At 12:00 PM 12/7/2012, [email protected] wrote:
The Nov-14 ANS paper -
"Transmutation Reactions Induced by Deuterium Permeation through
Nano-structured Pd Multilayer Thin Film"
- is available at
http://newenergytimes.com/v2/conferences/2012/ANS2012W/2012Iwamura-ANS-LENR-Paper.pdf
Jed Rothwell wrote:
> This was discussed at ICCF17 as well.
This paper cites theoretical papers by Widom and Larsen, and one by
Akito Takahashi. The W-L theory reference is a bit puzzling, but
maybe dineutrons are proposed as persistent enough to produce
transmutations, but the transmutations observed are consistently +2n
in atomic weight *and* in atomic number, where n = 1, 2, 3. That's
not what neutrons would be expected to do. It would take two
dineutrons to accomplish one transmutation, and why would they wait
around for simultaneous absorption?
However, multibody clusters, formed from deuterium, as molecular
condensates, might do just this. These clusters would have equal
numbers of protons and neutrons, and would be, formed from molecular
deuterium, exist as multiples of two deuterons.
Takahashi has studied 4D clusters, predicting fusion for them. But he
simply studied that one configuration, and it's entirely possible
that actual cluster size depends on conditions.
The formation of condensates would occur when relative motion was
very low, between deuterium molecules. In these experiments, there is
a substantial net motion through the material, so the clusters might
be formed with a velocity matching that of the deuterium, and they
might then preferentially fuse with material at the surface. Such
clusters would, I'd think, have a high capture cross-section, thus
explaining the surface transmutations observed.
Prior criticism of Iwamura's experiment was based on a hypothesis
(with a piece of evidence) that Pr, in particular, was present in the
lab as a contaminant. However, that alone isn't adequate to explain
even Iwamura's results, and certainly does not explain these replications.
The Iwamura experiment is particularly interesting because it
strongly points to multibody reactions, starting with two deuterons,
and the most likely explanation for why one would be getting +2D as a
minimum result, plus 4D and 6D, is that molecular deuterium is
involved. I.e., the electrons are present, and thus the condensate,
if it forms, is charge-neutral. (Indeed, I think that's necessary for
a condensate, or at least one electron would have to be present.)
This is still thin.
