....this is apparently what is being done in United States Patent#
6987027: "Microscale vacuum tube device and method for making same"
Issued on January 17, 2006 Inventor: Sungho Jin
Actually, I am surprised they got a patent, as variants of this idea,
without the tunneling layer, have been floated around for at least 20
years; and there are other similar MEMS devices as prior art. Look at
all the references cited:
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6987027.html
Jones
Charles M. Brown wrote:
Vorts,
Could the electron affinity transporter based on H2 or CO2 or H20 be
simplified to use an array of LaB6 (a stable low work function material)
orthogonal needles facing a flat anode with a nanometer scale gap in a
vacuum? There would be preferential electron transport from the needle
to the plate. A variant, which I hereby put in the public domain, is to
have a 3 ? 7 angstrom insulating solid that electrons can tunnel through
instead of a vacuum. This is also a variant of a diode array where
Schottky anodes abut n type semiconductors. It is difficult for me to
decide between the two.
I was unimpressed with Feynman's dismissal of diodes as thermal /
electrical ratchets which he mentioned in passing as doomed to fail
after doing most of his presentation with his paddle wheel / ratchet
wheel / pawl device which he taught was doomed to fail.
I believe that a variation with multiple unsprung pawls would rectify
the Brownian motion driven ratchet wheel's rotation. Having at least one
pawl in blocking position would stop the wrong way rotation while the
pawls would move at random without pounding the incline. The probability
of no blocking decreases exponentially to the number of pawls.
Aloha,
Charlie
