mwj@beta.lanl.gov (William Johnson) (04/03/89)
In article <3604@silver.bacs.indiana.edu>, chiaravi@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (Lucius Chiaraviglio) writes: > In article <1495@wasatch.UUCP> ch-tkr@wasatch.UUCP (Timothy K Reynolds) writes: > > No 2.45Mev neutrons were detected. He speculated that these > > neutrons may be consumed by reaction with Li: [...] > Neither of these equations is balanced --[...] Apparently the posting you cite was garbled, because you are obviously right. However, I would like to point out that the most mystifying thing about the Fleischmann-Pons experiment -- and many things about it are mystifying -- is that *none* of the nuclear physics makes sense. I say this not implying that F&P don't know what they are talking about, but rather that many things about the experiment -- notably the enormous dearth of neutrons observed relative to the energy allegedly released -- fly in the face of what we *think* we know about (d,d) reactions. Until we have a better idea of just what is happening in this experiment, I would take any and all postings dealing with reaction mechanisms with a large grain of salt. > My other question is: these people used a cell with palladium and > platinum electrodes and heavy water. Where would the lithium come from? I > didn't hear any mention of lithium in the electrodes or in the solution > before this article that I am replying to. This one is a lot easier. The lithium was added (as deuterated lithium hydroxide, 0.1 molar solution) before the start of the experiment, probably to make sure that the solution was a nice, highly-conductive electrolyte. (Distilled water, remember, isn't very good at carrying a current.) Whether the lithium participates from a nuclear point of view -- i.e., is required for the cell to work -- is completely unclear to us kibitzers; it would be interesting to hear the F&P viewpoint on this. -- "One thing they don't tell you about doing | Bill Johnson experimental physics is that sometimes you | Los Alamos Nat'l Laboratory must work under adverse conditions ... like | {!cmcl2!lanl!mwj} a state of sheer terror." (W. K. Hartmann) | (mwj@lanl.gov)
dietz@cs.rochester.edu (Paul Dietz) (04/04/89)
In article <24015@beta.lanl.gov> mwj@beta.lanl.gov (William Johnson) writes: >However, I would like to point out that the most mystifying thing about the >Fleischmann-Pons experiment -- and many things about it are mystifying -- is >that *none* of the nuclear physics makes sense. I say this not implying that >F&P don't know what they are talking about, but rather that many things about >the experiment -- notably the enormous dearth of neutrons observed relative to >the energy allegedly released -- fly in the face of what we *think* we know >about (d,d) reactions. Everyone has been assuming that the neutrons are coming from catalyzed dd reactions. If, instead, some exotic fusion reaction was occuring -- say, Li6 + d -- we'd expect some neutrons anyway. First, a fast charged fusion product would occasionally break up a deuteron before stopping. Second, deuterons would occasionally be scattered and fuse with another deuteron. Some proposed experiments: (1) Measure the ratio of neutron rate/power density as the density of d atoms increases. It should increase if this model is true. (2) Measure the neutron spectrum -- it should differ considerably from that of cold dd fusion. (3) Try to detect energetic fusion product nuclei by mixing the Pd with beryllium and observing the neutron flux. (4) Try to observe fusion products directly by using a low energy deuterium ion beam to saturate a very thin target of Pd. Turn off the beam and observe any charged particles emitted. Paul F. Dietz dietz@cs.rochester.edu