Re: [Vo]:New Arata experiment described in the lecture of May 22, 2008
Jed, You may have already said this, but among the Arata peer reviewed papers on your site, which is the most similar to the may 22 demonstration? harry
Re: [Vo]:New Arata experiment described in the lecture of May 22, 2008
Edmund Storms wrote: Jed, what happens from 0 to 300 min? Large heat burst during the period when the gas stream is turned on. This graph shows data after the gas stream is turned off, as I said in my initial messages. Why is this critical time missing? It is shown in other graphs. Sorry but I cannot upload additional graphs at this time. It took considerable effort to upload this one. I have no reliable internet access, and no other graphs at this time. (Actually, Arata sent them but this computer does not have the software to read them.) On the face of it, this graph proves nothing. It only shows that Pd-Zr-Ni reacts more rapidly with D2 than does ZrO2-Pd. The behavior of H2 is anomalous and makes no sense. It may make more sense after you see more data. It shows a limited amount of excess heat from H2, and much more heat from D2. The burst of heat from both D2 and H2 is in other graphs, as I said. Arata assumes the H2 heat burst is entirely chemical. Please reserve judgment. I regret my inability to communicate. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:New Arata experiment described in the lecture of May 22, 2008
I think Ed meant to send this response to Vortex, but it came to me because of the peculiar on-line reader I use. Anyway, let me respond here: Edmund Storms wrote: Jed, let me describe what happens when a material that is reactive with H2 or D2 is exposed to the gas. This description is not hypothetical but is based on personal observation. As the gas is added, the sample starts to get warmer, which causes the reaction to increase in rate. The temperature eventually increases until the ambient pressure and the temperature are more or less in equilibrium. . . . As for the behavior when H2 was used, this gas should have produced an initial temperature almost identical to that produced by D2. This is exactly what Arata observed, and what he reported. That is what is shown in Figs. 2 and 4 that I just uploaded. The chemical reaction during the gas loading phase produces the same amount of heat with deuterium and hydrogen, using samples of ZrO2 of the same mass (7 g). The fact that it did not is very strange and suggests the data were not taken under the same conditions. This is Ed's misunderstanding, caused by the fact that I sent Fig. 5B first. Fig. 5B shows what happens AFTER gas loading, when the effects with deuterium and hydrogen begin to diverge. During the initial phase the two react almost exactly the same way. Question for Ed: is Arata's measurement of 4.4 kJ of chemical heat from an 18 g sample plausible? Too much? Too little? In contrast, if the sample reacts easily with the gas, as is the case with the Pd-Ni-Zr alloy, a lot of heat is generated quickly and the reaction is quickly completed. This is also exactly what Arata observed and reported. As a result, the temperature increases rapidly and also decays away rapidly, as was observed. Arata noted this. The only observation that makes the reported behavior unique is the generation of helium, which is not shown on the graph. Helium is not shown in this graph, as noted. However, it was not detected with hydrogen and it was with deuterium. Furthermore, there are two pronounced differences in the reported behavior: the heat with deuterium lasts ~3000 minutes longer than with helium (and would probably last much longer), and the delta T temperature difference between the cell core and wall continues with deuterium, whereas it disappears with hydrogen. These are very significant and in my opinion, they mean there is heat production with deuterium after gas injection, but no heat production with hydrogen. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:New Arata experiment described in the lecture of May 22, 2008
Akito Takahashi sent some corrections to my report: Arata did not stop D2 feeding when inside pressure came to rise up. The High Temperature Society is Kouongakkai in Japanese. (I had it the high voltage society.) Amount of helium-4 factorx10~17 corresponds to 0.5 to 1 Mega Joules, by 23.8 MeV/He-4. Takahashi believes The lecture could be followed completely by native Japanese speakers but I know several who were baffled. Additional comments from Takahashi: The key result of Arata this time is the long lasting heat generation without input power, associated with helium-4 generation. This is essential to making RD further for energy source application. (As I too mentioned.) - Jed
[Vo]:New Arata experiment described in the lecture of May 22, 2008
In this report, I assume the reader is familiar with Arata’s previous experiments. See his papers at LENR-CANR.org. The new experiment uses a steel cell about 20 cm tall and 3 cm in diameter. (I do not have the dimensions in writing but I saw the cell.) A sample of zirconium oxide with palladium nanoparticles in (ZrO2*Pd) it is placed at the bottom of the cell. In some tests, an alloy of Zr*Ni*Pd is used. The cell is initially evacuated, and at room temperature. Highly purified deuterium gas is pressurized in an external tank to about 100 atm, and then injected into the cell in a high powered jet stream of gas, for about 10 minutes. The gas is in the jet stream is ionized and much of it is instantly absorbed by the material. Heat production begins immediately. The gas is not absorbed by the steel vessel walls. Heat production begins with a large burst lasting as long as the gas stream is injected. The temperature rises to about 70°C. Arata says this is caused by a combination of chemical and nuclear reactions. After the gas flow is shut off, the cell remains warm for 50 hours, gradually cooling. It would probably remain significantly warm for 100 hours, although they have not continued the experiment this long yet. During the second phase, the temperature in the center of the cell remains significantly warmer than at the outer cell wall, typically about a half-degree Celsius. This half-degree temperature difference remains about the same during the 50 hours of the run. Arata thinks that the heat from the second phase is entirely from a nuclear reaction. In one example, the first phase produced 4.4 kJ (at a rate of 18 kJ/hour, or ~5 W), and the second phase produced ~250 kJ (at ~4 kJ/hour, ~1 W). Much of the gas is absorbed by the Zr-Pd target. Gas pressure rises gradually after the flow is cut of, as the sample degasses. Helium is produced in the same ratio to the heat as with plasma fusion. However, the Zr-Pd sample has to be baked out after the run, to recover all of the helium. Three control experiments are described: * Hydrogen with the Zr-Pd target. The cell heats up in the first phase. After the gas stream is turned off, it cools down. There is no significant difference between the cell center and outer cell wall. Arata think the heat comes entirely from a chemical reaction. Helium is not produced. * Deuterium with no Zr-Pd. No heating effect or helium is observed. Gas pressure rises immediately in a straight line, and stops rising as soon as the gas flow is cut off. * Hydrogen with no Zr-Pd. The same result as with deuterium. Arata believes that highly pure deuterium is the key to success, and also, by the way, that helium contaminates the surface and must be removed in order to keep the reaction going. The DS-cathode configuration outer shell acted as a hydrogen purifier. The disadvantage was that it had to be heated to ~200°C with an auxiliary heater to allow the hydrogen to pass through the shell. In the latest configuration, Arata dispenses with that and uses pre-purified deuterium so that the cell can be operated starting at room temperature, without an auxiliary heater. The other advantage, not mentioned by Arata in this lecture, is that the nanoparticles of palladium do not sinter together as they did with Pd-black. The zirconium, which is 90% of the material, keeps them apart. A small electric motor is placed next to the cell, and powered by a thermoelectric generator that when there is a large temperature difference between the cell and ambient. Arata neglected to describe it during the lecture, although it was shown in a diagram. Apparently it is a proof of principle device. As far as I could tell, he neglected to mention several other details, such as the method of calibration, and the nature of the chemical reaction in the first phase. His lecture was difficult to follow, even for native speakers, so I may have overlooked something. Note that even without a calibration the comparison control experiments prove there is heat, but Arata has calculated the amount of heat (~250 kJ), so he must have done some sort of calibration. The high operating temperature, instant response and reliability of this device make it the most practical form of cold fusion yet developed. The small amount of palladium is also a major advantage. As far as I know, all of the tests with Zr-Pd targets and D2 have produced heat immediately and predictably. It may not be possible to turn off the reaction instantly, but this is no impediment to practical applications; it is not possible to turn off the heat from burning coal or uranium fission either. The reaction stops gradually as the sample degasses. It might be possible to force it to degas more rapidly, by raising the temperature and pumping out the cell. This is awkward without graphics, but to give an example of the reaction, in Fig. 5B (not shown here), room temperature is 24°C. A ZrO2*Pd
Re: [Vo]:New Arata experiment described in the lecture of May 22, 2008
Wasn't a zirconium compound the secret sauce that the Cincinnati group used in their tile burn experiment (replicated by Chris Tinsley)? Nick
