Bob,
Good analysis. Subnuclear binding energy is significantly higher than nuclear binding energy, in general. As we know, it takes many terawatts to show evidence of the Higgs boson. After that, we must bootstrap power into energy to make this happen. Fortunately – terawatt pulses are (or will be) available with moderately costly lasers. Here is a story on a 10 terawatt laser for the well-equipped garage lab … http://www.slashgear.com/10-terawatt-laser-fits-on-a-desktop-04300268/ You need high power to start things. After a high power laser pulse starts a reaction, the energy in play for the next round (for MMDD to work in this circumstance) – is limited to 24 MeV per incidence. That level is significant, but it may not be enough - without some kind of follow-on process, like a limited chain reaction, to add continuity. I’m trying to find further support for this alternative, but basically – if one can show that a 24 MeV photon can dislodge a quark in a situation where the strong force can be harnessed to do the rest, then maybe the concept will go somewhere. Otherwise – how do we explain the muons seen by Holmlid? My fear is that they are measurement error, but until that is determined, this suggestion of muon chain reaction –MMDD - is a an alternative to consider. From: Bob Higgins While this is interesting speculation, I have come to assess probabilities of of heretofore unknown reactions based inversely on binding energy. If we look at molecular binding energy, it is less than atomic binding. Nuclear binding energy is greater than atomic binding. Sub-nucleon binding would have to be even higher energy than nuclear. Between each of these, there seems to be a factor of somewhere between 10^3 and 10^6 in binding energy. With nuclear binding in the MeV range, sub-nucleon binding would be in the GeV-TeV range. These binding characteristics are part of the nature of the stable universe. So, to me, the probability of LENR being related to shenanigans in sub-nucleonic physics is something like 10^3-10^6 less likely than something happening in nuclear physics. With sub-nucleonic binding in the GeV-TeV range, how can something like a laser with photons in the eV range have an effect? On Mon, Oct 12, 2015 at 9:25 AM, Jones Beene <jone...@pacbell.net> wrote: MMPD .... Muon Mediated Deuteron Disintegration The work of Leif Holmlid and others has opened up the possibility of understanding what appears to be a new kind of nuclear reaction – a limited type of chain reaction which is not fusion nor fission. The result of this reaction is the complete disintegration of deuteron into quarks -- and then into muons. The continuing reaction is propagated and catalyzed by muons before they decay. Most of the net energy of the reaction is lost in the form of neutrinos, but the fraction which is thermalized is still significant. This nuclear reaction is dependent on the prior formation of a population of “ultra-dense deuterium” which is an isomer of hydrogen which forms as a 2D (two dimensional) layer on selected surfaces. The densification process has been recognized for many years and rigorously described in the important paper from 2009 of Nabil Lawandy entitled “Interactions of Charged Particles on Surfaces.” <http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/LawandyNMinteractio.pdf> www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/LawandyNMinteractio.pdf Individual deuterons are bosons which can occupy the same quantum state, so long as their electrons are delocalized. This delocalization of electrons is the key feature of ultra-dense deuterium, which becomes a condensate at elevated temperature, thus allowing this novel reaction. Upon application of a laser pulse which irradiates the condensate, a few muons will be emitted which then proceed as a limited chain-reaction to catalyze further reactions. In this reaction of relatively cold deuterons, gamma emission cannot proceed, and fusion to deuterium is suppressed in favor of complete disintegration of protons and neutrons into quarks. The excess energy which would normally be expressed as very energetic gammas is internalized to dislocate quarks from the bound state. Almost immediately, quarks decay into muons – which have a greatly increased lifetime (but still short) and muons are capable of catalyzing and propagating the further continuity of the reaction in a way reminiscent of nuclear fission of uranium (in which neutrons are the mediator). Most of the net energy of this reaction is lost to neutrino formation - but thermal gain is still possible. More details to follow… Jones