Shane D. Administrator
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  • Member since Jan 26th 2015

Posts by Shane D.

    Looks like we might have to put a "Caveat Emptor" warning label on this one. Going back and reading the early posts in this thread, I can see there were plenty of suspicions, mixed with cautious optimism. And really, while we waited for the story to unfold, that was a prudent stance to take IMO.


    But it took Maury Markowitz to put together a convincing argument that "ENG8 is bogus", as his article concludes. Good on Maury. While we wait to see how ENG8 responds, another question remains "what about BIACO"? Is their IP lawsuit with ENG8 another Rossi/Defkalion...both fighting over a made-up technology, or do they have something legitimate going on?

    "Ben" agrees with "Sergio", improving solar panels is a game changer. New direction?

    I do have some sympathy for ECW. Frank bet on only one horse (Rossi), and is suffering for it. Obviously frustrated, this is his latest:


    "So now we learn that apparently the next version of the E-Cat is being designed to somehow work with solar power systems to increase their efficiency. It is difficult to understand what Rossi means here, hopefully further details will be forthcoming."

    World's Largest Offshore Wind Energy Company Abandons 2 Major U.S Projects as Green Agenda Crumbles - Slay News


    Green energy is taking a beating lately. Ignore the headline of this article, as it suggests it is only about 2 US offshore wind projects being abandoned, but it is more than that.


    I have been a big advocate of green energy for longer than I can remember. Eventually...I have no doubt It will come to dominate energy production. Much later than we hope though, if LENR does not come through for us.

    Since there was zero interest in replications we are continuing to work on our commercial devices that are unrelated with Mizuno work.

    People unfamiliar with the story might interpret your comment wrong. That there was NEVER any interest in replicating Mizuno. But there was. Actually, quite a bit of interest...in the beginning over 4 years ago. This was the abstract that started it all:


    "We have developed an improved method of producing excess heat with nickel mesh coated with palladium. The new method produces higher power, a larger output to input ratio, and it can be controlled effectively. With 50 W of input, it produces ~250 W of excess heat, and with 300 W it produces ~2 to 3 kW. This paper is a comprehensive description of the apparatus, the reactant, and the method. We hope this paper will allow others to replicate the experiment."


    With those kind of results from a respected old guard researcher, it was no surprise that quite a few of our members, and others around the world, jumped on the replication bandwagon. As I recall, none here were successful. However, there were at least 3 elsewhere who were (successful), but their results did not come close to what Mizuno reported. Nothing that would move the needle in terms of public and scientific opinion.


    So, understandably, interest all but disappeared. Then you came along. Hopefully we can lay this rest when/if magicsound gets around to trying the new mesh you sent. If another dud like the last, then this officially becomes yet another win for the skeptics. Unless of course, you for once come forth with the proof to back up your claims.

    After ICCF 24th we had a thread to comment which presentations had been the best for us and why we thought that, but in that case one could paste the link to each presentation in the post. I think the ICCF 25 videos are not linkable in the same way due to the password protection of the site. Anyway you can start such a thread if you think is worth it deleted account .


    I missed the conference, but have been playing catch up on the videos. I have been through most now, and have to say that -unlike last year's ICCF25 in Silicon Valley, there is nothing that stuck out to me as newsworthy.


    Not saying it was not a success, because it was. Better techniques. better equipment, measurements, with the same, or slightly better, results over last years. But in my capacity, I look for something that may challenge the scientific community and the public to reconsider their long held consensus that LENR is pseudoscience.


    Ben Barrow from the US Army Lab, kind of summed up my overall impression. He said something like "yes, I am still getting tantalizing results of transmutations like last year. So have others for many years...yet we have been ignored by the mainstream. We need to get more conclusive proof". He is working on that BTW.


    Haven't seen the CleanHME video yet though, and some others, so still have an open mind. But curious if others see things differently?

    Looks like the US government is getting involved in Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR). They don't come out and say ocean seeding, but how many ways are there to use the oceans to remove, and/or sequestrate CO2? In typical bureaucratic fashion, there are so many alphabet agencies, departments, offices, etc. involved, I can't list them all! Here are 2:


    Press Release | arpa-e.energy.gov


    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $36 million for 11 projects across 8 states to accelerate the development of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) capture and storage technologies. Funded through DOE’s Sensing Exports of Anthropogenic Carbon through Ocean Observation (SEA-CO2) program, these projects will support novel efforts to measure, report, and validate mCDR and identify cost-effective and energy efficient carbon removal solutions. Advancing innovative approaches like mCDR to slash greenhouse gas pollution is critical to the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis and achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.


    OST Activities and Products | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (noaa.gov)


    The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is announcing a new Fast-Track Action Committee (FTAC) on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal. Under the authority of OSTP’s National Science and Technology Council, the Committee will evaluate the merits of and concerns about different types of marine CDR and shape relevant policy and research on safe and effective marine CO2 removal and carbon sequestration

    In seeking Teaming Partners, ARPA-E had this to say:


    " LENR Experiments: The goal of this potential category would be to conduct LENR experiments through careful selection of specific, testable hypotheses that can be supported or retired upon the collection of correlated, multi-messenger nuclear diagnostics. Proposed LENR experiments would have a well-articulated connection to prior published LENR evidence. Principal Investigators would be expected to have a strong publication record of experimental work in leading journals, and at least one seasoned LENR practitioner (e.g., someone who has conducted and published results on LENR experiments) should be included on the team."


    So, at least on paper, they had the intention of building on previous work, and ensuring "at least one seasoned LENR practitioner". Not sure they actually did that, but I could argue that at least some team members have been part of the field for quite a few years. Maybe they don't qualify as "old guard", but have been around long enough to know how to find their way around. Examples being Duncan, and Lawrence Berkely National Lab (formerly with Team Google). Probably a few more scattered in there.




    That was their first Mills replication in 1996. I posted an excerpt, but in the substack article Phillpips claims they have since gone OOM beyond that.

    This is an excerpt from the new Substack series "Hydrogen Revolution" covering Mills/BLP/Hydrino/GUTCP. Written by Penn State calorimetry expert Prof. Phillips:


    The Hydrino Hypothesis: Chapter 2 - Hydrogen Revolution (substack.com)


    "Finally, regarding the outcome of those (1996) experiments: excess heat was repeatedly observed. Notably, excess heat was only found under those conditions where all the elements predicted to yield Hydrino formation were present. The thorough control studies, designed such that at least one required element for Hydrino formation was missing, showed no excess heat.


    In fact, the excess power observed under predicted Hydrino formation conditions was generally more than 10% greater than the power put into the reaction cell. A deviation of 10% from the baseline was several times (~5X) above the inherent uncertainty in the instrumentation.

    Indeed, the numbers indicated greater than 99% certainty the energy was in excess of that which could be explained with standard theory.


    Thus, the excess energy, simply the integral over time of excess power, never lessened when hydrogen fuel flowed into the cell, and all other required elements for Hydrino production were present as well. Unfortunately, 10% excess power is not even close to justifying a commercial process of energy production (the reader should note the technology has advanced considerably since 1996 and is now producing many orders of magnitude more excess power).


    The conclusion I drew from our early calorimetric experiments: we had failed to debunk GUTCP. It remained a viable theory. As noted above, one cannot “prove” a scientific theory. In fact, the best one can do is fail to debunk a theory."

    That was me. As Curbina said, moving the posts had nothing to do with traditional nuclear being green/not green, but just to keep things tidy, and in their own thread.


    It was quite a decision for the staff to allow discussion about nuclear in the first place, as it is a very contentious issue. But it seemed to have worked out. The discourse has been very civil.

    Hi Shane D. - over 2 months ago, you snarfed all the posts from this thread that you had decided were Biaco-related, and stuck them somewhere that was not accessible by "ordinary" forum members. Can we now have access to those posts, please - or do you want to keep them hidden for some reason? (e.g. the company might be particularly litigious)


    Who's behind the substack? I saw Dr. Philips in the first post.

    I'm happy to work with them, I have some research that's not well understood.

    For the time being, he wants to stay anonymous. He will see your offer though.

    IELayout (lenr-forum.com)


    Direct Electrical Production from LENR

    David J. Nagel*

    Abstract — This paper reviews various approaches to the direct production of electrical power by using excitations from Low
    Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR). Some of the methods only provide low voltages, currents and powers. Efforts are underway to
    understand and improve the outputs of those techniques. One recent report by Egely describes a device that magnifies electrical
    energy by as much as a factor of 10. That technology requires both independent testing and commercialization

    Reading between the lines, it looks like the Cat B groups (Duncan's Texas Tech team for example) provide technical analysis and assistance to the Cat A teams. Not sure if that means the 8 "Experimental Teams" are Cat A, and all "Capability Teams" are the Cat B Teams? Duncan also mentioned a PI Team.


    Whatever, looks like the ARPA-E LENR project is taking shape and about to shift into high gear.

    Everything you need to know about BLP/Hydrino, past to present. With the Substack authors permission:


    9/23/2023

    The Beginning


    An enormous technological and scientific revolution is underway, although few are yet aware of it. The origins of this revolution are humble. It began over 30 years ago with one simple question: what is an electron? Despite those modest beginnings, the answer to that question sparked a series of scientific discoveries and technological innovations that are set to profoundly reshape science and the global economy.


    The mind behind those discoveries is the genius polymath Dr. Randell L. Mills, founder of the company Brilliant Light Power (BLP). The company is hard at work engineering a power generating device that will make all other forms of energy generation obsolete; more on this in a moment.


    BLP is a Cranbury, NJ based company founded by Dr. Mills, a Harvard Medical School graduate. Dr. Mills grew up on a Pennsylvania farm and was an extremely precocious child. After high school, he attended Franklin & Marshall college and graduated with a chemistry degree with highest honors, winning numerous awards and accolades in the process by virtue of his academic prowess. Notably, he went on to collaborate for many years with his chemistry professor, Dr. John Farrell, who proclaimed him the best and brightest student Franklin & Marshall had ever seen.


    He then attended Harvard Medical School (HMS), where he garnered top grades. His extraordinary intellect allowed him to complete most of the required coursework in 3 years, so he elected to spend what would have been his 4th year at HMS studying physics and electrical engineering under Professor Hermann Haus at MIT.

    1

    While doing research with Professor Haus on free electron lasers for the Reagan administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative (informally known as the “Star Wars” program), Dr. Mills began to question the accepted explanation for the nature of the electron by standard quantum mechanics (SQM), the reigning paradigm of atomic scale physics, which discards the classical physical laws of Newtonian dynamics and Maxwell’s equations governing electromagnetism.


    SQM instead models the bound electron as an infinitely small point particle that exists as a probability density function around the nucleus. Classical physical laws do not apply in this model. Dr. Mills found this mathematical description of the electron to be unintuitive and unsatisfying, and unable to provide insight into what an electron actually is in terms of physical principles. He is in good company, as Einstein also never fully accepted aspects of quantum mechanics.


    Fatefully, Professor Haus handed Dr. Mills a paper inspired by their work on the free electron laser that used classical physical laws to model the radiation field of an accelerated point charge.

    2
    To quote Dr. Mills: “If you’re going to make a laser out of free electrons, you ought to know what an electron is!” Dr. Mills decided to apply the same classical physics framework found in Haus’ paper to create a new model of the electron bound in an atom. Using Maxwell’s equations and Newtonian mechanics with reasoning from first principles, he developed the beginnings of a theory regarding the true nature of the electron.


    Over the years, this theory would develop into what is now known as the Grand Unified Theory of Classical Physics (GUTCP). The theory’s basic proposition is an eminently reasonable one: the physical laws of the universe are the same on all scales. This theory overturns the reigning theory, standard quantum mechanics, which posits that the laws of the universe operative at the scales familiar to our everyday lives are not applicable at the atomic scale. Dr. Mills has supplied the world with a vast tract of compelling evidence that his theory is broadly correct and SQM is not.


    Unfortunately, that evidence has gone largely ignored by the scientific community, due in large part to its wildly disruptive nature with respect to the physics status quo.

    The GUTCP Hydrogen Atom


    Dr. Mills’ atomic model is elegant in its simplicity. He contends that electrons bound to atoms are real, physical objects. Specifically, they are bubbles of negative charge that symetrically surround the positively charged nucleus. Picture a soap bubble surrounding a pea and you’ll have a pretty accurate mental image for Dr. Mills’ model of the hydrogen atom, the simplest atomic system.


    The following picture shows a simplified version of what this looks like. Note that this is not to scale: the proton is much, much smaller than the electron charge bubble.

    https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa75edfcf-0025-4a5b-be14-9eba2b9e5274_1016x867.png

    The term “a0” in the picture refers to the Bohr radius, the distance between the electron and proton in a ground state hydrogen atom. The term “ground state” refers to the assumed lowest energy level possible in a given atomic system. According to SQM, it is not possible for the hydrogen atom to fall below the “ground state.”


    There is additional nuance to Dr. Mills’ model of the electron regarding the pattern of surface currents on the electron that is beyond the scope of this article. However, the reader should note that his model correctly predicts all known experimental data, including the results of canonical experiments like the Stern-Gerlach experiment.

    The Hydrino


    Armed with this new framework of the atom, Dr. Mills made an interesting prediction about the hydrogen atom. Namely, that it may be possible to cause the orbit of the electron of the hydrogen atom to fall to levels below what SQM considers to be the “ground state” and shrink in size, releasing huge amounts of energy in the process. He dubbed this lower energy state of hydrogen “Hydrino.”

    Experimental observations subsequently bore out Dr. Mills’ prediction.


    Although much more powerful, the Hydrino reaction isn’t that far removed from fire in the sense that the source of the energy is fundamentally the same: the potential energy of electrons. The energy released by hydrogen combustion comes from a reduction in the total energy state of the electrons of the newly formed combustion product, a water molecule, as bond formation occurs between oxygen and hydrogen atoms.


    The Hydrino reaction also liberates potential energy of electrons, but in a different way than combustion. In the Hydrino reaction, atomic (not molecular) hydrogen transfers a specific amount of energy (an integer multiple of 27.2 electron volts (eV), a commonly used unit of energy for atomic scale phenomena) to a catalyst species (a molecule, atom, or ion) capable of accepting that energy. Interestingly, isolated water molecules (meaning not bound to other water molecules, as typically found in nature), can serve as catalyst for the Hydrino reaction.


    The energy transfer from atomic hydrogen to the catalyst ionizes the catalyst species and destabilizes the orbit of the hydrogen atom’s electron. The electron quickly spirals inward to a tighter orbit which is physically closer to the atom’s proton, releasing high energy continuum radiation as it does.

    The Hydrino Ladder


    There are multiple Hydrino states. An energy transfer of 27.2 eV by atomic hydrogen to a catalyst will catalyze the H(1/2) state, where the (1/2) refers to the fractional size of the Hydrino relative to ordinary ground state hydrogen.

    An energy transfer of 2*27.2 eV will catalyze the H(1/3) state. H(1/3) is (1/3) the size of ordinary ground state hydrogen.

    An energy transfer of 3*27.2 eV will catalyze the H(1/4) state, and so on.

    According to Dr. Mills, the lowest Hydrino state possible is H(1/137).


    This picture excerpted from Brett Holverstott’s excellent book Randell Mills and the Search for Hydrino Energy provides a good visualization of the different Hydrino states:

    https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe4939a1e-46ad-42e9-9cbb-e956ec2717d2_628x764.png

    The transition of hydrogen to any of the Hydrino states is exponentially more powerful than ordinary exothermic reactions: dozens to thousands of times more powerful than hydrogen combustion, depending on which Hydrino state is catalyzed. The energy released from the transition of hydrogen to one of the Hydrino states scales as deeper Hydrino states are catalyzed.


    Again, there is nothing mystical about the source of the energy. It is simply a liberation of some of the potential energy of the hydrogen atom’s electron into very energetic light. The further down the Hydrino ladder you go, the more energy released.

    Hydrino Is The Identity Of Dark Matter


    Dr. Mills has published extremely strong evidence that Hydrino, which is unable to absorb photons and emit light in the way that ordinary matter does (for reasons beyond the scope of this article), is ubiquitous in nature and the identity of the so-called dark matter of the universe.


    Astronomical evidence indicates that 85% of the mass of the universe is dark matter, which is really just a fancy phrase for “we don’t know what this stuff is.” Hydrogen is estimated to comprise 75% of the 15% of known mass of the universe.

    Stars have conditions that permit Hydrino formation and are composed primarily of hydrogen.

    Given that hydrogen is the most abundant of the known elements and that stars are almost certainly Hydrino factories, the notion that dark matter is just another form of hydrogen is a fundamentally reasonable proposition.

    A Perfect Power Source


    The Hydrino reaction is perfectly suited for energy generation, to a degree that seems like science fiction, but which is in reality science fact. Realizing its commercial potential, Dr. Mills founded Brilliant Light Power. For the last 30 years, Dr. Mills and his team have been attempting to harness the Hydrino reaction in an energy generating device.


    The current iteration of the device has been named the “SunCell.”

    The characteristics of the Hydrino reaction are so favorable across all dimensions that, if successfully commercialized, the SunCell will inevitably outcompete all other forms of energy generation. This is a bold statement, but no bolder than a foresighted person in 1903, upon viewing the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, proclaiming that the airplane would inevitably outcompete the horse and buggy for distance travel. The fundamental characteristics of the Hydrino reaction are such that a functioning SunCell will be superior to all other forms of power on every metric, often by orders of magnitude.


    The SunCell permits incredibly low-cost energy production. The bill of materials for the current electric SunCell prototype pencils out such that the levelized cost of electricity (a commonly used metric to make apples to apples comparisons across different energy technologies) will be less than $0.001 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The drivers of this incredibly low rate are:

    • The SunCell is composed of relatively inexpensive parts and will be easy to manufacture.
    • The fact that the only consumed input powering the Hydrino reaction is hydrogen, which can easily be created via electrolysis of water on the device.

    Using the electrolysis of water to derive hydrogen for combustion isn’t a viable way to produce net energy. Electrolysis is the process of running an electric current through water to split the oxygen and hydrogen in every water molecule. It takes about twice as much energy as is provided from combustion of the resulting hydrogen.

    “Paying” 2 units of energy to receive 1 unit in return is not a very good deal.


    The electrolysis/combustion cycle instead functions much like a battery in that it can be used to store excess energy for use elsewhere, but does not itself produce any net power.


    In contrast, because the Hydrino reaction is so energetic, water becomes a viable fuel source. You “pay” the 2 units of energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis, but then receive 200 units of energy through the hydrogen to Hydrino reaction, thus returning 100x on the energy investment.

    That is a very good deal indeed.


    The ubiquitous free fuel, complete lack of pollution or CO2 emissions, relative ease of catalyzing the Hydrino reaction, and decentralized nature of the SunCell, which negates the need for an expensive electrical grid, mean that the Hydrino-powered SunCell will inevitably outcompete all other forms of power generation.


    Humanity is about to transition from the Age of Fire to the Age of Hydrino.

    The Opposition


    Very few people are paying attention to Dr. Mills’ progress. The scientists and believers of the dominant paradigm, SQM, scoff at Dr. Mills’ claims. They must, because he has direct and irrefutable experimental evidence that a core tenet of their theory is incorrect: the assertion that it is not possible for the hydrogen atom’s electron to shrink below the ground state. SQM defines the ground state of hydrogen mathematically based on known experimental data, without any physical principle underpinning that postulate.


    History shows that the response to new paradigms isn’t always friendly. Here is an elegant visualization of some of the many scientists whose ideas were initially rejected, only to later be acknowledged as correct.


    Psychological and sociological inertia within the scientific community often acts as a barrier to revolutionary change of the sort that Dr. Mills’ work heralds.


    Even in light of opposition on theoretical grounds and the historical norm of new theories facing an uphill battle to gain acceptance, it remains puzzling that Dr. Mills hasn’t gotten more traction with Hydrino theory in the scientific community in light of the overwhelming amount of experimental evidence supplied by him over the past three decades. Richard Feynman noted the primacy of experiment over theory:

    Quote
    “If it disagrees with experiment, it’s wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science.”

    Mills has published extensively using a wide array of analytical techniques to demonstrate and characterize the Hydrino reaction. A full list of publications and reports can be found here.


    Many of Dr. Mills’ experiments are straightforward and could be replicated by any well-equipped lab. This paper published in the Chinese Journal of Physics is particularly easy to replicate and has very unequivocal results. Any reader with access to appropriate equipment is encouraged to reproduce the experiments contained in it themselves.


    Despite the many easily replicable experiments to choose from, only a handful of independent replications have occurred, and those replications have been ignored. Here is one such replication.


    Opposition on theoretical grounds by the dogmatic quantum physics community appears to be the major factor preventing more widespread replication. The existence of the Hydrino represents a complete disruption of the theoretical status quo. Because of this, Dr. Mills’ empirical work has been almost wholly ignored by the physics community.


    This is dereliction of duty. Replication of novel experimental findings is a crucial component of the scientific method. When novel but true experimental results are disregarded because they are inconvenient to the dominant paradigm, science cannot progress.


    An additional factor is the implausible sounding nature of the story of BLP and the Hydrino; it appears so preposterously unlikely at first glance that most people dismiss it out of hand. Not helping matters is a lot of negative press that one can easily find via a Google search, including a very negative and biased Wikipedia page whose editors will not permit entry of any of the evidence in Mills’ favor, which includes a list of many dozens of publications in peer-reviewed journals.


    That may sound a bit like a conspiracy theory, but it has been the subject of a court case filed by BLP in Mercer County, NJ in 2014 (Docket #L1400-14). If you try to make a factual edit to the Wikipedia entry yourself, you will find, as others have, that the page editors will not permit it.


    A point-by-point rebuttal of the misleading BLP entry can be found in our article here.


    The scorn and active opposition from the physics community has been a major hindrance to BLP’s efforts to commercialize a Hydrino-based power device. Dr. Mills’ tendency to underestimate the time it takes to engineer a commercially viable device and bring it to market has not helped matters. Between previous failures to deliver and the harsh criticism heaped on Dr. Mills by quantum mechanics supporters, the whole operation looks like a giant scam superficially. It is anything but that.


    Despite the seemingly unlikely story, Dr. Mills has quietly amassed a significant group of supporters. This includes many well-credentialed scientists, an advisory board stacked top to bottom with impressive resumes, and a group of wealthy individual and institutional shareholders who have invested about $140m in the company over the last several decades.

    How The SunCell Works


    The basic premise of the SunCell is quite simple: create a light source that functions as a miniature sun, and wrap it in solar cells capable of capturing very high intensity light.


    The current iteration of the light source component of the prototype SunCell, seen in the picture below excerpted from BLP’s most recent business presentation, appears close to commercial viability.

    https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff79b6083-5d31-45bf-9cad-ff2544d47646_330x526.png

    The Light Source


    First, let’s review how the light source works. Trace hydrogen and oxygen are flowed into the transparent reaction cell cylinder, which is vacuum pumped to low pressure. Some of the hydrogen and oxygen combine to form isolated water molecules, which serve as the Hydrino catalyst species.


    Two molten tin streams powered by electromagnetic pumps intersect and act as electrodes for a low voltage high current which causes the inflowing hydrogen to be catalyzed by the isolated water molecules into the Hydrino state at a very high rate. The extremely energetic reaction causes a very high-intensity light-emitting plasma to form inside the transparent cylinder.


    This picture from a recent BLP YouTube video demonstrates what the light source looks like in practice:

    As seen in the video, the plasma emits very bright light in a spectrum favorable for capture by existing concentrator photovoltaic cell technology (CPV), which can handle very high-intensity light: up to 1,000 times sun intensity.


    The fused silica reaction cylinder passes light through it at close to 100% efficiency.

    Up until recently the inner surface of the transparent fused silica reaction cylinder would metallize over due to the molten tin electrodes spattering as Hydrino formation occurred. Dr. Mills found a clever solution to this problem, and the reaction chamber remains wholly transparent during operation.

    The Solar Cells


    The high intensity light source will be surrounded by a dome composed of CPV cells that will capture it and convert it to electricity.

    CPV cells are an off-the-shelf technology that has modest market share of the global solar power market. The technology was designed to rely on very high intensity light generated by parabolic mirrors that concentrate large quantities of sunlight onto a very small area, as seen in this photo:

    Australia Solar

    BLP’s light source routes around the main issues with traditional solar power:

    • The light source is 24/7 instead of intermittent.
    • The light source is extremely high intensity instead of relatively diffuse.

    An engineering drawing of the prototype of BLP’s CPV dome that will be mated to the light source is shown in the most recent BLP business presentation and looks like this:

    https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4006c53f-d27d-4cba-b157-6f0119cdf7e3_380x288.png

    The back of the CPV cells will be coated with gold or another infrared spectrum reflector and bounce light in wavelengths unfavorable for conversion to electricity back to the reaction chamber, increasing the overall efficiency of the device.


    As discussed in this past update from BLP, the measured light output from an earlier prototype is far in excess of input power. The measured output is 1,140 kilowatts (kW) of optical power with just 33.5 kW of input power. This gain of 34 times input power means that even at modest CPV efficiencies, a portion of the electrical output of the CPV array can provide the required ongoing electrical input power.


    It is not yet known how much ongoing electrical input power is required to run current through the molten tin electrodes and drive the electromagnetic pumps that circulate the tin. Let’s assume that the figure is 30 kW, which is approximately the figure quoted from this update from BLP on the power gain of the prototype SunCell achieved in March 2022.


    Assuming a very conservative CPV conversion factor of 20%, 1,140 kW of light output incident on the CPV array provides 228 kW of gross electrical output power. Subtracting the 30 kW required for ongoing operation, the SunCell would produce a net 198 kW of electrical output under these assumptions.


    For frame of reference, the typical US home draws 6 to 12 kW at peak, and 1 to 3 kW on average.

    With further tuning, the plasma-based light output of the SunCell will increase and the required ongoing electrical input power will shrink. At sufficiently high temperatures, the Hydrino reaction becomes self-sustaining, with no on-going electrical input required. Even if a self-sustaining plasma (requiring temperatures that may exceed the tolerances of the SunCell components) is never achieved, BLP’s target of 250 kW of net electrical output seems well within reach.


    BLP has not yet integrated the photovoltaic array with the Hydrino-based light source. The video of the light source above does not do justice to the intensity of the light, nor does it represent the maximum output that can be achieved. Dr. Mills has stated that the light and heat output are so intense that one cannot look at it without eye protection nor stand close to the device.

    Once the light source is capable of long-duration operation at high power levels and gain, the CPV array will be integrated.

    Earlier Videos & Reports


    Here is an earlier video from late 2018 which demonstrates how far SunCell engineering has come in the last few years and underscores just how powerful the Hydrino reaction is:


    The chief problem BLP has faced is controlling the extremely powerful Hydrino reaction. As mentioned above, it is roughly 200 times more energetic than the combustion of an equivalent amount of hydrogen. The 2018 SunCell prototypes were made of stainless steel. The enormous heat generated by the reaction would cause the steel reactor wall to melt within seconds, as seen in the video.


    The most visually impressive video the company has posted is this one from a from 2016:

    It shows staggering power output, albeit in an uncontrolled reaction.


    A number of validation reports of earlier SunCell prototypes from third parties can be found here. The reports focus on earlier iterations of the SunCell and all show significant excess power output relative to power input, although for technical reasons that power gain was limited.

    The most recent validation report by Dr. Mark Nansteel indicates that he found a power gain of 4.22x. Note that this is substantially less than the most recent power gain figures reported by BLP, indicating how rapidly SunCell engineering is progressing.

    The EPR Paper


    As stated above, Dr. Mills has faced scorn and strong opposition from proponents of the dominant paradigm that has hampered his ability to publish his excellent experimental work in top-tier journals. However, that may soon be changing. Here is a link to a very important paper that has been published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, which is a fairly well-regarded publication.


    The lead author is Professor Fred Hagen, a world class expert in the use of an analytical technique called electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Professor Hagen of TU Delft (known as the MIT of Europe) has performed EPR spectroscopy on a Hydrino compound that can now be made on demand by BLP. The paper as a whole is hard for the layperson to interpret, but the punchline is not, as seen here:

    Quote
    “In summary, the present study provides compelling EPR spectroscopic and gas chromatographic evidence for the existence of molecular Hydrino, and, by inference, for the reality of atomic Hydrino, and it provides plausibility of the electron model in GUTCP. In more general terms our results are a significant test against falsification of GUTCP. In view of the possible far-reaching implications of this conclusion for the theory of quantum mechanics, for hydrogen-related chemistry, for astrophysics of dark matter, and for energy transduction and production technology, it is also offered as an urgent invitation to academia at large to repeat and extend the described experiments in lieu of refutation on quantum mechanical theoretical grounds.”
    3

    Hopefully this paper will galvanize the scientific community to begin to engage with Dr. Mills’ work. It is unequivocal in its conclusion and is relatively easily replicated. Furthermore, Dr. Mills has indicated that other reputable institutions have replicated the findings of the EPR paper and plan to publish themselves.

    SunCell Economics


    The economics of BLP’s SunCell are unprecedented. Yearly spending in the global energy market is currently north of $10 trillion. Not only does a functioning SunCell immediately outcompete all existing forms of energy in decisive fashion, but the decentralized nature and ubiquity of its free fuel mean that electricity usage will skyrocket. There will also be very significant political pressures to adopt the technology as quickly as possible because of its zero-carbon nature.


    Widespread forced adoption of the SunCell by many sectors of the economy will occur, for the simple fact that if you exist in an energy-intensive industry and your competitor adopts this technology, you will go out of business if you do not quickly do the same.


    For example, around 30% of the total cost of aluminum production is attributable to energy costs. No matter how inexpensively an aluminum producer’s current power provider offers them electricity, BLP will be able to dramatically undercut them. In a commodity business like aluminum production, this means that those producers that adopt BLP’s technology will be able to offer substantially better pricing that simply can’t be matched by those producing without SunCell-derived power.


    If BLP’s IP is respected globally, we are talking about a company that could theoretically have trillions in yearly revenue.

    One of BLP’s primary assets is the ability to generate intellectual property around the Hydrino reaction and the SunCell, so patent protection has been a key focus of the company. The company has around 80 granted patents in many major energy markets and over 100 patents pending. No other company has any Hydrino-related intellectual property.

    Cliff Notes


    We’ve covered a lot of ground thus far. Let’s summarize:

    • There is a reaction previously unknown to science but ubiquitous in nature involving the transition of atomic hydrogen to a lower energy state that Dr. Mills has dubbed Hydrino.
    • Scientific controversy has kept the Hydrino off most people’s radar. The dominant paradigm of physics says that Hydrino can’t exist. However, there is vast experimental evidence that it does.
    • This transition of hydrogen to Hydrino produces roughly 200 times the energy of the combustion of hydrogen on a per atom basis.
    • There is zero pollution and zero carbon production from this reaction.
    • The only consumed input in the reaction is hydrogen.
    • Water can be condensed from ambient water vapor inside each SunCell and electrolyzed to produce the required hydrogen: no need to ever refuel.
    • BLP has IP dominance on all aspects of the Hydrino reaction.
    • BLP appears close to coming to market with the SunCell, a device relying on the powerful hydrogen to Hydrino reaction.
    • A commercialized SunCell will enable totally non-polluting and decentralized power production at a cost orders of magnitude below any existing technology: the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) production should be around $0.001 per kWh or less. For frame of reference, the LCOE for a natural gas power plant is around $.05 per kWh.
    • BLP’s business model is leasing capital equipment: customers will lease the SunCell at a daily rate that will equate to a cost of $0.025 to $0.05 per kWh, which is substantially less expensive than what most consumers of electricity pay.
    • This decentralized power production model bypasses the need to connect to the energy grid infrastructure owned and operated by the utilities and the associated regulatory burdens that came from distributing centrally generated power.
    • The 250 kW SunCell is projected to cost around $5,000 to build once manufacturing economies of scale kick in. Ongoing maintenance costs should be minimal.
    • Around 82,000,000 SunCells would be sufficient to match the current total yearly global primary energy of around 180,000 terawatt-hours. At the mature production cost figure of $5,000, this would be only $410 billion in capital cost to upgrade all existing primary energy sources to SunCell power.
    • Numerous well-credentialed scientists have validated various claims by BLP. The names and reports of many of those scientists can be found here.
    • The amount of data that Dr. Mills has published in peer-reviewed journals is staggering; the count now exceeds 100 peer-reviewed papers and other publications. Here is a full list of those papers. Those who are skeptical of Dr. Mills’ claims are encouraged to replicate some of the experiments outlined in them.
    • A commercialized SunCell ushers in a world of zero-pollution, zero-carbon, and zero-marginal cost energy, radically improving living standards the world over.

    More Reading


    Brilliant Light Power has a wealth of excellent resources on their website. An executive summary of the current state of affairs can be found here.


    For those who would like a more in-depth review of this topic, I would suggest reading Brett Holverstott’s book, Randell Mills and the Search for Hydrino Energy. Brett is a former employee of BLP and has extensive knowledge about the company and Hydrino science. The book does a great job of making an unbelievable story believable.


    Thomas Stolper has also published an excellent book, America's Newton: The Reception of the Work of Randell Mills, in Historical and Contemporary Context. It follows the BLP story from inception to 2008 and has a fascinating backstory that also lends great credibility to the claims of BLP.


    Finally, readers interested in this topic may benefit from reading Thomas Kuhn’s book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.  Kuhn’s work shows that the sort of intransigence and obstinacy displayed by the physics community towards Mills’ theory and experimental evidence parallels the standard historical reaction by the proponents of a preceding scientific paradigm to the subsequent scientific paradigm.

    A Parting Thought


    It is interesting to observe people’s reactions upon hearing extraordinary stories such as this one. Most people, when confronted with difficult subject matter unfamiliar to them, fall back on heuristics to keep their brain from short-circuiting. This is understandable and natural. Unfortunately, in the case of the BLP story, many respond with the age-old reaction of, “this sounds too good to be true, therefore it is not true,” or “if this were really such a big deal, I would have heard about it by now.”


    The correct line of thinking should instead be something akin to, “this story sounds unlikely, but if it is true, the impact is so enormous that it warrants moving heaven and earth to find the truth.”


    Honest truth-seekers will discover the Hydrino state of hydrogen is real and is the basis for a technological leap that is about to disrupt everything on a scale we cannot fathom.


    Hydrino is the future, and the future is Brilliant.


    The Brilliant Light Power Story - Hydrogen Revolution (substack.com)

    Dutch Energy Minister Admits That Wind Power Agenda Is Pricier Than Anticipated


    By Cyril Widdershoven - Oct 17, 2023, 4:00 PM CDTDutch Minister of Climate and Energy Rob Jetten admits that wind power is facing serious financial headwinds.Jetten: consumers should expect substantially higher electricity prices than initially anticipated.The increased costs are not primarily linked to global market developments but rather to the extra €10 billion required for connecting offshore wind farms at sea to onshore infrastructure.

    Reality has returned to the European offshore wind sector, bringing financial challenges to the forefront. These challenges are not solely due to higher interest rates but are increasingly driven by supply chain constraints, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) issues, and investor caution. In a surprising announcement, Dutch Minister of Climate and Energy, Rob Jetten, has informed the market, government, and parliament that the costs of offshore wind projects in the North Sea will be significantly higher than previously assessed. Minister Jetten, a member of the left-wing liberal democrat D66 party, has also indicated that consumers should expect substantially higher electricity prices than initially anticipated.


    This news has come as a shock to mainstream political parties and renewable energy sector operators. They had been advocating offshore wind and other renewables not only as a means of addressing climate change but also as a progressively cost-effective alternative. In the coming years, the development of hundreds of gigawatts of offshore wind capacity is required to establish a comprehensive renewable energy supply capable of significantly reducing or eliminating the reliance on fossil fuels. While some major projects have already been completed, many are still in the construction phase or awaiting investment decisions.


    The increased costs are not primarily linked to global market developments but rather to the extra €10 billion required for connecting offshore wind farms at sea to onshore infrastructure. The Dutch state-owned company, TenneT, now faces higher financial burdens and increased risks. Previous assessments of TenneT's plans indicated financing needs of approximately €2 billion per year for the next several decades. However, new assessments reveal investment requirements of €3.6 billion per year, equivalent to €0.04 per kWh. In reality, these costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers through net tariffs, the fees for the delivery or transport of energy. The average Dutch household consumes 2,800 kWh per year.Related: Switzerland Stops Strategic Fuel Stock Drawdowns As Supply 

    Normalizes


    In response, Minister Jetten has pledged to explore ways to reduce the additional costs for consumers. One proposal is to use the same offshore-onshore connections for offshore solar projects. However, this concept is still in its infancy, as there are currently no viable large-scale offshore solar projects.


    Analysis indicates that the Dutch government's decision to exclude Chinese manufacturers from participating in TenneT tenders has contributed to the current cost increases. This decision was made to prevent Chinese involvement in critical national infrastructure projects, particularly electricity networks.


    It appears that Dutch energy transition and renewable energy strategies and projects may be advised by consultants who lack not only an understanding of market fundamentals but also foresight regarding potential challenges or risks. Increased material and manufacturing costs have been anticipated for years, predating both the Ukraine crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.


    Labor shortages and supply chain disruptions were also known factors but were apparently not fully considered.

    Minister Jetten has suggested potential solutions, such as optimizing offshore grid usage and using offshore wind production for green hydrogen. These options are intended to reduce the overall future grid investment requirements. However, in the current and near future, the costs of these solutions, especially offshore hydrogen production, are extremely high, which may not yield positive outcomes.

    Dutch offshore wind projects are now joining the global sector in facing negative financial news. Several major offshore wind producers, including Vattenfall in Sweden and Ørsted in Denmark, have encountered financial difficulties, primarily related to higher costs, interest rate issues, PPA constraints, or commercial factors making projects financially unfeasible. Without a comprehensive offshore-onshore power grid, most current and future projects may be put on hold.


    In addition, news has emerged that Tennet Holding's planned divestment of its German subsidiary, Tennet Germany, faces political constraints. If this deal does not materialize, it could significantly increase overall investment pressure and financial risks for the Dutch Transmission System Operator (TSO). This situation might necessitate reassessments of strategies and investments in the coming years.

    Mystery blobs in Earth's mantle may be linked to ancient gold and platinum that arrived from space | Live Science


    Scientists may have finally figured out why Earth's precious metals appear close to the surface, despite being so dense they should have sunk to the core. Turns out, they got stuck in gooey, half-melted rock after giant space rocks — some, perhaps, as large as the moon — smashed into Earth.


    The abundance of precious metals near the surface has long puzzled researchers. Your platinum engagement ring, your grandmother's antique gold locket, the palladium that makes your car's catalytic converter work: None of them should exist.


    Chemically speaking, all of these metals appear in too-large abundances on Earth, leading researchers to believe that they likely landed here during impacts with giant space rocks soon after Earth's formation. Even so, they should have sunk into Earth's core after crash-landing.


    Now, in a new study, researchers have a solution to this conundrum: Despite their density, these metals can percolate through the mantle and become trapped in solidifying rock, keeping them close enough that they can eventually make their way back to Earth's surface. They may even be the reason for mysterious blobs called low-velocity shear zones that are found very deep in the mantle.

    Related: Scientists discover ghost of ancient mega-plate that disappeared 20 million years ago


    "As a result of these impacts, we can produce these large-scale regions that are slightly denser than surrounding material," study co-author Simone Marchi, a researcher at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, told Live Science.

    Snapshots from mixing simulation in Earth’s mantle, from right after an impact (top) to present (bottom). Snapshots from mixing simulation in Earth’s mantle, from right after an impact (top) to present (bottom). (Image credit: Yale/Korenaga)

    Gold, platinum, palladium, other platinum-group metals and the transition metal rhenium are all what scientists call "highly siderophile elements." This means they bind easily to iron. If, as scientists believe, these metals were carried to Earth via asteroids and planetoids in the chaos of the young solar system, they should have smashed through the crust and into the mantle, then sunk like a pebble hitting a pond until they reached the iron-rich core.


    That didn't happen. To find out why, Marchi and his co-author, geophysicist Jun Korenaga of Yale University, created simulations of these ancient impacts on the early Earth. They first discovered that getting these metals to stay away from the core was even harder than they'd expected.


    "In the past, people had been glossing over this idea, [thinking] there has to be a way," Marchi said. "People didn’t really realize that the problem was so severe."


    However, their simulations also revealed a solution to this problem. When an enormous space rock — perhaps close to the size of the moon — hit the early Earth, the collision would have obliterated the impactor and created an ocean of melty magma permeating deep into the mantle.


    Under this magma ocean, though, would be a boundary area of half-melted, half-solid rock. The metals from the impactor would gradually percolate into this half-molten region, spreading them around. Instead of very dense pure metal that would sink directly toward the core, this region of metal-infused mantle would be only slightly denser than its surroundings. As it slowly sank into higher-pressure regions, it would solidify, trapping small fragments of metal before they could reach the core. Marchi and Korenaga reported their findings Oct. 9 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


    From there, billions of years of churning and convection in the mantle brings the trapped metals to the crust, within reach of human mining operations. Voila — the materials needed for jewelry and electronics are now conveniently located.


    It's possible these metal-rich blobs of mantle are still visible today in images of the mantle that scientists reconstruct from earthquake waves. Large low-velocity shear provinces, or LLSVPs, are areas of the mantle where shear waves from earthquakes move oddly slowly. It's evident there is some difference in the mantle rock in these regions, Marchi said, but scientists aren't sure what.


    One possibility is that the difference is in the density, and that LLSVPs are the remnants of the ancient impacts that brought gold, platinum, and other metals to Earth.


    One next step, Marchi said, might be to simulate similar impacts on a young Mars or Venus. "Those planets are very different from Earth," he said. "So it might be interesting and important to see how this process would work for these other terrestrial planets."