On Nov 2, 2009, at 3:58 AM, Abd ul-Rahman Lomax wrote:
At 12:55 AM 11/2/2009, Horace Heffner wrote:
See white dots and color gradients in Figure 1 (b):
http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/SzpakSlenrresear.pdf
There is also a YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Pb9V_qFKf2M
Neat video!
The associated article:
http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/SzpakSpolarizedd.pdf
unfortunately does not give the voltage or current at which the cell
was running. That video looks very much like an anode in the visible
range in an electrospark experiment. The anode spots in an
electrospark experiment, especially at threshold voltages, e.g.
around 300-400 V after proper anode conditioning, appear to be
jumping all over the place. However, after careful inspection, you
can see that special locations flash periodically, giving the
illusion of spots moving around.
SPAWAR states: "The 'hot spots' observed in the infrared imaging
experiments are suggestive of 'miniexplosions' (Figure 1b7). To
verify this, the Ag electrode on a piezoelectric transducer was used
as the substrate for the Pd/D co-deposition. If a mini-explosion
occurred, the resulting shock wave would compress the crystal. The
shock wave would be followed by a heat pulse that would cause the
crystal to expand. In these experiments, sharp downward spikes
followed by broader upward spikes were observed in the piezoelectric
crystal response. The downward spikes were indicative of crystal
compression while the broader upward spikes are attributed to the
heat pulse and the consequent crystal expansion following the
explosion."
I'm hoping that these signals will propagate through the
electrolyte and the acrylic cell wall. I think that with
appropriate filtering it might be possible to pick them up with a
contact piezo sensor, I've purchased several of them, they are very
cheap, very high bandwidth. In the SPAWAR publication of the shock
wave oscillographs, the "downward spikes" are very fast, I wish
they had captured these at a much higher sweep rate. So that's what
I'm going to do. I've decided to buy a Chinese digital
oscilloscope, cheap, a Rigol DS1052E, 60 MHz bandwidth, 2 channel,
1 GS/sec max sample rate. Should be under $400 or so. I could get a
USB oscilloscope with that sample rate for less, and maybe that's
what I'll supply to people who want to buy or lease the equipment
for replications, but I want to be able to fiddle with it and not
worry about the computer.... Old fashioned, I suppose, cut my
electronics teeth with real-time scopes. I'll be using a Labjack
for instrumentation, to capture temperature from two or three
probes, as well as to record cell voltage. It's all coming together
nicely, and I've been offered a donation adequate to cover all the
equipment I'll need at this point.
Final kit instrumentation protocol won't be fixed until I have done
a few experiments, at least, and have feedback from others.
I want to see and hear those explosions, and to show that neutrons
are being generated.
This is similar to what I observed when experimenting with the
electrospark phenomenon, including audible noise. It was difficult to
tell if the noise was due to cavitation instead of an "explosion",
but it seemed likely. I got the impression that a small arc would
expand and heat and partially ionize a gas bubble, and then the
bubble would collapse (I used pulsed DC), but the gas compressed
would already be heated and would quickly ionize in the compression
cycle. I think the noise became more intense when I put a small HV
capacitor across the anode and cathode. The noise effect on the anode
struck me as electrochemically initiated, probably just an unusually
initiated form of cavitation, not the result of an explosion per se.
SPAWAR's low voltage induced cathode spots must be a different
phenomenon, but still the pattern looks so oddly familiar.
At high voltages, other effects become possible. While I certainty
can't rule out that you've seen nuclear effects,
I haven't ruled that out either, nor have I suggested the anode spots
are a result of nuclear events. On an anode the sound looks to be
more likely produced a cavitation phenomenon. Of course cavitation
itself might produce nominal amounts of nuclear events.
there are more non-nuclear possibilities, obviously, at higher
voltages.
There are non-nuclear possibilities at lower voltages too, and that
is in part my point. The SPAWAR spots are visible in infra-red. The
electrospark spots are visible. Both anode spots and cathode spots
could be the result of, initiated by, cavitation. Both increase in
intensity as things heat up. Both have similar sounds. Both tend to
occur in the center of the cathode, where it is hottest. I expect
steam+hydrogen cavitation is involved. Cavitation can produce plasma
which is conductive. A high current density will feed the plasma
heat, and further provide a hot gas for the re-compression cycle.
It's also more dangerous! I doubt that my power supply will be
chugging out more than 20 volts at the maximum current for the
protocol and two cells running in series.
I would expect that to be more than enough to cause steam cavitation
if the electrolyte conductivity is high enough.
but if the hot spots really occur where deuterium
desorbs, this brings strong support to the DIESECF hypothesis, and
more importantly to the LENR hypothesis in general! This is because,
as I wrote recently, desorption spots _should be cold_ if only
chemistry was at play (deuteride formation being exothermic, release
of deuterium from the palladium lattice must be endothermic).
Do correct me someone if I have got it wrong!
Michel
The SPAWAR effects occur during electrolysis, and the protocol
increases current and doesn't lower it until the end. I don't know
what they show as to heat-after-death, if anything. So the hot
spots are very unlikely to be desorption sites, though I suppose
it's possible that local conditions cause desorption on a small
scale. What does seem to trigger the effect most strongly is
departure from equilibrium; in heat-after-death effects, that would
be movement of deuterium through the lattice as desorption, most
likely.
It depends on the source of the hydrogen! As I said earlier, I think
if the hydrogen source is H2 gas and it is pushed through a PD
membrane there is little heating and cooling involved at the
surfaces, with a net heating due to friction. However, in an
electrolyte the source is *not* gas. Hydrated hydrogen is in a lower
energy state and has to be pushed into the metal via an electric
field. The thermal energy released at the interface is primarily
electrical energy. When the hydrogen comes out of the hydride state
at a Pd-hydrogen interface, e.g. at cracks, then the H+H
recombination can provide a net heat to the surface of the cathode,
depending on the structure of that surface. H2 gas is only
spontaneously adsorbed at special (3 atom or more adsorbtion) sites
on a Pd surface. In general it takes energy to push H2 into and
through Pd.
My understanding was that the energy is essentially due to
differential pressure, it's as if empty palladium lattice is a
vacuum as far as H2 or D2 are concerned. So it sucks it up,
literally. No other gas can fit.
At any static overall gas pressure the hydrogen will reach an
equilibrium condition. A change in gas pressure will result in
adsorbtion, desorption and the establishment of a different
equilibrium. Establishing a differential in pressure results in flow
through the Pd, diffusion, and heating. That differential can be
established via gas pressure or electrolysis loading.
It may be of side interest that Li can diffuse through Pd, but much
more slowly than hydrogen. Helium can diffuse at high temperatures.
I think Li in the lattice may assist in producing cold fusion by
imposing flow barriers throughout the lattice, thus forcing hydrogen
tunneling instead ordinary molecular H2 diffusion, which takes over
as temperature increases. A number of SPAWAR and other experiments
use Li2SO4 in the electrolyte. I don't know what is being used in
the experiment where the video was taken.
However, this clearly has nothing to do with the hot spots SPAWAR
observed. They are said to be sites of periodic "explosions". It
would be interesting to see if the cathode spots tend to flash at the
same sites repeatedly, just as the anode electrospark flashes do.
SPAWAR states in:
http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/SzpakSpolarizedd.pdf
"The random time/space distribution of hot spots as well as their
varying intensity with time, Figs. 4a–4d, exclude the existence of
fixed location of the nuclear–active–sites. The random distribution
and the varying intensity arises from the coupling of the various
processes occurring on both sides of the contact surface in response
to fluctuations."
"Both, the frequency and intensity are a strong function of
temperature. In particular, both increase with an increase in
temperature, exhibiting the so– called positive feedback, cf Figs. 3
and 5. This is, perhaps, the most direct indication of the influence
of the chemical environment."
I think they won't; the SPAWAR flashes are likely due to whatever
is causing local melting and vaporization of palladium, on a scale
of approximately 10 microns, the actual reaction site is probably
substantially smaller, and that site is then gone.
The small sites SPAWAR shows could be the result of cavitation
induced plasma *injection*, the forcing of a super hot plasma *into*
the Pd. Russ George's cavitation experiments forced the hydrogen
into the Pd at tiny pores the cavitation opened up in the metal
surface. The pores were much much smaller than the bubbles which
formed them. They didn't look much different from what SPAWAR
shows. I don't know about scale though.
It is too bad SPAWAR did not show oscilloscope traces of potential
across the electrodes. By placing inductors between the power supply
and the electrodes, it might be possible to see sudden current surges
due to plasma formation on the surface of the cathode. This plasma
penetrates the interface layer and creates a moment of sudden
conductivity, which shows up in the potential differential between
the cathode and anode. Alternatively, a current sense resistor can
see current surges due to the plasma formation - at least that was
the case in electrospark experiments. The difference between HV anode
and LV cathode effects might simply be one of degree, which IR
observation makes up for.
So what happens to the palladium? If it is ejected, and it looks
like it is, it should end up on the bottom of the cell..., it
wouldn't be soluble.
I can tell you for sure that Al and Zr are eroded in the electrospark
regime and, long term, a dark powder forms at the bottom of the
cell. In the electrospark regime erosion occurs comparatively fast,
in part because a lot of electrical energy gets "focused" into the
high conductivity plasma. Also, the low specific heat of the gas
drives the temperature of the gas/plasma up fast. The metals
typically used are also far less soluble than Pd. They are chosen for
their ability to create an insulating film via anodization.
Or what would happen? Something to look for, I suppose. If it does
go into solution as a salt, it would re-deposit. Quantities would
be small.
In the case of SPAWAR, when they use the PdCl electrolyte, the Pd,
produced in such minor quantities, can go back into solution and then
immediately become re-codeposited.
Best regards,
Horace Heffner
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
