It appears that a free proton or similar nuclear structure would not exist within a metal since they would interact with any nearby electrons. Perhaps that only way they would remain ionized would be if they had a large amount of kinetic energy and bulldozed through the metal.
Dave -----Original Message----- From: Eric Walker <[email protected]> To: vortex-l <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, Feb 10, 2013 9:05 pm Subject: Re: [Vo]:Bose Einstein Condensate formed at Room Temperature On Sun, Feb 10, 2013 at 1:24 PM, David Roberson <[email protected]> wrote: One would think that hydrogen and its isotopes would be able to slip easily through a metal crystal if ionized. Counterintuitively, I think the mean free path of a proton or deuteron in a metal is shorter than that of H or D, with electrons, if I remember correctly. If true, I think this is because the ion interacts electromagnetically with the lattice atoms more than the shielded, nonionic species. Here I'm thinking of a projectile. The story may be different for protons or deuterons migrating under the influence of a potential. Eric
