Hi Ed, In the case of fuming HCL, wouldn't you get substantial SbCl++ or SbCl2+?
When this experiment was described to me, it was claimed that several days (weeks?) of electrolysis was required to achieve a substantial amount of material. I assume from this that voltage is kept low to prevent H formation at the cathode. I've never done this experiment, but it's certainly not something required the DOE, Navy, and 100K to do... If someone sends me an antimony anode I'd be happy to do the basic experiment ( sadly, I have only the oxide form in stock, although if you think I can get away with a carbon anode I could just dissolve the oxide in a little HCL and use that. I fear that too much water will be generated and the sorts of problems you lay out below would interfere with the plating of the allotrope). This badly ocr'd document claims that similar results can be obtained from the tri-iodide and the tri-bromide, with equally explosive results. http://36.1911encyclopedia.org/A/AN/ANTINOMIANS.htm So I think the anion may not play a role in the purported LENR effect. K. -----Original Message----- From: Edmund Storms [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 12:14 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Explosive Antimony on Platinum, Cold Fusion in 1855? Horace, I would like to inject a little chemistry here, because if the energy claimed is real, the claims are amazing. First, when SbCl3 reacts with water, it forms SbO+, H+ and Cl-. Upon electrolysis, the SbO+ deposits on the cathode where it is reduced to Sb metal by reacting with the hydrogen activity generated there. No Cl- is expected to be present in this deposit. Even if some SbCl2+ were to deposit, it would be quickly reduced to Sb metal by reaction with hydrogen. So, where does the claimed SbCl3 come from? If the claimed energy is actually 19600 cal/g, this is equal to 19600*121.76 = 2.38 x 10^6 cal/mole, which is too much to be real. So we have two anomalies, the presence of Cl and too much energy. Does anyone care to speculate that the Cl results from fission of Sb? Regards, Ed Horace Heffner wrote: > At 3:41 AM 2/28/5, Frederick Sparber wrote: > > >>The explosion is attended by the allotropic transformation of then >>metastable or alpha-form of >>antimony into the stable beta-form or the rhombohedral variety, at the >>same time the temperature rises to >>about 250 degrees C, and 19,600 calories of heat are evolved per gram of >>antimony. >> >>Clouds of antimony trichloride are given off at the same time. >>Hence the term Explosive Antimony is given to a solid solution( 4 to 12 >>percent ) >>of the trihalide in alpha-antimony." >> >>The heat of combustion of H2 + 1/2 O2 is 54,000 calories per mole (18 >>grams) , or 3.000 calories per gram >> >>The 19,600 calories per gram released by Explosive Antimony is over 6.5 >>times this. > > > > Note - 19,600 cal/g of Sb is only 161 cal/mol. > > > >>On initial application of current there should be a flash deposit of >>Hydrogen on the >>Platinum Cathode. After that, a mix of Antimony Chlorine and Hydrogen. >> >>The exotherm energies of Antimony Chloride or Oxide is less than 2.5 >>Kilojoule per >>gram. >> >>Way below the 82 Kilojoule per gram of Explosive Antimony that Gore reported >>in >>1855. > > > > > The 19,600 cal/g released by explosive antimony is only 161 cal/mol = 0.674 > kJ/mol. > > Codeposited hydrogen may be in atomic form. Consider the reaction H + H -> > H2 + (436 kJ/mol = 104,000 cal/mol). That's 218 kJ/mol of H. > Considerable energy has to be subtracted from this for the ionic bond of > adsorbed H2 though. > > Given H2 + 1/2 O2 is 54,000 calories per mole (18 grams), *if* the freed H2 > is converted to water, that's 54,000 calories per mole of H2 freed. H2 is > only 2 grams per mole, thus an additional 27,000 cal/mol of H, or 113 > kJ/mol of H is obtained for that H which finds oxygen. Some oxygen may be > available in the form of animony oxide or included H2O2. > > The energy of even less than 1 percent adsorbed hydrogen may account for a > significan part of the 0.674 kJ/mol given off by explosive Sb. The values > 113 kj/mol and 218 kJ/mol dwarf the 0.674 kJ/mol obtained from explosive > antimony. The 0.674 kJ/mol is small enough it may just be primarily from > change of metastable to stable state. > > Hopefully I got the numbers about right. > > Regards, > > Horace Heffner > > >
