle boundaries. Ni is highly soluble in Li, which accounts for the poor performance of Ni and its alloys as molten Li containment materials. So at elevated temperatures the Ni would tend to diffuse into the Li rather than across Ni grains.
It is also interesting to conjecture how Rossi hit upon Li in the first place. The use of molten Na or Li as a heat transfer medium in nuclear reactors and plasma fusion devices is well known, and Rossi would have likely considered an alkali metal for its thermodynamic characteristics. Li is less reactive than Na, and has a higher heat capacity. So Rossi may have chosen Li, and by chance, it possessed other atomic properties that make it an effective LENR catalyst.
Jeff
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As I mentioned in an earlier thread, and from personal experience, alumina is not compatible with molten Li. That got me doing some research. Several references I tracked down state that Alumina + molten Li involves an exothermic reaction yielding oxide complexes of Al and Li, essentially destroying the alumina. My question is: whether the thermal decomposition of LAlH produces the same reactive effects on alumina as molten Li. It would seem that the effects must be attenuated; otherwise how was Rossi able to get his E-cat operating for any length of time. Is it possible that the metallic Li reacts immediately with the Ni and therefore was not available to attack the alumina. I don't know.
Another reference (dealing with conventional fusion reactor design) compared the compatibility of refractory metals and alloys with molten Li and concluded that Ni essentially dissolves in Li, making the traditional corrosion resistant Ni alloys unsuitable. This is an interesting observation and may explain the formation of the NAE environment due to morphological changes in the Ni in the presence of Li.
Getting back to compatible materials, among those identified as compatible with molten Li were the low carbon stainless steels (including 316L and 304L), pure iron, and refractory metals such as Mo, Ta and W. I have ordered some 316L tube which will fit inside the alumina tube and will contain the Li and Ni. Unlike the first run, I will not include any Al2O3 powder with the Ni. Sintering may occur, but it is my belief that the Al2O3 reacted with all the Li leaving none available to react with the Ni.
One more question: does any one know whether the Al from decomposed LiAlH plays any role in the E-Cat reaction?
Jeff