At 06:08 PM 11/10/2010, Jed Rothwell wrote:
In January 2005, a glow discharge cell in Mizuno's laboratory at
Hokkaido University exploded. It produced roughly 441 times more
energy than the input energy up to that moment, so I think it was an
anomalous energy release. See:
http://lenr-canr.org/Experiments.htm#PhotosAccidents
In response to this, the university ordered Mizuno to stop doing
experiments. End of the story. Maybe the end of any chance to
develop this into a practical source of energy.
That is a bit of an over-reaction. There is no sign of serious blast
damage from the explosion, from the photos. It would be enough, one
would think, to require that experiments be conducted behind
containment to catch flying debris. That would not need to be heavy,
unless there are heavy parts that might be propelled, which seems unlikely.
In general, cold fusion experiments should be conducted small-scale,
there is no particular advantage to be gained by running them large.
I've always wondered about brewing tea with cold fusion experiments.
Suppose one has a cell that produces 100% + X% heat, compared to the
energy input. If one runs such an experiment hot enough to brew tea,
in, say, a pocket in the cell that is heated, would this satisfy a
certain tea-thirsty skeptic? At what % excess heat?
What if the heat were used to generate electricity with a
thermo-electric converter, and the fraction of it attributable to
excess heat were transferred to a battery, and accumulated, which
then ran a tea warmer?
The "tea brewing standard" is a tad undefined. Makes for good sound
bite polemic, but, as Michael McKubre responded on CBS, they could
have brewed cups of tea many times over.
And it really would prove nothing, because if there is some artifact
producing apparent excess heat, that artifact could presumably be
used to brew two cups of tea! Unexpected deuterium/oxygen
recombination could presumably accomplish this. That's ruled out with
some cell designs, for sure, but ... the wisher for cups of tea, how
could he tell the difference? Except, of course, by reviewing the
calorimetry and design, which is precisely what people who care more
about their tea, and other armchair conveniences, don't want to do.
