NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/sci/physics/fusion/1849

Internet Message Format | 1992-07-27 | 2.7 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Rolfe G. Petschek)
Newsgroups: sci.physics.fusion
Subject: Re: Why Ying?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 27 Jul 92 21:31:44 GMT
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In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Barry Merriman) writes:

>Still, even when one thinks about it in a more proper intuitive way,
>it seems a bit odd (please correct my intuition....): in my mind,
>in the d + d -> He + g, the two d nuclei slam together and start
>vibrating, and the vibration shakes off a gamma of the same frequency.
>
>if you add the gamma back to a bunch of d's, so what? it may shake
>individual d nuclei a bit, but it bounces off because its not
>at a resonant frequency and in any event it doesn't seem to
>encourage the d's to get close together.

The forward reaction rate in a reaction involving dd and He (assumed to
be essentially classical particles) and a gamma is

k*(n+1)

where n is the number of gamma's in the quantum state into which the
gammas decay.  If there is more than one state then this is the average
number in such possible states.  The rate of the back reaction is

k'*n

Now k/k' in this case is less than 1, assuming more d's than He's so all
we need is to increase n.  Suppose we have a source with a band width of
1eV [this seems to me wildly optomistic]
and center frequency of 24 MeV.  Now assuming that this
is at the correct frequency to have n of order unity would require
an energy density in gamma's of (hbar c)^{-3}(pi)^{-2} E^3(Delta E)
where E is the center frequency, hbar is Planck's constant, c is the
speed of light and pi is 3.141592654... . Well, now that turns out to
be rather a lot - not bothering to be careful I seem to get
10^26 ergs/cm^3 but it is clear that this has to be lots and lots
in comparison with, say the energy flux associated with a black body at
the temperature of the sun (ouch) (which is only a few keV).  To see a big
effect you need n much bigger than unity (say, 10^50).

Thus I think that the possible answers are

Ying sees no effect.
This and similar theories are the wrong ideas for Ying's effect.
Ying is dead, long since but had access to the biggest damn monochrome
source you ever dreamed of, since melted.
--
Rolfe G. Petschek            [e-mail]
Associate Professor of Physics        [e-mail]
Case Western Reserve University        [phone]
Cleveland Oh 44106-7079