From: Bob Cook Ø
Ø Fran and Jones suggested that the source of the excess energy described by Holmlid is of a chemical origin (electronic potential chemical energy of dense hydrogen) and not nuclear potential energy long ago stored in the reactants. First part of answer: The Dynamical Casimir Effect was first observed in 2010. It is real, but that does not necessarily provide all the answers. The following is paraphrased from various sources. The basic concept for LENR, is that the electronic chemical energy of dense hydrogen, with mass-energy in the range of 630 eV per H atom, is created by DCE. One way this can happen is when SPP interact with a Casimir cavity or pit. The electron becomes delocalized and possibly relativistic. However, it is also demonstrated by Holmlid that dense hydrogen can produce strong nuclear or sub-nuclear gain in other circumstances, aside from chemistry. Whenever gamma radiation is seen in an experiment, it is a good indication of the “other circumstances”. The DCE modality only applies to gain from chemistry and electron manipulation. The soft x-rays are easy to miss. One of the predictions of modern quantum theory is that the vacuum of space is not empty. In fact, quantum theory predicts that it teems with virtual particles foaming in and out of existence. While initially a curiosity, it was quickly realized that vacuum fluctuations had measurable consequences, for instance producing the Lamb shift and modifying the magnetic moment for the electron… and in Casimir force. This type of renormalization due to vacuum fluctuations is now central to our understanding of nature….From early on, it was believed that it might be possible to more directly observe the virtual particles that compose the quantum vacuum, or convert them to real particles. 40 years ago, Moore suggested that a mirror undergoing relativistic motion could convert virtual photons into directly observable real photons. This effect was later named the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE)…. we have observed the DCE experimentally for the first time in 2011…. In addition to observing the creation of real photons, the discoverers found two-mode squeezing of the emitted radiation, which is a signature of the quantum character of the generation process. End of paraphrase. Ø Ø Is the assumption that the laser pre-conditioning of the materials in the Holmlid setup allowed the increase in potential energy of the reactants which then is later released as EM radiation and hence heat? Yes. Most likely there would be a multi-stage process where the laser (or another light source) creates SPPs over time, which then interact with hydrogen in a Casimir cavity of 2-12 nm in dimensions. As it turns out, Shell 105 catalyst is extraordinarily nanoporous. Like a zeolite, but ferromagnetic. Curiously, Holmlid fails to realize this porosity connection. The net effect is that the electron which once had ionization potential of 13.6 eV in the ground state has been boosted to 630 eV of binding energy by the DCE. This is an energy increase of about 46:1 per atom and it is chemical. But in effect, if the hydrogen does not escape, the energy which can be extracted by chemistry is endless (if the source is the quantum vacuum).
