Despite the "thinness" of the evidence and the ever-present contamination concerns, my gut tells me the LENR community would benefit from more focus on transmutation results. For one simple reason: transmutation results are persistent, while excess heat is ephemeral and easier to wish away. And frankly, across the history of CF/LENR, has been easy to get wrong (numerous examples).
On the other hand, if these results can be confirmed and understood, it is very likely that the underlying reaction will turn out to be exothermic. So this approach offers a way to reach to the desired outcome (controllable, cheap, clean energy) by a "back door" discovery path. It's just a gut feel. I can't defend it any better than that. But I believe it. Jeff On Fri, Dec 7, 2012 at 12:35 PM, Abd ul-Rahman Lomax <a...@lomaxdesign.com>wrote: > At 12:00 PM 12/7/2012, pagnu...@htdconnect.com 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<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. >
