On Jul 19, 2007, at 7:51 PM, Robin van Spaandonk wrote:
I think chemical exchange mechanisms occur at the atomic rather
than the nuclear
level. IOW whole atoms or ions of the same element simply bump one
another aside
as the energy required to break the old chemical bond matches that
released by
formation of the new bond. That means that normal thermal energy is
enough to
bring about the exchange. However slight binding energy differences
between
isotopes could easily lead to enrichment over time, especially if
the binding
energy of the heavier isotope to the electrode material is slightly
greater than
that of the respective lighter isotope.
This could certainly be true. However, even if true, I still think
the dual (e- and D) fugacity concept has some merit on its own.
That said, isn't it true though that D makes stronger bonds?
"Bonds involving deuterium and tritium are somewhat stronger than the
corresponding bonds in light hydrogen..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium
Despite this stronger bond, I think a small amount of pure D20 added
to H2O becomes DHO very fast. A tunneling explanation makes more
sense to me, but I could easily be wrong about that because the
distances are so large. Proton conduction occurs over similar
distances with very small field strength E though. Bockris says cell
conduction away from the electrodes is essentially by diffusion.
A google of (exchange reaction tunneling) produces a list too long to
read.
Horace Heffner
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
