The amazing structure of LiH6… One further factoid adding credence to consideration of LiH6 as a candidate species for a longer-lived version of a dense hydrogen compound, is its crystal structure. At first, there seems to be little way to imagine stability based on what appears to be pseudo-hexavalency in lithium – a single valence atom. The stick-and-ball image is shown here: http://www.internetchemie.info/news/2009/oct09/metallic-hydrogen.html
… but it does not visually convey the full impact of the structure we are talking about – where each lithium atom is the center of a dodecahedron – which is the 12 sided platonic solid known to be extraordinarily stable. The beauty of 12 effective hydrogen bonds, instead of 6, could be a window of stability for LiH6, which is showing up in LENR. Presumably the intense magnetic field of SPP provides the substitute pressure which permits formation of the species. How the LiH6 compound would produce thermal gain in LENR is a mystery, but it could be chemical or nuclear. Bob Cook suggests that Cooper pairing of hydrogen precedes the densification and this is also compatible with LiH6, since a cubic structure of 6 faces perfectly nest into the dodecahedron with 12 faces. Rapid oscillation between the two crystal structures (cube and dodecahedron) is possible. _____________________________________________ Of interest: An unrelated string of experiments which are parallel to Holmlid but different, in approach, has been located. The chief investigator is Swiss - Charles Pépin https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01204564/ Surprisingly both iron and lithium figure into his approach – which is a “brute force” methodology using a diamond anvil (in addition to the laser). This work can only add credibility to Holmlid, although it is not the same. Holmlid’s is more spectacular and also more controversial. “Synthesis and characterization hydrides high pressure light elements” Charles Pépin Summary: These last 5 years many theoretical work has revealed the existence of a new chemistry between hydrogen and metals under pressure. >From these predictions it is possible to identify three main trends … Such systems with high concentrations of hydrogen can become metallic at much lower pressures than those needed for hydrogen and could present a high-temperature superconductivity…. At first a new method for the synthesis of high quality and high purity sample has been developed: a metallic sheet is heated to a high pressure in the presence of hydrogen using a YAG laser. Using this method the …. Iron hydrides (FeHx) were synthesized in a high pressure diamond anvil cell. These compounds were characterized in situ in our laboratory and by Raman spectroscopy using synchrotron light sources by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction Our results highlight the influence of hydrogen subnet the physical properties of hydrides and confirm the existence of a strong analogy between the pure hydrogen and hydrides with a high concentration of hydrogen. More stability to high pressure new polyhydrides was confirmed through the synthesis of novel hydrides of iron and by the formation of new lithium hydrides, LiH2 and LiH6
