Deflation Fusion Draft #22, Part 2
IONICALLY BOUND ELECTRONS AND PARTIAL ORBITALS
An adsorbed hydrogen nucleus, here for convenience simply called a
deuteron, has an associated electron always very close by in the
lattice. This electron and its associated deuteron are considered to
be "ionically bound" in the lattice. When a deuteron is adsorbed at
the face of the cathode, it is bound to a free conduction band
electron already there in the cathode surface, an electron provided
there by the electrolysis potential. This ionic bonding greatly
restricts the bound electron's wave function. The adsorption of the
deuteron also momentarily reduces the potential of the cathode, i.e.
the electron fugacity of the cathode, and results in an electron
current to the cathode from the power supply which restores it.
Loading of the cathode requires current beyond that required for the
electrolysis evolved gas. The cell current has to accommodate both
the evolved gas plus adsorbed hydrogen.
The electrons ionically bound to adsorbed hydrogen are no longer
fully conduction band electrons. Their wave functions are diminished
in size. As loading completes, the conduction bands are frozen and
conductivity diminishes. Cathode conductivity is in fact the measure
commonly used to estimate loading, though loading percentage has been
correlated with and confirmed by other methods, like neutron and x-
ray scattering. The size and mobility of conduction band electron
quantum waveforms in fully loaded cathodes is unusually small,
compared to ordinary conductors, due to the high deuteron density.
In a fully loaded lattice the ionically bound electron has no room
for a full orbital about the deuteron. The ionically bound electron
occupies what has been characterized as a "partial orbital", or
“confined orbital”, where the probability of conduction band
existence and orbital existence is split. The application of extreme
magnetic fields, which in ordinary atoms produce fuzzy non-quantum
like electron existences at extreme ranges from the nucleus, may do
the opposite for partial orbital electrons. These extreme orbitals
in ordinary hydrogen with increased quantum numbers due to
excitement and extreme magnetic fields are called Rydberg orbitals.
The probability of orbital electrons being in or near the nucleus
increases dramatically for Rydberg orbitals. Similar effects exist
for strong electrostatic fields.
In the case of partial orbitals, where the conduction band existence
is energetically suppressed, the close-to-the-deuteron portion of the
wave function takes on increased probability, increasing the
probability of wave function collapse onto or with the deuteron.
Electron-nucleus interaction probabilities are increased by the
increase in the near nucleus electron density. This premise may
sound far fetched, but the chemical-nuclear relationship is no longer
easily dismissed because it has been firmly established with regard
to electron capture. 15 A nearly one percent difference in half
life occurs simply due to the difference between electron wave
functions for 7Be atoms inside C60 instead of Be metal. Further,
the half life for 7Be atoms inside C60 was found to decrease upon
cooling, and this was correlated to electron density at the Be
nucleus.16
When loading reaches a 1-1 ratio of deuterium to metal, and
essentially all lattice sites are deuteron filled, additional loading
requires that some lattice sites contain two or more deuterons.
Multiply occupied sites actually occur well before 1-1 loading is
achieved. These sites therefor also contain within them much more
dense wave functions of the partial orbitals of the ionically bound
electrons. In these sites a 2 way or 3 way tunneling event becomes
likely, resulting in a 3 way or 4 way wave function collapse.
USE OF A CALCIUM OXIDE BARRIER
The cathode high voltage back side, either in gas back side mode, or
dielectric back side mode, can be coated with a layer of calcium
oxide (CaO) to provide the much needed diffusion barrier. Evidence
for this application is provided by Iwamura's work,17 18 which can
be interpreted to show that a thin diffusion barrier is effective at
building hydrogen fugacity and thus deflation fusion. There are
numerous references to Iwamura at lenr-canr.org.
Hydrogen diffusion in Pd is almost entirely by tunneling. When
diffusing through a CaO barrier, toward the back side, the deuteron
leaves behind an electron on the front side, which can simultaneously
tunnel across the same barrier, or not. When an electron is left
behind on the front side of the barrier, the deuteron would have had
to have found a matching electron on the back side of the barrier to
make that tunneling event favorable. (Alternatively the deuteron-
electron pair could have tunneled while in the deflated hydrogen
state, but this state has low probability normally. ) This suddenly
unveiled electron on the (high hydrogen fugacity) front side then
starts a chain of deuteron tunneling events on the backed up high
pressure front side of the barrier, progressing away from the barrier
toward the front of the cathode, and such tunneling events are the
stuff of which deflation fusion is made. Increasing the probability
of tunneling by this method greatly increases the probability of dual
deuteron tunneling, and thus deflation fusion. The tunneling process
in this case is always toward the location of a catalyzing electron
left behind in a vacant site. This process is clearly made far more
likely in general by providing a source of electrons on the back side
of the barrier to initiate the tunneling chains on the front side.
A NEW CATHODE GEOMETRY
This then leads to another possible cathode structure and LENR
method. See Figure 2. That method consists of building an electrode
in which the CaO layers exist parallel to the direction of
electrolysis driven diffusion. This parallel barrier electrode, when
used in an electrolysis mode, is used in a triode cell where a
separate current can be run through the cathode normal to the
direction of the electrolysis current. When the cathode is loaded,
such a current normal to the hydrogen flow causes hydrogen diffusion
laterally through the cathode, and thus through the CaO barriers.
The electrolysis then is merely to keep the cathode loaded. The
loading can even be achieved in gas mode, as in the Iwamura
experiment, and as shown in Figure 2. The hydrogen fugacity from gas
loading is lower than for electrolysis, however, so electrolysis is
likely a better alternative for loading.
The major diffusion is driven through the CaO barriers, and is driven
by AC current applied normal to the flow, i.e. left to right and vice
versa in Figure 2.
Note that in gas mode the low pressure side need not be a vacuum as
in the Iwamura experiment, and might even be high pressure to keep
the overall fugacity up. It should be equally as effective to provide
the pressure differential via compression of the front side gas as by
vacuum on the back side. In purely gas phase form the active element
then has only two electrodes and can be purely AC driven.
The waveform used to drive the barrier jumping can consist of a low
current set up phase followed by a high voltage pulse to achieve a
tunneling phase. Figure 2 is a diagram of a gas phase loaded cell.
The dielectric structural support layer is much thicker than shown in
Figure 2 and can be provided by a somewhat porous ceramic. With a
highly positive back side HV field (with respect to the AC neutral),
and use of slightly conductive barium titanate for the ceramic, the
cell then takes on the additional role already characterized for a
back side cathode in the region of the backside barrier. A useful
configuration would probably include the ability to exchange the Pd-
CaO portion, and would require appropriate seals at the edges, and
quickly adaptable means of electrical contact. A porous BaTiO3
support layer, or other porous strong dielectric, should be adhered
to a gas permeable or porous ground (zero potential as defined
above) or positive electrode plate on its back side.
A very thin width cathode of this kind can be prepared for
experimental use by the vacuum sputtering methods as used by
Iwamura, and then sectioned for use vertically as shown, using
appropriate soldering or joining methods to make electrical contact
and yet sustain the pressure drop. However, mass production could be
by successive layer build up using epitaxial19 and/or lithographic
methods used commonly in chip fabrication, and would likely involve a
diffusion barrier other than CaO. An alternative manufacturing
method might be to sputter numerous Pd-CaO-Pd layers in a continuous
method on a Pd foil roll, with PD on the final surface. The outside
layers being Pd, the roll can be cut into strips, joined, and the Pd
annealed to bond the assembly into a solid electrode as shown. The
ideal metal may not be Pd, but rather silver, or some alloy. Other
metals or alloys may also be of interest for producing isotopes
using heavy element LENR, which this configuration should produce.
Similarly the ideal diffusion barrier material may not be CaO.
Another method of constructing a cathode with similar characteristics
is to prepare granules with tunneling barriers, actually half-
barriers, adhered to their surfaces, and then compress and heat them
in bulk to anneal out pores that permit hydrogen flow without
diffusion. This then creates a system of islands of diffusion
material interlaced with tunneling barriers of the right thickness.
This should be a high resistance material with active regions
throughout.
The type cell in Figure 2 can be expected to produce good results
because it is merely an extension of concepts applied to cells
already shown to be effective. What is most interesting about this
is that the concept can be taken to a logical conclusion. That is,
in effect, the fabrication of the diffusion and barrier layers as a
single hybrid material. This is logically accomplished by making an
alloy of palladium or other fusion active metal, like nickel,
titanium, or aluminum, with material that decreases conductivity
while still permitting hydrogen diffusion, like calcium or calcium
oxide. The objective is to maximize diffusion while minimizing
electron motion, while still providing free electrons as tunneling
targets. Maximizing diffusion is logically accomplished by
increasing the internal electrostatic field, which is increased by a
combination of larger voltages applied to currents through the
cathode, and use of a lower conductivity material. This hybrid
material can then be hydrogen charged via a variety of hydrogen
charging methods, or possibly may be made using co-deposition, and/or
used in a triode configuration, but in any case where, in operation,
current is driven through the loaded material in order to increase
diffusion and thus fusion. One major advantage of this is that
fusion then becomes a volume effect, not an effect limited to a thin
near-surface zone.
Figure 3 is yet another version of a deflation fusion cell. This
cell has the advantage of fairly simple construction techniques.
Based on the fact Iwamura’s experiment produces LENR in a fairly
reliable manner, the cell in Figure 3 can be expected to work even
without the laser or external magnetic fields. Hydrogen loading on
the front side can alternatively be accomplished via electrolysis by
eliminating the structural support element and using thicker
palladium diffusion material and incorporating electrolyte and an
electrolysis anode, positive with respect to the HVDC lead, in the
front side compartment.
The configurations in Figures 2. and 3. can be hybridized for use
with high temperature hydrogen diffusing materials, like iron
alloys. A very simple hybrid consists of using the electrode
configuration of Figure 2 combined with the CaO-Pd and Pd-H elements
replaced by a high temperature iron alloy, heated by the AC power
leads, using a porous high permeability ceramic for the permeable H2
insulator, backed by a porous conductive positive HVDC plate on the
low pressure side. This approach of using high temperature proton
conductors opens a wide range of proton adsorbing lattice materials
and concurrently makes available high electrode resistances. It
increases the range of electron excited states in the lattice. It
also increases the feasible thermodynamic efficiency of the resulting
systems.
BACKSIDE DE-LOADING ISSUES
Backside de-loading is a method which has good rationale within the
deflation fusion model. It permits continued high tunneling rates
even after high loading is achieved. The problem then is to achieve
the backside de-loading in a practical way.
The key is establishing a backside diffusion barrier, and using the
right cross-barrier potential in order to match the de-loading and
loading rates so as to sustain high hydrogen fugacity. It is also an
objective to provide a high electron charge density immediately
opposite the de-loading barrier. One means of increasing charge
density is to increase field strength by using a high dielectric
strength material opposite the barrier. One means of suppressing
hydrogen diffusion is to make the potential of the back side surface
extremely negative, thus making escape of positive hydrogen nuclei
more suppressed.
Now for a differing approach to back side de-loading. One way to
achieve many of these objectives is to make the back side an anode
immersed in water. See Figure 4. The water acts as the dielectric.
The field strength across the two layer anode-water interpface is
well over 106 V/m even at a few volts electrolysis potential.
The anodic diffusion barrier can be deposited and even maintained or
healed by anodization. 20 The target for hydrogen tunneling then is
OH- molecules in the interphase, and any free electrons that might be
ionized off them and attached to the anodized barrier.
One problem with this approach is keeping the electrons from
tunneling across the backside barrier to the hydrogen instead of the
hydrogen tunneling through the back side barrier to the electrons.
The down side to electron tunneling through the backside barrier is
(1) deflation fusion is accomplished best by simultaneous deuteron
tunneling to an electron and (2) fusion on the front side of the
barrier will cause disruption of the lattice, destruction of the
barrier, and possible helium blockage.
Preventing the above problems should be possible by energetically
denying them by driving front side electrolysis at a much higher
voltage once loading is complete. This can best be accomplished
using a coordinated pulsed mode. Operating with a superimposed
pulse, applied simultaneously on both the front and back side
potentials, to trigger hydrogen barrier tunneling, is efficient
because it gives the lattice time to diffuse replacement hydrogen,
backside gas a chance to dissipate, and the interphase to recover,
while providing maximum fugacity during the pulse.
An alternative, on the back side, is to use pulsed AC on top of a DC
trickle current used to sustain the anodized layer. Very high
frequency high voltage AC intervals with low duty cycles, on the back
side, would cause tunneling directions across the backside of the
barrier to switch directions, alternating many times per volume
diffused, and thereby increasing fusion prospects per diffused atom.
It also increases the probability of OH- de-ionization, loosing free
electrons to attach to the backside diffusion barrier.
High voltage AC and DC has been used by the author to anodize
aluminum and zirconium electrodes with a barrier driven at over 1000
V.21 Such a surface barrier tends to self maintain even when used
with AC electrolysis. Such a barrier permits the use of very high
potentials that may be of use in generating high electron fugacities
at the back side when the back side is in the high voltage cathode
phase of the cycle. The negative potential of the back side can
increase to a substantial amount, i.e. the point where the
substantial barrier can be tunneled by the electrons. The surface
layer of the electrode metal thus contains a large electron density
in an extreme fugacity condition. Further, due to the use of AC,
hydrogen tunneling is ongoing in the lattice, in directions that
alternate with the AC current flow. Hydrogen tunneling rates can be
further enhanced by application of lateral currents through the
electrode. This is an ideal environment for deflation fusion to
occur, a high tunneling rate high fugacity environment.
FUSION OUTSIDE THE LATTICE
The high probability of a deflated hydrogen state indicates that back
side de-loading into any hydrogen dense, high field environment,
where the back side is positive, an anode, should generate fusion
between the de-loading hydrogen and some of the deflated state
hydrogen adjacent to the de-loading back side anode. Though water or
a very weak electrolyte should work to some limited degree, a non-
conducting back side liquid might be best for this purpose, a
hydrogen rich liquid like anhydrous ammonia or benzene might be
ideal, possibly augmented by a porous high dielectric constant field
concentrating solid dielectric layer. The high field strength
increases the probability of de-loading hydrogen atoms making it to
deflated state hydrogen in the liquid. A back side surface barrier
assists this process by increasing hydrogen fugacity in the lattice
and by forcing back side de-loading to occur by a hydrogen tunneling
process, with some enhanced probability of being in the deflated
state, into the liquid layer adjacent to the anode surface, which is
hydrogen rich, and thus has a high probability of containing hydrogen
in a deflated state. Key to making this work is establishment of an
extreme field on the back side electrode surface.
THERMAL CYCLING AND HIGH TEMPERATURE ALLOYS
A powerful means of orbital stressing is cooling a loaded lattice.
The lattice contracts and applies enormous pressure on the loaded
hydrogen atoms. This approach to orbital stressing has limited
utility for electrolysis loaded cells. However, it may be of great
utility when applied to high temperature cells, which are better
suited for high efficiency energy generation. Operating in high
temperature gas mode opens up a vast set of possible cathode
materials which are of no use at ordinary electrolysis temperatures.
Figure 5 shows a cell incorporating various of the features of prior
cells, plus the ability to melt the loaded metal periodically to
remove helium and rebuild the lattice. This avoids the need for back
side de-loading altogether, though not the need for the HV Fugacity
Driving Cathode (8), which can be a HV cathode during loading and
then driven using AC or pulsed mode to stimulate diffusion on the
back side. Similarly it includes a HV loading anode (3) which can
use superimposed HF, and assist other means not shown, to aid in
loading of the Hydrogen (1) from the front side, and AC and HV Ground
leads (6) to further drive diffusion and to assist in melting or
annealing the High Temperature Loaded Alloy (5). The Cell Walls
(4), especially the bottom one, should have as high a dielectric
constant as possible.
Work in hot gas phase loading of metal cathodes in the presence of an
electric discharge was achieved, even early on, by Claytor et al. 22
23 24 Some alloys were found to be more effective than others at
producing tritium. What is suggested by the deflation fusion
mechanism is that the critical ingredients should be: adsorbed
hydrogen partial orbital stressing, high electron and hydrogen
fugacity, high hydrogen concentration, all combined with as high a
diffusion rate as possible. Provided all these ingredients can be
brought together, the elements in the lattice should be of secondary
importance - though without a proper choice of alloy and temperature
operating profile, these critical ingredients are in fact not
possible. What the deflation fusion model brings to the table is a
basis on which to design or select alloys for testing, as well as an
emphasis on temperature control and cycling. It also suggests some
basic materials science investigations of hydrogen loading
characteristics and tolerance of various alloys over a high range of
temperatures. High hydrogen loading density and avoidance of
embrittlement, or at least achieving fast annealing, are key
requirements.
High temperature hydrogen adsorption is feasible using high strength
alloys of iron, tungsten, molybdenum, and other metals which are
incapable of adsorption at room temperature. LiNi5 lanthanum-nickel,
LaNi4.5Co0.5, and mischmetal nickel alloy have been suggested.25
Another candidate might be LixByMgz.26 Hot operating alloys can be
designed to maximize bond strength, annealing ability, operating
temperature range, and hydrogen loading as well as helium de-loading
characteristics in a controlled temperature range cycling profile.
This is the probable path for practical cold fusion development - use
of hot temperature cycled cathodes. This path has the obvious
advantage of a large Carnot efficiency.
High temperature cells are loaded in gas phase, by high voltage DC
with a high voltage high frequency signal, or microwaves, applied as
well for ionization purposes. The lattice temperature is cycled from
hot, for loading, to less hot, for high stressing heat generation.
Before returning to the hot loading phase, various temperature cycles
might be used to facilitate helium de-loading, and annealing of
cracks, as was achieved by Claytor et al.
A simple version of this cell type could merely consist of a hot wire
used as a cathode for gas phase loading and thermal cycling.
Nichrome wire is readily available and may provide the needed
characteristics. Control circuitry would be required to prevent
cascade driven current runaways due to the high electron emission
from a hot cathode. A higher DC voltage can be used in the reduced
temperature hydrogen compressing phase. Using a design similar to
Figure 5, and a readily melted lattice material, the lattice material
could be fully melted between some thermal cycles in order to remove
helium and restore the lattice.
As in Figure 2, a triode configuration can be used to simultaneously
achieve DC loading while applying AC to the lattice to increase
tunneling rates. A low duty cycle through-electrode pulse is of use
in the compression phase to promote high diffusion rates while
avoiding overheating the electrode. The through-electrode AC
capability also has use for heating the lattice for annealing,
loading, or other purposes. High pressure hydrogen or high voltage
gas loading or a combination can be used. The source of heat for
annealing or melting can be through the ceramic compartment walls
instead of supplied by electrodes.
SUMMARY
A new partial state of existence of hydrogen, a small neutral state,
the deflated hydrogen state has been defined. The deflated hydrogen
state is a very small and ghostlike neutral charge alternate
existence for the nucleus with attosecond magnitude duration. There
is evidence for an astronomical effective frequency of occurrence of
the deflated hydrogen state, even when the hydrogen nucleus is in a
molecular site. This state can be thought of as (1) providing a
tunneling target for hydrogen otherwise diffusing through the
lattice, and (2) having its own probability of tunneling as a
combined electron-nucleus body. The fact the deflated state entity
is neutral greatly affects the probability of a given tunneling
outcome in the vicinity being within fusion range. This
significantly reduces the width of the Coulomb barrier - and in fact
momentarily makes it disappear, makes it irrelevant. This enormously
increases the probability of a fusion event. Further, the existence
of the deflated hydrogen state helps explain the unusual branching
ratios and ash produced by cold fusion experiments.
The very brief existence of the deflated state explains why
kinetically induced fusion can not make use of the Coulomb barrier
being down , because there is insufficient time for a motional
approach of the nuclei before the barrier is back up.
A hydrogen nucleus diffusing through a lattice does so by tunneling
from its occupied site to a vacant site. Tunneling to an adjacent
unoccupied site is energetically favorable for a hydrogen occupying a
site adjacent to multiple occupied sites, i.e. in a high fugacity
environment. An adjacent site occupied by a deflated state hydrogen
nucleus provides a tunneling opportunity for a hydrogen nucleus
because the deflated state is neutral and thus the Coulomb barrier is
down, at least with some probability. If the tunneling event occurs,
but not to a locus close enough to cause fusion, which is not
possible when the Coulomb barrier is up, then when the deflated
nucleus is unveiled by electron departure, the hydrogen tunneling
event can be reversed, or otherwise the tunneling chain of events can
be moved forward to a lower fugacity site, or fusion can occur by a
follow-on tunneling event. In a fully loaded environment, a
momentarily unoccupied cell will have multiple candidates likely to
tunnel simultaneously into it. If one or more of the tunneling
candidates tunnel in deflated state, or if the cell is not actually
unoccupied but merely occupied by a deflated state nucleus (such a
cell appears to the neighboring nuclei as unoccupied), then deflation
fusion opportunities are maximal, even for multi-body events.
The deflation fusion model provides a set of principles for
increasing fusion likelihood: (1) maximize the combined fugacity and
diffusion rate (neither is especially useful without the other), (2)
maximize orbital stress to increase the probability of the deflated
hydrogen state, and (3) maximize electron fugacity in order to
increase the electron quantum states, i.e. aggregate electron
energies, and thus further objectives (1) and (2) as well as provide
an energy focusing effect. It further appears providing periodic
barriers to conduction band electrons, but through which hydrogen
readily diffuses, increases LENR probability. This either (a)
increases the probability of multiple nuclei tunneling to a common
electron or, more likely, (b) necessitates nuclear tunneling through
the barrier in deflated state, thus maximizing the chances of a
Coulomb barrier defeating event on the far side.
The backside de-loading scheme, defined here in various forms, was
designed to achieve all the above objectives simultaneously. Cycling
through high temperature loading and lattice readjustment by
diffusion, cooling to some extent to compress the lattice, and then
driving diffusion by through-lattice current, is also designed to
especially achieve objective (2), while increasing thermodynamic
efficiency and providing a broader choice of lattice materials.
Engineering high electrical resistance of the hot lattice, combined
with a strong through-lattice-current driven diffusion then fulfills
all the objectives. Inclusion of non-conducting hydrogen diffusion
tunneling barriers in the lattice maximizes the probability of
deflated state tunneling, and thus fusion. These are the principal
techniques immediately suggested by the existence of the deflated
hydrogen state, and thus of deflation fusion.
The explanations of deflation fusion here are mostly expressed in a
serialized Newtonian form, so as to be understandable. It may well
be that in reality these things only exist as potentialities,
amplitudes which result in final outcomes with some probability based
on simultaneous multiple complex inputs. A stepwise process model
gives us a comfortable means of understanding that which is
otherwise complex to comprehend or describe.
References and figures located at:
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/DeflationFusion.pdf
Horace Heffner
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
