Jed says:
>I do not see how an external heat source can be used to control the reaction, >because internal heating soon overtakes it in any case. If positive feedback >can cause an out-of-control reaction (such as an explosion), I do not see how >external heating can prevent that.< One can establish control of a positive feedback ECAT system by taking away enough of the internal device heat so it no longer possess the temperature required to regenerate the self sustaining energy. The total heat power being released within the device is the sum of the drive power and the internally generated power. Remove the drive and you are left with the internal source. It is important that the internal source is limited by design to a level that does not exceed the self sustaining point. This can be achieved by limiting the internal heating power to less than approximately 2 times the drive power. Incidentally, the closer you allow the internally generated heat to become to the critical self sustaining level, the higher the COP since the thermal time constants approach infinity at that exact level. This is important because the refresh input drive can be spaced further apart as the time constant increases. Less often drive results in increased COP. My simulation demonstrates this behavior. Dave
