I wrote: The reactions appear to be completely independent of one another. I base > that on the patterns of heat shown in IR cameras. Also the damage and the > autoradiographs. . . . >
The point I meant to make is that with a chain reaction from one area on the cathode to other areas, caused by neutrons or something analogous to photons in a laser, I would expect to see the reaction begin at one spot and then spread out from there, perhaps in waves. Instead, you see random spots appear and disappear, all over the cathode. The spots would be coordinated over time in some pattern, not random. As the cathode heats up you do see more and more hot spots, but they are not adjacent or coordinated. Here is a macroscopic mousetrap chain reaction that starts at one spot and spreads in waves to the rest of the material: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxzPN-vdP_0&NR=1 Here is another, not as clear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLv8Qflg6PQ When I say "waves" I mean the reaction runs out of material with potential energy in the initial location, so it peters out there while spreading out from that spot. You do not see patterns like this on cathodes. Cold fusion reactions also seem to go for a short while at a small spot, and then stop for a while. That's what the IR camera shows. When a spot peters out and stops, I do not think it has run out of fuel. I assume the NAE is not longer suitable for some reason, for a while, and then it becomes suitable again. - Jed
