NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/sci/physics/fusion/3377

Text File | 1993-01-23 | 6.9 KB | 116 lines

Newsgroups: sci.physics.fusion
Path: sparky!uunet!UB.com!zorch!fusion
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Subject: Status #12 Cell 4A3
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Sender: [e-mail] (Scott Hazen Mueller)
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Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 22:26:04 GMT
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Status #12 Cell 4A3

Here is an event for you all to ponder.

There was an accumulation ("anomalous cold") of -180 joules over 40 min FWHM,
(2 joule sigma).  No (<.1cc sigma) gas change during the event.  Catalyst 1.5
C hotter during the event (.1 C sigma).  Cell temperature drifted lower 0.2 C
during event (0.02 C sigma). No change in cell voltage of about 5.6 volts
(0.002 v sigma).  Cell current 0.886 ampere (sigma 0.001 or less).  Ambient
temperature change during event less than 0.1 C (furnace on off cycle, slow
cool down during event - best guess at ambient temperature correction for
present configuration is -40 mw per C).  Change in power level -0.100 watts
(sigma 0.015) during the event.  The power balance change was a trapezoid with
the leading edge somewhat taller than the trailing edge, and with a rise time
of 5 minutes.  This event occurred about 8 hours after the end of a 40 hour up
ramp from 100 ma to 900 ma.  The cell has now been charging over 700 hours.
The "sigmas" quoted above (except power) are not actual measurements but my
estimate from looking at a 3 1/2 hour plot of the various items.  All the
various control measurements look normal, 3 precision references, 5 power
supply voltages, 4 grounds, 8 thermometers, servo control loops were normal,
and nothing was oscillating (at least not while I was looking).  I have no
doubt but what this is a real measurement of something.

The above means that the cell put out 180 joules of cold, the gas volume did
not change, the catalyst got significantly hotter, the cell cooled slightly,
and nothing else much happened.

My impression is that the event was "paid back" with some heat over the next
several hours.  The calorimeter is just not good enough to say for sure.  The
general picture was that of a fast pulse through capacitive coupling.

In trying to understand the above event, you should know that a cell
temperature change is indicative of more heat than is computed by the specific
heat of the water in the cell and the delta temperature.  This is because the
cell is in a large aluminum block and quickly exchanges heat with it.  About a
factor of ten is needed.

Steve Jones in his FD-722 (20 Jan 93 14::28) reply, and in a note to me has
suggested some mechanisms for heat or cold relating to cracks allowing the
electrolyte to contact an under surface coating deposit of lithium.  How
about a back of the envelope computation of how big the crack would have to be
to absorb 180 joules Steve?  Or to release 400 joules?  Seems to me that it
requires 10% or so of all the available reactants (Li) unless we get gas
involved, and the above event suggests just that.  I have long suspected that
there are whole surface events that take place.

Suppose that for a while, we start generating another gas along with the usual
component of D2 and O2.  The 5+ volt cell voltage should be enough to do it.
Note that it has to be in addition to, and this means that each charge has to
somehow do double duty (which I did not think possible), or we must generate a
gas with greater heating value than D2 and O2.  (Brown's gas comes to mind -
an "in" joke for the privileged few!)  The loss of energy would thus cool the
cell and when the gas converted on the catalyst the heat there would be
explained.  CO comes to mind as a possibility, but I did not put any C in the
cell that I know of.  There is the polypropylene cell, and Teflon, so possibly
over 700 hours some carbon has been extracted from the cell wall.  If so,
then there might be circulation as CO is converted to CO2 on the catalyst and
then is reabsorbed into the electrolyte (and I do not know what I am talking
about here - just to get you all thinking).  Are there any gasses that can be
made from Lithium?

For calorimeter fans, the energy balance was reset about 1 megasecond ago.
Since then we have accumulated 5 kilojoules.  This works out to an average
balance of 5 mw (and happens to be +).  Note my claim is one sigma of 0.035
watts.  It just happens that the system drifted in the positive direction for
a while, and lately in the negative direction.  During various times of the
day the drift can be as much as 30-40 mw.  So I think the 35 mw one sigma
below is conservative.  I would guess the real number at 20 mw one sigma
without any correction.  I think I now see how to correct it to the few mw
level using some of my measured values.  So had there been something to see as
to real net "anomalous heat" we would have seen it.  As it is, it looks like
"zero" so far to me.  It does look like there is some chemistry going on and
that it is fairly violent.

Experiment summary repeated below for new readers.

We are presently running a Takahashi style Pons and Fleischmann "cold fusion"
experiment.  Cell 4A3 contains a 1 cm by 1 cm by 1mm Pd cathode.  The cathode
was squeezed down to 1 mm thickness from a 3mm thick coin bar in a high
pressure hydraulic press.  Fill is 33 cc of .47 M D2O.  Cell is running with a
Pt dummy electrode at a 800 microampere bias current positioned off to one
side of the anode grid.  The Pt anode is wound around the cathode like the
grid in a 6AS7 vacuum tube.  (I might as well say positioned like the tongue
in a Plesiosarus for all most of you would know.)  A glass tube down the
center of the cell supports the teflon anode/cathode structure at its end.
The tube contains two solid state thermometers.  One where the tube is
surrounded by the liquid measures the cell temperature.  A second is located
above where the tube is surrounded by gas in the vicinity of the catalyst.
The glass tube between the two thermometers is stuffed with foam to reduce
coupling.  The catalyst is Engelhard Palladium Catalyst D, which is Palladium
based.  The catalyst is formed as small cylinders which are 0.1" in diameter
by 0.1" long.  The catalyst is located in eight sodium glass tubes which are
supported in the top of the cell by teflon spacers.  The glass tubes are
mounted vertically with the bottoms slightly closed to keep the cylinders in
place.  This allows condensate to drip out the bottoms of the tubes.  About 15
of the catalyst cylinders are in each of eight tubes.  The cell is sealed with
"O" rings external to the cell volume and any excess gas is removed to an
atmospheric pressure motor driven syringe.  The cell was assembled in an Argon
filled glove bag after an appropriate cleaning ritual.  The cell is operated
in a null balance calorimeter of my design with a one sigma calibration for
this run of 0.035 watts.

Tom Droege