Thank you for the clarification. My only point was that there was a coincidence in need of explaining: the power in and power out *seem* to be set independently and yet they match to a nicety.
Your explanation of that coincidence, given below, is in rough agreement with Jones's, which is that there is (or could be) either explicit or implicit feedback to the reactor itself which is pinning the output temperature. Robin also speculated that that might be the case. That's reasonable, but again, I'd really like to see such an assertion from someone who knows. If it's true, then it has interesting implications of its own regarding the fine control it's possible to exercise over the reaction. The thing I find totally frustrating is that so many people on this list seem to feel that there is nothing here in need of explaining, because steam is just always magically at 100C. On 02/09/2011 12:52 PM, Peter Gluck wrote: > I have understood. I have even worked with many types of pumps, > including those with constant, fixed flow, as in this case- the > peristaltic pump.. A nit: It's not a peristaltic pump, it's a constant displacement pump. The practical difference, as I understand it, is that the latter provides even more precise control over the flow rate. > Very probably the system works in this way- you have a core, very hot > in the center of the device- Ni and H reacting in a metallic tube.. By > external heating - with the input current a resistor heats the core to > a temperature (350 C?) and the reaction is started. It releases heat > and if this heat is not removed fast enough the core overheats and > stops working. Implicit negative feedback to the reaction. That's certainly possible, but if so, it would be nice if someone from the experimental team would state it as a fact. > With sufficient cooling as in this case it works - probably the inner > temperature oscillates in some limits. The entire quantity of cooling > water is evaporated and a bit overheated. We don't know how the Ecat > is controlled, probably the heat furnished by the resistor is > automatically adjusted to the cooling load. Remember that Rossi told > that he heat after death regime, zero input (after the start of > reaction) can be dangerous.
