On Sat, Nov 10, 2012 at 1:47 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: The paper is quite long. Perhaps I am misunderstanding some of it, but I > think the claim is that proton capture occurs as the major energy source. > Hasn't Takahashi shown it's pretty unlikely? >
If you or anyone else knows of a relevant link, I would be interested in reading it. My own take on Takahashi's theoretical work is that his explorations are just that, and nothing to base a conclusion about the likelihood of proton capture upon, for example, but I could be wrong. By contrast, in my mind the transmutation results, if they can be substantiated, lend credence to proton-, deuteron- or some pseudo-neutron capture approach. The main reason for this is that the shifts are generally to stable isotopes, and there are few of the activated isotopes you would normally expect from a process that involves neutron capture. Here I am infinitely out of my area of expertise. But assuming the transmutation results are not all artifact, it seems like any explanation will have to address the general shift to stable isotopes. Also, I could be recalling incorrectly, but haven't Rossi/Focardi changed > their opinion on this? > Perhaps David will have the latest scoop on this? > And, finally do you understand the reasoning on how protons surmount the > coulomb barrier? > If I understand what Piantelli is saying, the explanation is something like this: 1. Molecular hydrogen (H2) enters the transition metal and is dissociated and reduced to H- ions. 2. An H- ion is captured in an outer shell of a transition metal atom (and I think he's saying this causes heat). 3. The H- ion is expelled from the metal atom as a proton, leading to a proton-capture reaction with a secondary material such as lithium or boron. I have no opinion on the plausibility of this explanation, except that it sounds a little implausible. :) Note that any high-energy protons that are witnessed in experiments could be the result of various things, including a neutron-capture reaction that leads to a proton as one of the daughters. In that case proton capture doesn't need to play a part. Eric
