An alterative to tungsten for the internal heater is a nichrome wire heating element (melting point of 1400C) enclosed within a tube of ceramic thorium oxide (thoria).
With thoria there is little difference thermionically when studied as a coating on tantalum or on tungsten, or as a ceramic tube. Experiment and theory indicate that thoria is an excess semiconductor containing a stoichiometric excess of about 10e18 atoms/cm3 of thorium. There is very little sensitivity to oxygen, however, at temperatures above 1577C. I suspect that the use of thoria would have be detected using a gamma ray spectrum which Rossi prohibited. The goal that Rossi must (and maybe has) achieve is to produce as many hydrogen ions as he can. I can’t see how a solid catalyst could spill over more hydrogen ions to the primary nickel catalyst then some sort of thermionic ion production mechanism can. I would use a drop of liquid caesium to form a vapor formed at a high temperatures to produce hydrogen ions. Either thorium or caesium could be the secret added catalyst. On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 9:02 PM, Harry Veeder <hlvee...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > Axil wrote: > > > >A temperature difference is not required between the cathode and the > reactor > >walls to work however there would be one. The wall would be at a > temperature of > > >600C and the cathode would be at a temperature of 2500C. > > > >It is the very hot temperature of the cathode that allows electrons to > escape > >the surface of the cathode where high temperatures matter. > > > >But the difference required is electrostatic. The cathode would be > emitting > >large numbers of negatively charged hydrogen ions; the wall would be at a > >neutral electrostatic charge since it is grounded by the water flow and > the > >structure of the Cat-E itself. But the wall would be seen as positive > >electrostatically relative to the negative cathode and negative ions would > flow > > >toward the wall. > > > > So the ions move to the reactor walls because they are all repelling each > other, > not because they are attracted to the walls. I think you should call the > heater > an ionizer instead of a cathode, because where there is a cathode there is > normally > an anode. > > > > >The minimum cathode material that could generate hydrogen ions is > tungsten. > >Usually, thorium is alloyed with tungsten to increase electron emissions. > This > >may be why Rossi did not want a radiation spectrum taken of the Cat-E > because it > > > >would have detected thorium gamma emissions since thorium is slightly > >radioactive. > > > > > Hoyt recalls Rossi saying there is no tungsten in the reactor. > I think he said that on his blog. Of course, Rossi may be trying to hide > the fact that he using a heater wire made of tungsten. who knows? > > Harry > >
