On Fri, Jul 26, 2013 at 9:03 PM, Terry Blanton <[email protected]> wrote:
When the lattice atoms are closest due to phonon oscillation, the Ni
> electron cloud is at maximum distortion. With an abundance of H atoms in a
> highly excited state, the nucleii of both atoms (Ni and H) have an
> increased probability of a reduced barrier. The probability of proton
> capture is at a maximum. It only takes a few.
>
Yes -- I was thinking of something similar. (I'm still not convinced about
the Debye temp -- is this a resonant frequency? I got the impression that
it is the point at which any lattice-wide resonance goes away until the
temperature drops back below it.)
So to clarify the mechanism I'm thinking of which is related to what you're
saying:
- There is tunneling, but it is not tunnelling of p+p, but rather p+d.
The reason for this is that p+p requires the weak interaction to proceed
any further, whereas p+d results in an exothermic reaction right away (to
3He).
- At hotter temperatures in nickel, the protons and deuterons are
increasingly jostled around. Using Ron Maimon's mechanism, they are in
fact bounced around significantly, like ball bearings being pulled back in
a slingshot or people jumping on a trampoline.
- The more energy the p's and d's have, the closer they approach nickel
lattice sites. The closer they approach, the longer it takes for them to
rebound. The longer it takes for them to rebound, the more chance there is
for tunnelling of two that may be rebounding around the same time.
- When they tunnel and there is a fast helium atom as a daughter, it
creates a current and induces a magnetic field from its motion. (Recall
that Ron is saying that the lattice site shares in the momentum of the
reaction, so that there is no gamma.)
Eric
