NOTES ON ROSSI DEVICE
[This was previously titled "What Rossi Says list") This list is not comprehensive. These are items I thought are significant. Sources are sometimes shown in parentheses after the item. SL = Shirakawa List, Focardi = Focardi radio interview, April 5, 2011 Some items are marked “CONTRADICTION” at the end, where two or more statements appear to contradict one another. To avoid confusion, the term “turn off” here refers to turning on or off the resistance heaters used to control the reactor. “Quench” means stop the reaction itself. There may be important comments in Italian in SL that I do not understand. Calorimetry is not addressed in detail here, since it has been discussed elsewhere. All statements by Rossi and Focardi are reported here, regardless of whether I or others suspect they may not be true. Questions from me are shown in square brackets. DEVICE CHARACTERISTICS The volume of the 15 kW reactor cell is about 1 liter. The smaller 4 kW reactor cell volume is ~50 ml. During the Feb. 10 test, the 15 kW reactor was operated for about 18 min. at ~130 kW. Smaller devices are safer to operate. The 1 MW (thermal) device will be made of many smaller ones ganged together. It was originally planned to be made up of ~130 10 kW units, where 30 were held in standby to replace or augment older ones as the power decreased. They now plan to use ~300 units. These cells (“modules” - Rossi) are designed to be connected in series and in parallel. (SL) Maintenance and operation is similar to that of a conventional boiler. (SL “normal boiler” comment) The minimum power of the e-Cat reactor unit is presently 2.5 kW, with the present design and engineering. Smaller units may be engineered in the future. These cells are made of stainless steel. In the mini-Rossi unit, the stainless steel cells are inside a larger copper pipe. Cooling water flows around the walls of the cell. The device does not produce gamma rays except for a slight increase over background (Rossi, SL) The device produced a large burst of gamma rays when it started up. (Celani) CONTRADICTION The device produces no radioactive nuclear ash. There may be intermediate radioactive products. “We are not able to know which instable atoms are produced DURING the operation of the reactor, but we can analyze the composition of the powders left AFTER the operations: in such powders we do not find instable elements.” (SL) The device requires 1-cm thick lead shielding, presumably for safety. DEVICE OPERATING PROCEDURES Minimal operating temperature is 400°C. (SL) The optimal operating temperature is 600°C. [RIGHT?] [WHAT IS THE PRESSURE?] The effect is triggered with resistance heaters. There are five in the 15 kW device. The reaction is modulated with the resistance heaters. The resistance heaters are high-powered trigger the reaction and then hours reduced to maintain it. The reaction can be made self-sustaining with the resistance heaters turned off. This was done in a preliminary test with U. Bologna professors. (SL) However, this mode is not recommended because it is unsafe and it is difficult to quench the reaction. There is a “risk of explosions” (SL). The device is inherently safe; “if you violate [safety rules] the reactor [quenches].” (SL) CONTRADICTION To ensure safety, Rossi prefers the control electronics be externally powered rather than powered by the device itself with a thermoelectric or a steam turbine generator. The input output ratio has been as high as 200 in recent tests; 80 W in 16 kW out, sustained, and it went over 1600 during the 130 kW burst. The ratio is “always over 6” (SL). (Footnote. I do not think the input/output ratio is meaningful for this device – Rothwell) The device will need maintenance and new nickel catalyst every six months. Picograms of Ni and H are consumed (SL) There are 100 g of nickel in the larger cell. There are “several milligrams” of Ni in the larger cell but “not all of the nickel in the reactor reacts.” (SL) [Could this mean nuclear active material?] The actual consumption to make 10 kW is about 0.1 g of nickel and 0.01 g of hydrogen per hour. This is the “mass of Ni that you need in the reactor” but not all of this actually reacts. “The efficiency is very low, due to the probabilistic issue.” (SL). The Ni lattice can be disrupted to a certain extent. (SL: “Does the integrity of the Ni lattice have to be maintained ? do damage, disruption, and melting impede the results? No, it is not necessary within certain limits.”) The effect can be quenched with the following methods: Where hydrogen is injected with electrolysis, stop electrolysis to cut off the supply of hydrogen. (Focardi) De-gas the cell. Inject N to displace the H. Increase the flow rate to cool the catalyst. (This may have to be done quickly, to induce a thermal shock – Rothwell) A small percentage (2% to 3%) of deuterium will quench the reaction. NICKEL CATALYST CHARACTERISTICS The catalyst consists of nickel and two other elements. The other elements are not copper, iron or a precious metal. It is not a gas inserted along with the H. The catalyst is not radioactive. The catalyst is not expensive. The catalyst is not Raney Nickel The additional element is not in gas phase. The Ni processing system increases the cost of Ni by ~10%. Much of the Ni transmutes to Cu during the reaction. The Cu has slightly unnatural isotopic ratios. (Rossi) The Cu ratios are natural. (Essen) CONTRADICTION Fe appears in the Ni catalyst whether from transmutation or contamination is not clear. The Ni isotopes in the starting material are enriched, by some revolutionary technique that costs little. (Rossi) “We use regular Ni, so the isotopic composition is the normal one.” (Rossi, SL) The Ni isotopes are normal, not enriched. (Essen) CONTRADICTION (Footnote. The Ni is called a “catalyst” but that may be a misnomer, since in other cold fusion system it is not used up. Rothwell) UNANSWERED QUESTIONS Rossi will not address the following issues: The identity of the two elements added to the nickel. Loading, or “ratio of hydrogen atoms to metal atoms” to reach the preferred operating level (SL) The reasons self-sustaining operation is difficult and dangerous "are very difficult to explain without violating my confidentiality restraints." “We give [no] information about what is in the reactor beside Ni, H” (SL) (Not true!) MISCELLANEOUS Assembling the cell and working with the nickel catalysts is dangerous and requires expertise. Rossi does not have a precise theory but he has empirical data. The only thing he knows for sure is the amount of mass loss per unit of energy. (SL) The RH meter in the Jan. 14 test was a Delta Ohm HD 37AB1347. Reader comment: “The sensor is based on capacitance, which should provide a good measure of the amount of water present.” (SL) Regarding the wet versus dry steam controversy in the Jan. 14 test: “When we run the reactor with water, not steam, the measured power is the same as when we produce steam and I deem this is the proof of the correct measurement made with steam. We made many tests with water and the operation with steam has just confirmed the same efficiency.” (SL) Not related to Mills. “My method and technology is not at all related with [Mills]. If you read my patent (go to http://www.journal-of-nuclear-physics.com and click on Patent) and the description of the method you mentioned, there is no relationship at all.” (SL)
