On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 8:29 PM, Edmund Storms <stor...@ix.netcom.com>wrote:
In either case, the deuteron does not move. The energy goes into the > electron that is ejected well away from the atom. When it returns, a 20 keV > photon is emitted. This process only involves the electron. The process is > well known and not a subject for debate. > This is where you and Ron disagree. He's saying that the math allows for the K-shell hole decay to dump its energy directly to a nearby deuteron, bypassing the electron altogether. Beyond that, he's saying that the math of the system indicates that the transfer of energy (via electrostatic repulsion) would be *preferentially* imparted to the deuteron rather than an electron, such that this would be the main form of decay of the K-shell hole when a deuteron is in close vicinity. > This being a fact, I assumed Maimon was proposing that the process > affected the barrier because otherwise the idea is nonsense. > I personally am not qualified to judge whether what Ron is saying is nonsense. I gather from his interactions with others on physics.stackexchange.com, which has some pretty smart people on it, and his overall reputation there, that he knows at least the basics of what he's talking about. > As for what happens next, a fusion reaction MUST get rid of the energy in > a way that is consistent with conservation of momentum. This process seems > not to be understood by several of people who are discussing the idea. The > mechanism proposed by Maimon has only one way to do this, i.e. by the hot > fusion process. > Ron is conserving momentum in his reaction. He's saying that the energy of the fusion is shared between the daughter alpha and the spectator palladium atom, because the fusion happens so close the the palladium nucleus. (This also obviates the emission of the gamma photon.) > Either the energy is dissipated as fragments of He (hot fusion) or as a > new process that leaves the He without any energy in any form, neither > kinetic or that released by gamma emission. Maimon does not address this > issue, he just makes an assumption. > Ron's saying that the fusion results in a daughter 4He and 24 MeV of energy. The resulting energy is shared between the daughter alpha and the spectator palladium nucleus. The alpha races through the lattice, causing the ejection of a portion of palladium K-shell electrons as it goes, and the palladium atom that was in the vicinity of the fusion gains a significant amount kinetic energy. I'm not saying any of this is true -- just trying to ensure that the details are understood so that a sharp critique can be prepared. Part of the difficulty here is that I'm just a beginner when it comes to physics. I should let Ron speak in his own words; his original post is here [1]. Eric [1] http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/3799/why-is-cold-fusion-considered-bogus/13734#13734
