In re: why phenanthrene? (aside from its fluorescence) ... is phenanthrene unique in the world of nuclear chemistry?
... and even more tantalizing- is it a "record" of an ancient biological pathway? (since it is found in the 'fossil record' as a component of coal). QTAIM - This is one further quantum physical process to add into the mental-mix for a complete understanding of what is going on at the QM level in this reaction- via the Forster radius: that is- when phenanthrene is heated and pressurize with H2 past a resonant (kinetic) threshold... ... then, once the threshold is reached, it undergoes most unusual low energy nuclear changes, which seem to include massive isotopic shifts in carbon - with only modest excess energy release. Check out the Wiki page on QTAIM which is "quantum theory of atoms in molecules". This approach is a quantum chemical model that characterizes the chemical bonding of a system based on the topology of the quantum charge density when there are two *loosely bound* interacting protons, which become variably bound under pressure. It is so hard to explain this without the image - which you must view to understand the dynamics of this: see image #2 on this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-hydrogen_bond which is under "Applications" - and then merge this visual image information with what you know about FRET, and also what you know about the hydrino- and especially keeping the following in mind: ***hydrogen-to-hydrino 3-body reactions*** I say this because precise three body reaction of hydrogen in a gas or plasma are extremely rare, since each of the protons has 3 degrees of freedom... BUT ... in the case where two protons are bound to a rather stable carbon structure of benzene rings with a small gap between them (vastly limiting their degrees of freedom)- as in the image above -- and then realizing that when a third proton arrives (from the interaction of the hot H2 gas on the Pt catalyst) then VOILA the table is set for robust 3-body reactions in a fashion where the statistical or QM probability of interaction has been increased by a massive factor. This sets the stage for two distinct overlapping functions - without ever needing the Mills' "energy hole" of 27.2 eV (Hartree energy) since instead, and all the while the threshold parameters of the phenanthrene - i.e. its inherent fluorescence - is pumping "virtual" 3.4 eV photons from the "quantum foam" the Dirac epo field into this same geometric 3-body space... and where effectively this resonant transfer takes 8 of these virtual photons via the FRET resonance to power the "shrinkage of free monatomic hydrogen, step-by-step down to the VN stage (virtual neutron). However, despite the seeming delay - this complete sequence can happen in far less than a nanosecond. This very robust mechanism also indicates where the missing "excess energy" goes- and that is back to the source of the photon transfer: the "quantum foam" or the Dirac epo field - from whence it was borrowed. This assumes that VN formation (via the hydrino), at least in this particular non-Millsean modality, is completely endothermic and rather highly endothermic but sequential - and the resultant VN transmutation - the terminus - is able to balance th books with a slight positive gain. As Robin may be realizing, based on the above, if he believes it, there is a most obvious way to boost the energy beyond what the transmutation to 13C can provide. But that would assume that the reaction is independent of the carbon itself. It may not be. This could be a near singularity in that the only targets (carbon being one of them) are those where the net disruption to the Dirac epo field are minimized. I am saying "near singularity" because these is still the sneaky suspicion that "mother nature" is the real discoverer of Phenanthrene transmutation and that the reason we find it is coal - is that it is a fossil record of a real life process. That real life process may not have died out with the dinosaurs, either. More fascinating "fringe science" to ponder ! And the best part is that if you do not buy it as science - then imagine it in a good Sci-Fi story... Jones
