On Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 12:39 PM, David Roberson <[email protected]> wrote:
Interesting idea. Are you thinking of the protons being ejected from the > CNT like toothpaste as the outer surface is compressed? > > I assume you are referring to the large current as being a large time > changing current instead of a DC one. > I'm thinking of a long, narrow, hollow nickel wire that is closed off at the ends, which are in contact with surrounding substrate. Following are images of sintered nickel, for example. These are probably larger than what I am thinking of, which might be contained within such structures. http://www.pall.com/images/Microelectronics/mic_fg_nick_fig8.gif http://www2.electronicproducts.com/images2/f43molte0301.gif http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnt/2012/396269.fig.001.jpg The wire in this instance would be packed with hydrogen. The ambient infrared in the substrate would be upshifted when it enters the cavity of the hollow wire to a frequency that is sufficient for ionization of the hydrogen. Perhaps superconductivity is brought about in the walls through resonant or lasing light. Perhaps the heat of the resonance weakens the walls, and the structural integrity of the wire starts to become compromised. Some of this is just my imagination filling in the details, like you would if you were preparing the scene for a movie. In a very short period of time, something induces a strong current. Perhaps a current is nearly unavoidable if superconductivity has been brought about. In an electrolytic cell, it's clear where the current might come from. In an ambient experiment involving zeolites, it's unclear where the current would come from. But when it appears, you would get a z-pinch effect, as happens in a lightening rod, and the walls of the containing wire would violently collapse in on the cavity. What happens to a lightening rod is fairly dramatic: http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/images/content/about/Fig_3_crushed_rod_final.jpg I have no opinion on metallic hydrogen, although the thought is an interesting one. In order to have it, I think you would need the right combination of temperature and pressure. I am thinking that the temperature would be very high (from the EUV or x-ray lasing) and a strong pressure brought about through the loading and then the collapse of the wire. I believe fusion can occur throughout a broad continuum of pressures and temperatures, and that if you don't have enough pressure, you can increase the temperature. I read somewhere that the pressure in a tokamak is quite low. So these are two parameters that we can play around with and adjust to get the results we like. The protons would react with themselves and with the walls of the containing wire. The bulk of the energy would come from the proton-proton chain. Some back-of-the-envelope calculations would help to know whether this is within the realms of possibility or of fantasy. I'm still sifting through the math. Eric
