Just when it looked like things were becoming clearer in LENR theory, they seem to have become more complicated. Ockham fails again – no surprise really, since “parsimony” always fails miserably when QM enters the picture.
SPP was the “catch-phrase” of the day for understanding LENR, due to the influence of NASA and Larsen, but a similar effect called spinplasmonics (SP) fits many experimental circumstances better than does SPP. This is because SP happens in a metal, without need of a dielectric, and has a magnetic component. Here is a mainstream paper that touches on the SP phenomenon but does not mention LENR. http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/112/10/10.1063/1.4765028 There was a time when the two, SPP and SP, were considered to be part of the same general phenomenon, but on closer differentiation - if a choice needs to be made, the merits of each should be considered relative to precise details in any experiment. Yet both effects can be active in the same experiment, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. In short, if the active region is conductive and ferromagnetic (or strongly paramagnetic) with no dielectric, then spinplasmonics fits better. When the active region has a metal-dielectric interface and is indifferent to magnetism, then SPP fits better. Is this being unnecessarily pedantic? Only if one wants to marginalize, rather than emphasize, the role of magnetism. If magnetism is highly important, then one more detail about a Mu metal connection (following Claytor’s revelation at MIT). When photon upconversion was first discovered by François Auzel, he thought there was net gain. Of course, his peers cautioned him about publishing such “nonsense” as overunity. His patent has been expired for decades (http://patents.justia.com/inventor/francois-f-auzel) and never was commercially important. An example is the upconversion of infrared light into visible light, which would be important for either SPP or spinplasmonics which ostensibly need optical photons. Here is the big surprise. Nickel may be important for upconversion of photons – more so than any other physical property. The prime materials for photon upconversion are luminescent ions Ni2+ and Mo3+ both of which elements are found in Mu metal. Surface ionization makes them active. That may not be coincidental, since optics and magnetics may be intimately entwined in Mu metals, which are a starting point for LENR ….Which then are activated by spinplasmonics….Which then create a continuing supply of DDL (deep Dirac layer) dense hydrogen….Which then disrupts the Dirac “sea” ….Which then yield binding energy photons of 6.8 eV….Which then thermalize into heat, finally providing thermal gain. And yes, Ockham fails again and “parsimony” always looks like a silly rule-of-thumb when QM enters the picture. Jones
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