Jed wrote: > [I will upload an Acrobat version of this report that includes photographs.] > > Accident Report > > Tadahiko Mizuno > Division of Quantum Energy Engineering, > Research group of Nuclear System Engineering > Hokkaido University > E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > On January 24, 2005 at around 4:00 p.m. an explosion occurred during a > plasma electrolysis experiment being performed by Mizuno in the Quantum > Energy Engineering Section. > > The cell was a 1000 cc Pyrex glass vessel which has been in use for about 5 > years. It contained 700 cc of 0.2M K2CO3 electrolyte; a platinum mesh > anode; and a tungsten cathode wire 1.5 mm in diameter, 29 cm long, with 3 > cm exposed to the electrolyte. Electrolyte temperature was 20 deg C. The > cell was placed inside a constant temperature air-cooled incubator (Yamato > 1L-6) with the outer door open, and the inner Plexiglas safety door closed. > The experimental setup is described in Ref. 1. The event occurred in the > early stage of the experiment before a plasma normally forms. Soon after > ordinary electrolysis began, voltage was increased to 20 V and current to > 1.5 A. 5 or 6 seconds later, a bright white flash was seen on the lower > portion of the cathode. The light expanded and at the same instant the cell > exploded. > > The explosion blew open the Plexiglas safety door and spread shards of > Pyrex glass and electrolyte up to 5 ~ 6 m into the surrounding area. > > When the explosion occurred, Mizuno and a guest visiting the laboratory > (who wishes to remain anonymous) were observing the cell about 1 m from the > incubator. They were wounded in the face, neck, arms and chest by shards of > glass 1 ~ 5 cm long. Fortunately, there were no injuries to their eyes. The > injuries are light, and they are expected to recover in a week. However, > the explosion made such a tremendous noise both victims were temporarily > rendered completely deaf. It is not known whether this will have any > after-effects.
Plasma electrolysis with K2CO3 can produce both K+ ions and H atoms which can enter into a catalytic reaction with very strong energy release as discovered by Mills. The reaction can occur with both H and D atoms, as it inolves the electron, not the nucleus. From the early days of CF, Mills reported excess heat from K2CO3 electrolytic cells. More recently strong energy release has been seen in a gas phase with a K2CO3 catalyst. This reaction may occur in addition to CF reactions in Mizuno's cell. > > > Possible Causes > > The vessel was old and may have had a scratch on the inner surface. That does not account for the initiating flash under the surface of the electrolyte. > > The effluent hydrogen and oxygen were mixed in the cell headspace. There 2 > ~ 3 cc of hydrogen at the time, although this is an open cell so only > minimal amounts of gas remain in the headspace. The flash was below the surface of the electrolyte.> > It is possible that the tungsten cathode may have been exposed to the gas > in the headspace. Why is this relevant? The 2K+/H or 2K+/D reactions found by Mills may be present in all these cells. Why it would act in the reported way is unclear. Mike Carrell
