Stephen,
7Li = 7.0160 amu 4He = 4.0026 amu
+ 3H = 3.0160 amu
--------------------
4He + 3H = 7.0186 amu
Net energy gain = -0.0026 amu = -2.43 MeV
Well - yes - and that pretty much explains why - as others have
noticed - that the OU energy and tritium (at the same time) are
seldom witnessed in the same configuration.
So it's going to need a lot of encouragement to make it go,
right? A little bit of a nudge won't do it -- it needs a good
sized whack.
It turns out that this endotherm is very close to the exotherm of
the two most common D reactions... maybe these occur in tandem?
... or more likely in the QM world - that the endotherm is
"borrowed" for a few femptoseconds, making the exothermic reaction
more likely in probability.
Bottom line:
...isn't it a bit too coincidental that you can come out to nearly
"net neutral" on the energy equation yet - still have lots (twice)
the tritium of 'just' fusion reactions? This is in keeping with
the observation Jed mentions of the absence of excess heat when
large amounts of 3H are seen.
So, I conclude that you are speculating (a) that the neutron
does indeed have a nonzero e-dipole
I think it is that is clear from the (dia)magnetic moment of the
neutron ... plus there is independent evidence (from diffraction)
of a negative near field for the neutron -which is one and the
same as your nonzero e-dipole
and (b) that it's large enough to result in a shielding effect in
this case
Yes.
Is this more or less correct, or did my reasoning totally jump
the tracks along here somewhere?
This is good. There are still big gaps in the understanding but
this is a much more satisfying explanation for many early
experiments (better than D fusion alone) as it explains two
unexpected phenomena which have been previously reported without a
good explanation - those being:
1) the abnormal branching ratio, favoring 3H instead of equal
parts 3H and 3He - and this is only when lithium is used as an
electrolyte.
2) the lack of excess heat - which would be otherwise unavoidable
if fusion were the culprit.
...plus the fact that the energy deficit of one reaction is almost
exactly the gain of the companion reaction makes the scenario most
interesting.
Bravo!
Jones
