I believe that Mr. Heffner has responded on the issue. However, to
underscore part of it:
At 10:33 PM 12/6/2009, Jones Beene wrote:
-----Original Message-----
First question: what is the fission cross-section (3 alpha) of 12C for
energetic D+T neutrons? Caveat - please do not confuse this with the
elastic, inelastic, spallation or any other cross-section value.
I've written that I don't know, I only know that triple tracks under
the subject conditions are considered diagnostic for neutrons. And I
also know that I looked for information on this in newsgroups and
found nothing.
The form of the question bothers me: the fission cross-section for
the reaction 12C, 3alpha, does not depend on the source of the
neutrons at all, it depends only on the density of the carbon and the
energy of the neutrons. And that's a basic issue in this interchange:
the detection of neutrons is one thing, and a hypothesis that tritium
is involved in the production of neutrons is quite another. The
evidence for neutrons is very strong, not only from triple-tracks but
also from other charged particle radiation being generated within
other materials.
>> JB: The supposition of higher energy neutrons in LENR is absolutely
ludicrous after all of these years of non-detectability !!!
> Adb: This really shows, I'm afraid, ignorance of the situation, of why it
took so long to discover this radiation. The level is quite low, down in or
close to the noise, for detectors at any significant distance from the
source.
Yes. And what in the world would make you imagine I think
differently? I've been saying that: the level is very low, close to
noise, "at any significant distance from the source."
Ok, next question. As an authority on this subject, as evidenced by your
previous remarks,
I'm not an authority, I just have a big mouth and say what I see and think.
and assuming you have answered the first question
correctly, please calculate the flux of energetic neutrons necessary to
achieve the experimental evidence which the SPAWAR paper claims - giving
them full benefit for finding roughly 10 triple tracks in three days in the
CR-39 under their published parameters. You can assume that the film is
composed of 100% carbon if that helps.
Mr. Heffner has kindly done the calculations, and I wouldn't consider
myself qualified to do them right, at least not the first time!
These two answers should not be difficult at all for an expert like
yourself.
No, actually, difficult for an "expert like myself." I could do it,
I'm sure, but it would take me quite a long time, with a high error
rate. I have a high error rate even when I'm quite familiar with
methods and in this case I'd be doing a calculation for the first time.
Once you have posted them, it should be rather easy for even a rank amateur
like myself to demonstrate a point that apparently contradicts almost
everything you have implied in the previous posting.
Unless, of course, my ignorance of the situation is as you claim.
It seems it is, but I was hoping for those calculations from *Mr.
Beene*, since he was the one making an unusual claim of a specific
situation and specific results, and apparently without actually doing
the calculations and possibly without having followed anyone else
doing them: that finding 10 triple tracks in three weeks, i.e.,
evidence of 10 C12 breakup reactions from 10 neutrons, was evidence
of a neutron flux so high that it would be fatal for the researchers.
I tried to find any mention of anything like this, came up with
nothing. Mr. Beene claimed to have seen this on "newsgroups." He's
quite welcome to point us to them. Specifically, where and when?
On the face of it, if the C12 breakup were that rare, what I did find
about it would seem to have been unlikely to have been reported. But
that's quite speculative, and I'm glad that Mr. Heffner has done the math.
