SPAWAR CR-39 single triple track gives neutron energy -- repeats 'external electric field' error in July EPJAP paper, PA Mosier-Boss et al -- L Kowalski re lack of proof of nuclear reactions 2010.06.12: Rich Murray 2010.07.21 http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.htm Wednesday, July 21, 2010 [ at end of each long page, click on Older Posts ] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/astrodeep/message/56 [you may have to Copy and Paste URLs into your browser] _______________________________________________
On his site, Ludwik Kowalski commented in his paper, rejected June 2010, reviewing attempts at replication by his and other qualified teams, 2010.06.12: "And here is our final observation: "Experimental results supporting two recent claims of emission of charged nuclear projectiles due to electrolysis are not reproducible. Focusing on reproducibility is probably more important, at this stage, than focusing on interpretation of experimental results. The future of the so-called "Cold Fusion" field -- now called "Condensed Matter Nuclear Science" (CMNS) -- remains uncertain. The attitude of those who control scientific research (editors of mainstream journals, directors of granting agencies, etc.), toward the CMNS field remains highly negative. The field is in real danger of disappearing without producing clear yes-or-no answers about its extraordinary claims. It will probably be rediscovered later in this century."..." I found that the main recent evidence presented by SPAWAR gives two values of the energy estimated for a single putative neutron, based on the size of a single feature, interpreted as a resulting triple track. http://www.newenergytimes.com/v2/library/2010/2010BossP-ComparisonOfPDD-DT.pdf 10 pages Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 51, 20901 (2010) Comparison of Pd/D co-deposition and DT neutron generated triple tracks observed in CR-39 detectors P. A. Mosier-Boss 1, J. Y. Dea 1, L. P.G. Forsley 2, M. S. Morey 3, J. R. Tinsley 3, J. P. Hurley 3 and F. E. Gordon 4 Mosier-Boss, Pamela A., Dea, Jack Y., Forsley, Lawrence P.G., Morey, Mark S., Tinsley, James R., Hurley, John Paul, and Gordon, Frank E. 1 SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific, Code 71730, San Diego, CA, 92152, USA 2 JWK International Corp., Annandale, VA, 22003, USA http://www.jwk.com 3 National Security Technologies, LLC, Special Technologies Laboratory, Santa Barbara, CA, 93111, USA http://www.nstec.com/ 4 SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific, Retired, San Diego, CA, 92122, USA Corresponding author: pam.b...@navy.mil; Received: 28 February 2010 Revised: 5 May 2010 Accepted: 20 May 2010 Published online: 7 July 2010 -- c EDP Sciences Abstract Solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs), such as CR-39, have been used to detect energetic charged particles and neutrons. Of the neutron and charged particle interactions that can occur in CR-39, the one that is the most easily identifiable is the carbon breakup reaction. The observation of a triple track, which appears as three alpha particle tracks breaking away from a center point, is diagnostic of the 12C(n, n )3 carbon breakup reaction. Such triple tracks have been observed in CR-39 detectors that have been used in Pd/D co-deposition experiments. In this communication, triple tracks in CR-39 detectors observed in Pd/D co-deposition experiments are compared with those generated upon exposure to a DT neutron source. It was found that both sets of tracks were indistinguishable. Both symmetric and asymmetric tracks were observed. Using linear energy transfer (LET) curves and track modeling, the energy of the neutron that created the triple track can be estimated. As a thoroughly unqualified, but careful, layman critic of cold fusion papers since December, 1996, I have to apply tedious examination of every detail in order to feret out simple facts that so far are always available to seriously question the research. My working hypothesis is that there is no evidence for anomalies that imply the reality of low energy nuclear reactions, except for muon catalyzed fusion. Therefore the hundreds of published, peer-reviewed papers since 1989 are straining at gnats, forcing preconceived interpretations onto complex and chaotic test systems that in fact are generating random results. This forcing of facts results in characteristic errors that are obvious to commonsense inspection of details. This paper bases far-ranging conclusions upon two energy estimates based on a single putative triple track. On page 7, Fig. 5a shows two double-size 1,000X photomicrographs that are the same as Fig. 3a(ii) [ mislabelled as Fig. 2a(ii) ], 18.2 micrometer square -- use Control + to enlarge them by 400%. The conditions were Pd electroplated on an Ag wire in the absence of an external magnetic field, with the cathode in direct contact with the CR-39 detector. In 5a the top surface image has the 3 lobes with the numbers 1, 2, 3, while the lower image, an overlay of two photomicrographs focused at the surface and the bottom of the track pits, has the three center axes of the three lobes marked by white arrows that give the lengths, 5.1, 5.1, and 6.2 micrometer. "The uncertainty of the alpha particle distanced traveled is +-0.4 micrometer." So, 0.4/5.1 = +-8%. Two simple methods are used to use the three distances to estimate the energy of the initial neutron, which shattered a carbon nucleus in the plastic to create three equal energy alpha particles (helium nuclei) that invisibly mark straight trails through the plastic, later to be revealed as pits by etching for six hours with 6.5 Molar NaOH at 62 deg C. The first estimate gives the neutron's energy as 13.46+-0.16 MeV, which is +-1%. The second estimate gives the result 13.25+-0.17 MeV, which is also +- 1%. I felt suspicious that this +-1% energy accuracy was derived from +-8% distance measures. The paper does not give the total number of CR-39 detector chips (2x1 cm size) used in their experiments and their various manufacturers, or details about the distribution and number of overlapping and symmetric and asymmetric triple tracks. In order to evaluate this body of years of research, the scientific community needs free access to all information and imagery on a public website. We return to other aspects of their paper. "CR-39 detectors were exposed to DT neutrons generated by a Thermo Fisher model A290 neutron generator. The detectors were exposed to a neutron flux of 10E7 neutrons s -1 for 4.5 h. Afterwards the detectors were etched and subjected to microscopic analysis as described above." Fig. 3 shows triple tracks from three experiments with three controls, that all used a strong permanent magnet to apply a magnetic field in the cell, as does Fig. 4, which shows three different sets of triple tracks -- so, these images may be from the same three experiments. "Triple tracks in CR-39 detectors used in Pd/D codeposition experiments were previously reported [17]. The Pd/D co-deposition experiments using CR-39 detectors typically last two weeks. Tracks, as well as triple tracks, have been observed when Pd/D co-deposition has been done on Ag, Au, and Pt wires in both the presence and absence of an external electric/magnetic field [14]. These tracks have been observed on the front and back surfaces of the detectors [16]. No tracks on CR-39 were observed for Pd/D co-deposition done on a Ni screen in the absence of an external electric/magnetic field [14]. However, in the presence of an external electric/magnetic field, tracks have been obtained in CR-39 when Pd/D co-deposition has been done on Ni screen. The role played by the cathode material (Ag/Au/Pt wire vs. Ni screen) and external fields on the formation of tracks is still not fully understood. The number of triple tracks observed in the CR-39 detectors used in Pd/D co-deposition experiments is low, at most 5 to 10 tracks/detector, including both the front and back surfaces. Such tracks have not been observed in background monitoring detectors or in detectors used in control experiments. These triple tracks were detected in areas where the track density was low enough to positively identify them from the background of single tracks. As discussed vide supra, by focusing inside the tracks, overlapping tracks can be easily differentiated from triple tracks resulting from the carbon break-up reaction. To verify that the triple tracks observed in the Pd/D co-deposition experiments are consistent with those observed as the result of the carbon break-up reaction, CR-39 detectors were exposed to an accelerator-driven DT fusion neutron source and etched. Figures 3 and 4 show side-by side comparisons of triple tracks in CR-39 detectors produced as a result of Pd/D co-deposition experiments (Figs. 3a and 4a) and those created upon exposure to a DT neutron source (Figs. 3b and 4b)" Extraordinary Error -- no electric field exists inside a conducting liquid in an insulated box with two external charged metal plates, re work by SPAWAR on cold fusion since 2002 -- also hot spots from H and O microbubbles: Rich Murray 2010.02.22 http://rmforall.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.htm Monday, February 22, 2010 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/astrodeep/message/42 Extract: http://newenergytimes.com/news/2006/NET19.htm#ee http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/KrivitSextraordin.pdf Steven B. Krivit and Bennett Daviss Extraordinary Evidence. 2006.11.10 New Energy Times, Issue #19 22p [ Bennett Daviss is a science writer based in New Hampshire. ] p 8 "Coming up with the idea of co-deposition didn't deplete Szpak's store of inspiration. Experimental data indicates that LENR cells initiate their reactions, including anomalous heat, by packing deuterium atoms into defects on the surface of their palladium electrodes. To increase the activity of the surface, Szpak thought it would be helpful to try to force the surface to take some other forms, which might, in turn, multiply the defects. He had been intrigued by the few known LENR experiments that had subjected cells to small electric or magnetic fields in attempts to boost their activity. One of those tests had been conducted in the 1990s by Mosier-Boss and Szpak themselves: They had placed one of their co-deposition cells inside a magnetic field and found that, after co-deposition, the cathode's temperature burned hotter than usual. Pursuing the idea was simple. Starting in 2002, Szpak and Mosier-Boss affixed copper foils to the outside of their tabletop LENR cells along the bottom of two opposite walls of a square beaker and applied a 6,000-volt current [ more accurately, not a current, but a static electric potential ] generated by the power module from an old television set (see photo)." p9 SPAWAR cell using external electric field Photo: Steven Krivit [ The thin copper foil is slightly less wide than the square plastic cell, and seems to be sealed firmly within an outer loop of wider clear plastic tape all around the cell. ] ""In effect, we created a capacitor," Szpak said, "and inside that capacitor, we put the LENR cell." The first result the pair noticed was that, even to the unaided eye, the co-deposited palladium appeared thicker on the cathode after the field was applied than before. "When you watch the experiment, you can see the cathode expand and contract as the electric field works on it," Mosier-Boss said. "It was a bit of a surprise to us." When they inspected the cathode's surface using a scanning electron microscope, more changes were apparent. "Co-deposited palladium and deuterium on the surface of a substrate form spherical globules," Szpak explained. "Under the electric field, they formed plates, ruts, and all sorts of other forms."... "Ours is the first time that anyone has done exactly what we have done," Szpak said. In addition to testing the effects of an electric field, Szpak and Mosier-Boss subjected the cell to magnetic fields at a moderate strength of 12,200 Gauss." p10 ""The electric field only affects the surface," Szpak noted. "The magnetic field will affect the surface and also deeper into the material. The question is whether there was any substantial difference [between the effects of the two kinds of fields]." One difference was obvious: Under a microscope, Szpak and Mosier-Boss could see that the magnetic field flattened the tops of the spherical globules of palladium and deuterium, making the blobs look more like layer cakes. Szpak and Mosier-Boss are mum on the results for now but detail them, as well as the differences between the effects of electric and magnetic fields, in a paper submitted to a peer reviewed journal in September. An overall effect of the two kinds of fields is clear. However, under both the external electric and magnetic fields, the test cells produced astonishing quantities of charged particles -- far more than any LENR researchers have reported to date:from nuclear events, have even startled experts in conventional nuclear fusion, who use CR-39 detectors for their own nuclear experiments." p11 "Like most LENR cells, SPAWAR's co-deposition experiments use two or three volts to electrolyze their cells. The group's electric field applies a modest 6,000 volts, across the cell." Drawing P. Boss and S. Krivit Note: These are non-technical sketches. Do not use these as experimental guides. [ The horizontal Pt anode (+) is above the cathode gold (-) wire wrapped around a ~2 cm long thin CR-39 clear plastic block. Supposedly sealed situations, whether in physics or in politics, always have leaks. Since the Cu foil plates extend below the edge of the cell, there will be a nonlinear electric field across the plastic floor of the cell. Any slightly conducting paths in the plastic cell floor will allow self-expanding microcurrents into the conducting electrolyte, where rests the CR-39, wrapped in three turns of gold wire, producing high voltage spots, and electrolyzing water into H2 and O2 microbubbles, which in turn will often recombine at surface defects and/or complex impurity spots and electrolyte deposits on the CR-39 and gold, producing transient hot spots, with enough energy to melt regions the same size as the reacting microbubbles, producing dramatic artifacts -- microcraters with bursts of heat. An additional complication would be from moisture and dust in the humid San Diego air, forming conductive films on the bottom of the plastic floor, which would allow complex patterns of current to flow on the bottom side of the floor, converging from both plates to create high voltage intersections, which in turn would exploit any slight defects in the plastic floor to open up channels of electric flow into the electrolyte. Careful measurements of the 6,000 volt potential would reveal various voltage and current spikes, and also available to be observed may be electromagnetic radiations in the cell, ranging from ultraviolet to visible to infrared to radio, as well as acoustic events. I created these suggestions on the fly, thinking as I wrote, just now. ] [ end of Extract ] [ more extracts from their 2010.07.07 paper ] "The total measured background spallation neutron flux was 7.5×10 -3 n cm -2 s -1, with <10 -4 n cm -2 s -1 in the DT fusion neutron energy range. This, coupled with the CR-39 relative neutron detection inefficiency, <10 -6 for triple tracks [20], accounts for the complete absence of triple tracks in the background." "[ measuring the lengths of the triple tracks from alpha particles ] Using equation (5), the resultant neutron energy is estimated to be 13.46 ± 0.16 MeV." "The other method of estimating the neutron energy requires modeling of the alpha particles using the TRACK TEST program developed by Nikezic and Yu [32,33].... Using equation (5), the resultant neutron energy using this method is estimated to be 13.25 +- 0.17 MeV." "In this communication, an alternative explanation is suggested, i.e., the metal lattice creates conditions that favor the DT reaction. If this is the case, tritons will be consumed shortly after birth to create 11.9 -- 17.2 MeV neutrons." "The earlier report on triple tracks in CR-39 resulting from Pd/D co-deposition estimated the neutron energies to be between 12.6 to 15.44 MeV [17]. The LET curve method described vide supra was used to estimate these energies. In this investigation, it is shown that the shapes of the observed triple tracks are indistinguishable from DT neutron generated triple tracks and that the energy of the neutron can be estimated using alpha track modeling methods. In conclusion, experiments have been conducted by a number of different researchers using different methods and/or protocols. Using these methods, charged particles and neutrons, of the appropriate energies, have been detected that are consistent with the primary and secondary fusion reactions shown in equations (7) -- (10). http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/cf/361spawar.html 361) Spawar Triple Stars Ludwik Kowalski Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA April 25, 2009 THIS IS A NEW VERSION OF PART 1 OF UNIT #359 [ gives much helpful information and ideas ] http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/cf/392curie.html [ extracts ] 392) Unexpected rejection of our important paper Ludwik Kowalski Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA June 12, 2010 Introduction The Curie Project was described in unit 375. Participants were Jeff Driscoll, Mike Horton, Ludwik Kowalski, and Pete Lohstreter. Our independent attempts to verify Oriani's claim of reproducibility turned out to be negative. On most experimental surfaces (31 out of 34) the mean track densities were essentially the same as on control surfaces. On the remaining three experimental surfaces the densities were much higher than those reported by Oriani. They were tentatively attributed to contamination. The purpose of this unit is to describe our attempt to publish that paper. Submitting the paper On October 16, 2009, I received the following message from Dr. Jan Marwan, who was certainly familiar with our project. "Dear Dr Kowalski, The American Institute of Physics (AIP) offered me to edit a book titled "Low Energy Nuclear Reactions Sourcebook" based on the New Energy Technology Symposium that I am organizing... Naturally, we wrote the paper and submitted it before the deadline. It was hard to believe that our establishment (American Institute of Physics) was going publish a book with papers describing cold fusion. I am not inserting our paper here because it is too long (eight pages) and, more importantly, because its future remains undetermined. It was first accepted in May 2010, and then rejected in June... [ One peer reviewer for for, while the other was firmly against. ] ...We were comparing results published by distinguished CMNS researchers, more specifically, by authors of references (10) and (11). The readers will also see that over 90% of our manuscript is devoted to our own investigations of the Oriani-type effect. Why were recent SPAWAR-type experiments marginally mentioned? Because they have something in common with Oriani-type experiments. In both cases thin Mylar films are used to protect CR-39 detectors from the electrolyte. Conclusions and interpretations Referring to our experimental results we wrote: "The overall conclusion is that experimental data reported in [8], and summarized in Figure 2, are not reproducible. Track densities measured on our thirty-four CR-39 surfaces were either much lower or much higher than those reported by Oriani. The origin of high track densities, in Experiments #10, #11 and #12, is not clear." And here is our final observation: "Experimental results supporting two recent claims of emission of charged nuclear projectiles due to electrolysis are not reproducible. Focusing on reproducibility is probably more important, at this stage, than focusing on interpretation of experimental results. The future of the so-called "Cold Fusion" field -- now called "Condensed Matter Nuclear Science" (CMNS) -- remains uncertain. The attitude of those who control scientific research (editors of mainstream journals, directors of granting agencies, etc.), toward the CMNS field remains highly negative. The field is in real danger of disappearing without producing clear yes-or-no answers about its extraordinary claims. It will probably be rediscovered later in this century."... _______________________________________________ Rich Murray, MA Boston University Graduate School 1967 psychology, BS MIT 1964, history and physics, 1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 505-501-2298 rmfor...@comcast.net http://RMForAll.blogspot.com new primary archive [ at end of each long page, click on Older Posts ] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AstroDeep/messages http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rmforall/messages participant, Santa Fe Complex www.sfcomplex.org _______________________________________________
