It seems to me that a universal theme in “cold fusion” is a triggering mechanism that releases stored potential energy.
In all cases, a “cold fusion” system is a system that is heavily coherent in a quantum mechanical(QM) sense. Potential energy builds up and is stored by these coherent atoms. When one of these coherent atoms becomes QM decoherent and leaves the QM assemblage through the action of a trigger, it releases this potential energy over the entire QM assemblage. This averaging tends to transform and lower the intensity of the energy spike over the entire assemblage to thermal levels. Such triggers can be in the form of a laser pulse, an electric spark, a high energy particle, a phonon in a metal lattice, a mechanical shock… This trigger can precipitate a cascade of potential energy conversion to kinetic energy release such as has been seen in a Mills or an Arata powder, or it could be a continuing phonon based thermalization process as has been seen in a Piantelli or Rossi system. On Mon, Dec 5, 2011 at 2:14 PM, David Roberson <dlrober...@aol.com> wrote: > It is apparent that a lot of energy is required to initiate the nuclear > reaction in ECAT type devices. This problem is always a sticking point > for the skeptical point of view and certainly makes the process seem less > likely to most of us in the other camp. I proposed the possibility of > cosmic rays acting as the trigger for the reactions since they are known to > be very energetic and always present. > If you think about explosives in general, it is evident that they could in > theory self explode under the right circumstances. Nitroglycerin comes > immediately to mind when I think of a really nasty substance to play with. > A drop of this material hitting a surface from a short fall will explode > violently. This is an example of a triggered explosion which must have > interesting characteristics in order to occur. > Plain old fashioned black gunpowder is another example of a triggered > explosive material that is quite stable under normal circumstances. You > can place a match onto a small pile of the powder and it will just lay > there and burn for a while until the entire mass of material erupts rapidly > with a bright flash. > The initiation process for these two materials must depend upon the > geometry and energy release characteristics. I am not an expert on > explosives but have given consideration to the process that I assume leads > to a mass explosive event. In the case of the gunpowder, I consider the > reaction to be started by the application of heat energy to a small region > of the material. The heat energy is sufficient to cause a tiny portion > of the powder to ignite and release additional heat. This relatively > large heat energy must escape the small volume through the surface area > surrounding it. If the burn is to continue, then the heat escaping the > initial volume must be sufficient to ignite more material at the surface to > continue the process. > If there is insufficient heat to ignite the new material then the burn > would die out and there would be no explosion. This model that I have > envisioned would tend to suggest that there would be a minimum volume of > initial burning material required in order to achieve an explosive event. > Heat is generated throughout the volume while it escapes through the > surface area. This is where the story might get interesting. Chemical > energy released by burning of a material such as black powder is many > thousands if not millions of times less than that released by a fusion > reaction and I would expect the differences to show up clearly. > One of the main differences I would expect is for the initiated volume to > be many times smaller in the case of fusion than that seen with chemical > reactions. Also, the energy required to initiate a fusion reaction could > be concentrated into the region occupied by the nickel atom and the > adjacent hydrogen nuclei and might be available in the form of cosmic ray > interactions. I suspect that we all would agree that there is sufficient > energy contained within a cosmic ray to overcome the coulomb repulsion > barrier. > If the fusion of a nickel atom and a hydrogen nucleus is possible as a > result of the interaction of a cosmic ray, then it seems that we have > achieved a trigger that might result in additional reactions if sufficient > energy is released. The time domain release nature of the induced energy > as well as the form it takes could be the reason for continued reactions. > Most of the information available suggests that heat is the major form of > energy outputted during the LENR events and that this is released after a > short delay period instead of instantaneously after the proton is acquired. > This delay is fortunate; otherwise an explosion of the entire structure > might occur. > The pictures of damage to electrodes by pitting suggest that the fusion > reaction once initiated prorogates fairly rapidly throughout a significant > amount of material before being quenched. There is no need for an > instantaneous energy release, but instead it needs to be fast enough to > result in metal melting or vaporization that is sufficient to expel > material. The hydrogen loading could come into play by being subject to > a threshold amount that does not allow adequate heat generation and > propagation unless satisfied. > I suggest that a trigger mechanism in the form of cosmic rays is available > which can initiate a limited number of fusion reactions. The question is > whether or not these reactions can propagate within the material to > generate a substantial effect. Do we observe hot spots of activity > occurring within the nickel that can pinpoint any such behavior? > Dave >
