The Bucky-Cal LENR Matrix

[Jones Beene]

or...  What happens when the C-60 fullerene inter-calcates... and absorbs D2?   Mention has been made of some surprising correlations between high temperature superconductivity and cold fusion. More on that later, but assuming that there is some overlap, what is the best proton conductive active membrane to use if one wishes to try to perform "really cold fusion" (i.e. minus 154 F)?   The "matrix" in which LENR reactions can occur may end up being the deciding factor as to whether the technology can be commercialized. Consequently every promising avenue should be pursued, and many materials have been mentioned.   Buckyballs (fullerenes or C-60) are a potential matrix for LENR, but C-60 is not superconductive by itself - should that factor be deemed to be important.   Titanium or nickel might work, but some questions have arisen about their ability to absorb D2 at high ratios and still retain structural integrity at low temperatures, and there is no real evidence that either hydride is superconductive at any temperature, unlike Pd.   Both Pd and palladium hydrides are superconductive at low temperature. Here is a this known factoid, should CF ever make it to "trivial pursuit" status - Laufer's "Theory of superconductivity in palladium-noble-metal hydrides" actually preceded P&F by three years ! Also it should be noted that *high internal effective pressure* has the same entropy reducing properties as cold temperature, but with Pd the loading ration must get to 1:1 before this becomes a factor.   It is also relevant to note these other inter-related factoids, which are surrounding the four seemingly unrelated technologies: LENR, HTSC, bucky-balls, and calcium - and which might enter into the quest for a better "matrix" for LENR - other than the expensive and rare palladium, and assuming that neither Ti nor Ni perform well at cryogenic temps:   1) One of the best high-temperature (HTSC) materials yet found is (BISCO) which contains calcium. It becomes superconductive near the range in which a "really cold" CF cell is anticipated to be run.   2) Calcium in the periodic table is THE element with the highest atomic mass in which p=n  ...  which is to say that the number of protons in the nucleus is perfectly balanced by the number of neutrons. See 5) below.   3) In 1992, Superconductivity was discovered in calcium-doped C60 by Kortan, et al. at low temperature.  The Ca metal atoms in a ratio of about 4-1(or more) diffuse into tetrahedral interstitial sites of the C60 bucky ball but not into the central cavity, which could still accommodate several D2 molecules.   4) Superconductivity arising between pairs of electrons (referred to as "Cooper pairs") is fairly well-know; but less well known is that superconductivity is also realized in atomic nuclei, where a strong correlation analogous to Cooper pairing arises. Are the two factors interconnected (i.e. does nucleon superconductivity presage Cooper pairing? And if so, is item 2) relevant to why calcium seems to be the best choice for getting HTSC into C-60 ?   5) About 10 years ago two enigmatic engineers (Cooley and Bennett ) proposed to use fullerenes as a CF matrix. They tried to raise capital, apparently with little success. Then the company seems to have disappeared from the horizon (or moved to Oregon) without much in the way of reported progress. The former web site seems to have been taken over by Chinese video-gamers. Probably a bad sign, but did they even know about the connection to HTSC? If they did not, that could have been their basis for their problem. C-60 could be an ideal matrix BUT only if it can be made superconductive.   Don't be surprised if Mark Goldes knows the answer....   6) C-60 is commercially available, and will always be cheap and available compared to Pd... plus, inter-calcating is relatively simple.   7) As an alternative to C-60, does an Ultraconductor (TM) have any potential to absorb D2, or can C-60 be incorporated into an  Ultraconductor (TM) without destroying its properties ?   The unknown questions are:   1) will the inter-calcated C-60 material still absorb D2?   2) will the "loaded and inter-calcated" C-60 membrane be superconductive at minus 154 F and most of all, will it be structurally sound ?   3) Of course, overriding this whole inquiry, is HTSC absolutely necessary in the active area ?   Jones