Joshua, If this is a real phenomenon, might it not involve complex many-body effects that first-order approximations can't capture?
Also, since this is a NASA patent, doesn't it have to go through a fairly rigorous review process? and have some empirical data backing it? > On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 9:38 PM, Alan Fletcher <a...@well.com> wrote: > >> Absolutely! Widom-Larsen (where an electron combines with a Proton to >> form a Neutron and a Neutrino). >> has a critical mass, similar to the Coulomb barrier for regular fusion. >> > > Actually, it's about 10 times higher. And it's an *energy* barrier, just > like fusion, too. WL like to call it a heavy electron to obscure the fact > that you have to concentrate 780 MeV of energy in a single atomic site to > produce electron capture. Since this reaction is endothermic, there is no > possibility of tunneling through it; the energy has to be supplied. In the > case of d-d fusion, reaction probability becomes useful below 100 keV, > because that reaction is exothermic, and so tunneling is possible. > > >> The muon:proton has enough mass, and is known to happen. >> But electron:proton doesn't --WL proposes one method of getting an >> effective electron mass. >> > > I don't see the comparison to muon-catalyzed fusion. In muon catalyzed > fusion the muon replaces an electron in hydrogen, and since its average > distance from the nucleus is much smaller, it shields the charge of the > nucleus more effectively, allowing closer approach between nuclei to > improve the probability for fusion. WL propose that the heavy (energetic) > electron is captured by the nucleus (proton), so the resulting neutron is > captured by another nucleus. It's a rather different process. >
