On Jun 4, 2007, at 9:38 AM, Michel Jullian wrote:
The place to start may be eliminating water...
Would the phenomenon occur on a dry cathode?
Well, you can't have a dry cathode if the air provides the water to
the needle for the molecular stream. Bill's experiments were carried
out in humid environments.
That's the first thing to elucidate. In my hypothesis, it wouldn't,
as the phenomenon would be a near-surface artifact due to the
presence of the water bumps, the threads would not really exist all
the way from the emitter to the bump.
As to the bump vs dimple notion, I would expect there to be a dimple
if the needle end were positive, but maybe a bump in the water with
its own sharp point if the pan is positive.
Why not a bump in both cases, the electrodes (the solid one and the
liquid one) are attracted towards each other whatever the polarity
aren't they? Besides Bill tried both polarities with no visible
difference.
Now that you mention it, the needle could be the formation place in
either case. In other words, the polarity doesn't make any
difference to the formation of the molecular thread. It can be
formed like this (oxygen edge leading):
...H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
...\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
(+) O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O (-)
.../ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
...H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
Fig. 1
or like this (hydrogen edge leading):
.....H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
...../ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
(-) O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O (+)
.....\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
.....H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H
Fig. 2
However, I think every other molecule would be rotated 90 degrees
from the above representation, so the first case, Fig. 1, would
really look more like the following Fig. 3:
...H H H H H H H H H H
...\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
(+) OHO OHO OHO OHO OHO OHO OHO OHO OHO OHO (-)
.../ / / / / / / / / /
...H H H H H H H H H H
Fig. 3
where the Hs in the plane with the Os are displaced out of the page.
I'm having a dejas vous. I think I've already posted this some years
ago. I'm senile for sure. 8^)
In either case, the molecular flow is from the needle to the plate or
water surface, so I vote for a dimple in both cases. The entrained
air flow would also be from the needle toward the plate. The current
can be in either direction, though in the case of water there may be
a problem with this model. I'm not sure this provides a lattice for
the tunneling proton that can accommodate the proton motion, i.e.
current, without molecular rotation that might tend to break the
string. Interesting. CO2, on the other hand, may be able to conduct
electrons, which would not require molecular rotation.
Looking at the structure in Fig. 3, there may be a new kind of proton
conduction in the offing here. It would be through momentary bond
swapping. As the proton moves down the string, the bonds swap
directions, eliminating the need for the molecules to rotate. The
charge of the conduction proton holds the string together. Maybe
protons move down the sting in adjacent pairs, so as to leave the
string in its original configuration after they pass. Interesting!
This could provide an alternate explanation for electrolyte
conduction too. And... polywater (of a sort) is resurrected. Say, I
think this was indeed discussed under a "polywater" thread title.
In the case of shooting the molecular stream through a hole in a
plate (or ring), my guess is a corona electron current from the plate
hole edges (or ring) neutralizes the molecular beam as it goes
through the plate. The neutral molecular stream is still bound by
the polar alignment.
Regards,
Horace Heffner
