ZPEnergy.com - Strontium

Jones Beene writes: Strontium (Sr) is a little appreciated metal which is beginning to look promising for use in experiments where "excess heat" is generated in high electric fields. It may be especially adaptable to LENR effects, such as accelerated decay, because of its 'overlap' with the element Yttrium and the highly deformed nucleus of some of its isotopes and isomers.

Sr also has anisotropic magnetic, thermomagnetic and electromagnetic properties which may allow ZPF interaction, especially in ferrite form. All of these possibilities should be explored, should Sr turn out to be implicated in OU phenomena. I have at least a dozen studies from the past few years which claim this kind of heat anomaly using strontium (and other related alkalis), some from prestigious labs, some from independent inventors (often more reliable than the big labs).

Sr is alkaline earth metal, so the oxide is a strong base. It is a Mills’ catalyst, notably, and is surrounded by other Mills’ catalysts on the periodic table. Mills is one of the major claimants, but there is evidence that Strontium works even better without the presence of hydrogen. It has sixteen unstable isotopes, and many more isomers, which is fairly indicative of its nuclear fragility. 90-Sr with a half-life of 29 years is the best available long-lived beta emitter, and is used in SNAP space-power devices. Some Sr isotopes have deformed nuclei, one has the greatest deformity ever documented. This may be a key clue to understanding its nuclear fragility.

But a neutrino-induced 88Sr --> 88Y --> 88Sr is the reaction of present interest - a potential circular reaction which would hypothetically yield an amazing 4 MeV with a hundred + day half-life, and this previously unknown reaction would be worthy of investigation, if and when some degree of overunity is demonstrated with Sr.

At the end of this document are a reference to other physical properties of Sr and Sr ferrites. Now for a possible LENR mechanism, involving neutrino oscillation.

Neutrons can break down, decay and transform into protons in many ways, either in a large nucleus or free, including a very rare interaction with a neutrino. Recently, evidence has been building relating to the admittedly remote possibility that neutrino *oscillation* is magnified in a high gradient electric field which then creates an enhanced cross-section for nuclear interaction (two step process).

"Our findings confirm that neutrinos have mass and that they change state from one type of neutrino to another," said Henry Sobel, who is principal investigator of the Super-Kamiokande Collaboration ...."

Free neutrons emit electrons and anti-neutrinos to become protons. If an antineutrino strikes a proton, the proton can emit a positron and a neutrino to become a neutron. If a neutrino (especially one undergoing "oscillation" gets close enough to a neutron, the neutron can emit an electron and an antineutrino to become a proton. Neutrinos and anti-neutrinos differ only in lepton number and are commonly referred to together as "neutrinos." Recently, as mentioned, evidence has been building relating to the admittedly remote possibility that neutrino oscillation is magnified in an intense electric field which then creates an enhanced cross-section for nuclear interaction in a two step process with the result that the target nucleus becomes unstable..

There exist much terrestrial evidence for the proposition that this has occurred continually over time in our ionosphere, subject to reinterpretation of older studies of isotope anomalies. When such reactions occur, spin and lepton number must be conserved. When a proton emits a positron, as happens when 88Y reverts to 88Sr, there would be a discrepancy in the sum of their spins and lepton numbers without the neutrino and its presence near any charged nucleus may mean an enhanced absorption cross section due to an "oscillation-in-progress." A side effect is that in some elements, neutrino interaction can appear auto-catalytic, in that it appears to induce a partial chain reaction. It will be emphasized that without the oscillation itself, the cross-section for neutrino interaction is trillions of times too improbable to use in any small device as an energy resource.

This bears repeating, as the tendency for anyone who has not been exposed to this idea is to write off neutrino interaction as too improbable to even consider. Everyone agrees with that assessment - as far as it goes. However, the recent large budget neutrino studies such as 'Super-K' are finding evidence that neutrinos will interact more readily when they undergo a transition from a massless state, traveling at light speed, into a slightly slower speed with small mass. This is my interpretation of the results, as there is not enough energy in the universe to propel any neutrino 'with mass' to lightspeed, yet we are absolutely certain that neutrinos travel at c. most of the time: the evidence is as follows (excuse the digression).

Very large stars end their lives in a cataclysmic explosion called a supernova like one nearly twenty years ago in the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 160,000 light years away. Photographed in 1987, and named 1987A, it was the first supernova visible to the naked eye since the seventeenth century. Astrophysicists have predicted that such a supernova explosion would produce a sharp pulse of neutrinos, as they carry nearly all of the energy of the explosion. But do the elusive uncharged particles move at the speed of light or instead just near the speed?

In 1987 there were two big detectors were up and running - one Kamiokande was the predecessor to Super- K. What did they discover? Well, the two detectors both observed both a very significant increase in neutrino counts, the first ever observation of neutrinos produced by a supernova. Moreover, the neutrinos arrived in a pulse about three hours before the visible light from the supernova! This is just as astrophysicists had predicted based on neutrinos traveling at lightspeed as they would escape slightly ahead of the visible photonic radiation which was slightly slowed by dust, and arrive slightly ahead, not slowing an iota - even after 160,000 years.

The bottom line is that neutrinos hardly ever interact with normal matter unless they are undergoing a transition from the massless state. This may be enhance in an electric field and it may be subject to the neutrinos own resonance based on its mass. A neutrino of one suspected value: 0.06 ev rest mass/energy f = 0.05/h = 80 terahz: Lambda = c/f ~ = 25 microns/ Indicating that SrFe particle grain sizes around 25 microns would help, if that figure of rest mass is true. I think it could be much higher.

Fifteen years ago, Fleischmann and Pons took some palladium and forced deuterium into it by electrolysis, creating an environment where electrons can not function in their natural fashion and permanent virtual ions are present. IOW a high intensity self-field. No one is sure of the exact details of this mechanism and whether or not it involved neutrinos. When SrFe is subject to electrical current, especially where waveforms can cause resonant ionic movement, something similar may happen. This is not to say that cold fusion involves a neutrino interaction, necessarily, as a precursor, but only to show that there is some similarity in the possible underlying mechanisms, and the prospect of neutrino interaction has yet to be ruled out.

Side note (for the benefit of any T-holics out there): a CF cell, or any Strontium decay device, placed inside an operating Tesla coil should show much higher activity IF neutrino interactions are indeed involved... ;-)

Jones

Some Physical Properties of Strontium

Strontium is 5 times more common than copper but is seldom mentioned except in the negative connotation of strontium-90, one of the more deadly isotopes found in nuclear fission. It is deadly because strontium acts just like calcium in the human body, and is easily absorbed.

Sr softer than calcium and decomposes in water more vigorously. The metal form should be kept under kerosene to prevent oxidation. Freshly cut strontium has a silvery appearance, but rapidly turns a yellowish color with the formation of the oxide. The finely divided metal ignites spontaneously in air. Volatile strontium salts impart a beautiful crimson color to flames, and these salts are used in pyrotechnics and in the production of flares. Natural strontium is a mixture of four stable isotopes.

Sixteen other unstable isotopes are known to exist, which is fairly indicative of its nuclear fragility. Of greatest importance is 90-Sr with a half-life of 29 years. It is a product of nuclear fallout and presents a health problem. This isotope is one of the best long-lived high-energy beta emitters known, and is used in SNAP (Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power) devices. These devices hold promise for use in space vehicles, remote weather stations, navigational buoys, etc., and where a lightweight, long-lived, nuclear-electric power source is needed.

Uses: The major use for strontium at present is in producing glass for color television picture tubes and fireworks. It has also found use in producing ferrite magnets and in refining zinc. Strontium titanate is an interesting optical material as it has an extremely high refractive index and an optical dispersion greater than that of diamond. It has been used as a gemstone, but is very soft. It does not occur naturally.

Cost: Strontium metal (98% pure) in January 1990 cost about $5/oz. This is a function of demand, primarily. In large quantities, due to its ubiquity, it has a potential cost of only about $5/kilogram.

Ferrites: Ferrites are ferrimagnetic oxides with dielectric & magnetic properties that are useful for high frequency induction, such as RF and microwave applications. Iron based ferrites have the general formula MO-Fe2O3 where M is a divalent ion such as Sr. Ferrites are related to Ferrogarnets or rare earth iron garnets have with a fairly complex structure that often includes yttria.

Electrostrictive ceramics are relaxor ferroelectric ceramics, which can include Sr ferrites. Strain varies quadratically with electric field for an electrostrictor rather than linearly as in a piezoelectric ceramics. Relaxors exhibit very high dielectric constants ( K > 20,000), diffuse ferroelectric-to-paraelectric phase transitions, and electrostrictive strain vs. electric field behavior. Electrostrictors excel at high frequencies and very low driving fields and display little or no hysteretic loss even at very high frequencies of operation due to the lack of spontaneous polarization.

For transducer applications, electrostrictors must operate under a DC bias field to induce piezoelectric behavior. Operation under bias is characterized by field dependent piezoelectric and electromechanical coupling coefficients piezoelectric materials produce force or deformation when a load is an electrical charge applied. These properties might make piezoelectric materials useful for heating (especially if excess heat is found).

In short, strontium-based ferrites fit into any and all of these categories. If the source of strontium's energy anomaly is real, and is not nuclear, it is surely related by the anisotropy in these electromagnetic characteristic being able to cohere ZPE.