New Light on LENR
Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 @ 20:11:59 GMT
Topic: Science


Jones Beene writes: Letts and Cravens presented an extraordinary paper: "Laser Stimulation Of Deuterated Palladium: Past And Present." at the Tenth International Conference on Cold Fusion. 2003. Cambridge. LENR-CANR has it at: http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/LettsDlaserstimu.pdf It could end up being the most important paper in LENR in 15 years.

"A method is disclosed to fabricate a Palladium cathode that can be electrolyzed in heavy water and stimulated with a laser at a predetermined wavelength to produce apparent excess power;"

"the cathode is stimulated with a low-power laser with a maximum power of 30 milliwatts. The thermal response of the cathode is typically 500 mW with maximum output observed of approximately 1 watt. The effect is repeatable when protocols are followed and has been demonstrated in several laboratories."

It is a truly impressive claim. An apparent, repeatable, replicated, *on-demand* attainment of a COP of ~17 and greater.

If I am not mistaken, Ed Storms was so impressed that he is now calling this the "Letts effect". I hope he will comment, but there may be an NDA. Other researchers may try to lay claim on this, but so far, this paper seems like the seminal paper on the subject of laser irradiation. BTW, it was mentioned that "The recovery of the cell’s thermal output from 250 mW to 750 mW was witnessed by Ed Storms, Tom Claytor, George Miley and Scott Little."

Pretty impressive audience, I'd say...

I would be willing to bet that a number of other labs, perhaps a large number in Asia alone, have now taken up this technique, either openly or covertly. Do any of them really know why this technique, assuming that it is as repeatable as claimed (and there is mounting evidence of that), is poised to make a huge headline soon?

Here is one thought towards *why* coherent laser light can provide that synergy which may finally open up the door (and the Federal coffers) for CF research and credibility. One might even venture that its not too early to start composing your damning, "I told you so" criticisms of Park and his cadre of moronic nay-sayers.

And in passing, it seems that the laser may be that one important piece of the previously missing string of accumulated "Connections" alluded to in another vortex post recently - a critical missing piece of the puzzle which has delayed LENR from commercialization up to now. In five years we may look back to ICCF-10 and say, ah yes, how could we have missed the laser in 1989. The sad answer probably goes back to Cambridge as well.

OK here is an emerging mostly borrowed theory, based on....

"Electron Spins Can Control Nuclear Spins" - AIP Physics News
by Phil Schewe, James Riordon, and Ben Stein

ABSTRACT "Electron spins can control nuclear spins in a semiconductor when trapped in a very confined space, a recent experimental development which calls upon laser science, solid-state physics, and nuclear magnetic resonance."

Did you make the *connection* of why laser light is important?

Well, my take on this subject, which is growing in complexity as we speak, but it goes back to old idea of a *BEC-like* condensate of deuterons, one that can be induced to form a fairly high temperatures.

When we look at the growth dynamics of a normal Bose-Einstein condensate (super cold), we see something like crystal growth starting with a "seed," but it might occur fleetingly in just a two-or- three atom cell, if all three atoms can, for a tiny fraction of a second, attain a perfect alignment of QM states, such as electron spin, nuclear spin, etc. in this tight spacing. One is reminded of the Kasagi experiment, where deuterated titanium is bombarded with deuterons. The reaction hypothesized by Kasagi to account for the observed results:

D + D + D -> p + n + alpha (+ 21.62 MeV)

requires a mechanism to make such a reaction likely in the confines of a matrix, which is large compared to nuclear dimensions but where target deuteron pairs tend to be located at least temporarily at nuclear distances from each other. This is a variation of the condensate theory proposed by Elio Conte and others (Frank Z).

Similarly, in the original experiments by P&F, when neutrons were seen (seldom) they tended to come in pairs, i.e. from single events. A deuteron condensate could produce a variety of ash product including He4, but the most likely reaction would be something like

D + [D + D] -> n + n + p + He3 (+ .584 MeV)

It would be nice to know what a neutron detector would see near the Letts cell!

My guess is that, by now, they have done this and found neutrons.

In accordance with the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the position of an atom is smeared out over a distance given by the thermal de Broglie wavelength, lambdadB = (2 pi h-bar2 / kBmT)1/2, where kB is the Boltzmann constant, m is the atomic mass and T is the temperature of the D. At room temperature the de Broglie wavelength is typically about ten thousand times smaller than the average spacing between the atoms. This means that the matter waves of the individual atoms are uncorrelated or "disordered", and the atoms can thus be described by classical Boltzmann statistics. But this does not hold for a tight matrix. Think of it as internal pressure = cold.

As D2 is effectively constrained in a matrix, this is the same as being dramatically cooled, and the disorder can decrease proportionately., and eventually there is more than one atom in each cube of dimension lambdadB. The wavefunctions of adjacent atoms then "overlap", causing the atoms to lose their identity, and the behavior is now governed by quantum statistics. This can happen in greater regularity, even *on demand* we are told, when a laser can align electron and nuclear spin.

Bose-Einstein statistics dramatically increase the chances of finding more than one atom in the same state, and we can think of the matter waves in a such a situation, even at elevated temperatures, as "oscillating in concert" for some small amount of time. But fusion doesn't take long. The result is Bose-Einstein condensation, a macroscopic occupation of the ground state, and the fusion of three deuterons.

Once again, it should be emphasized that commercialization will demand other breakthroughs. The metal matrix is destroyed in this process and must be remanufactured on an continuous basis. For wide-spread usage, this will demand some kind of advanced robotics.

OTOH remember the important thing.

No... not the rapid increase in the power of computers, which presages a quick onset of robotics. that is 5-10 years down the road.

The important thing to remember is that this is an election year!

Are you listening, Bush/Kerry. First candidate to Texas may get this little-big prize... and don't assume that it will be quicker to get there from the nearby Ranch in Crawford. Bush may still be trying to figure out the difference between fetus and feces. If I was Kerry, I would have an assistant on the plane to Austin tomorrow... It's that important for the economic and energy independence of this country.

Jones





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