reactive gas micro and nano bubbles complicate Widom-Larsen theory re electrolytic cells -- metal isotope anomalies in 'water tree' corrosion of polyethylene insulation power cable, T Kumazawa et al 2005 -- 2008 Japan: Rich Murray 2011.06.02
Last year I sent some long posts to Abd Lomax and Ed Storms about recent mainstream research on micro and nano bubbles in electrolytes, which are common on all size scales, and can be H2, O2, N2, Cl2... I and Ludvik Kowalsky also posted that in the SPAWAR DPd codeposition runs, when an external DC 6 KV electric field was across the 2 cm wide square cross-section cell with 1 mm thick clear plastic walls, ordinary electrostatics will cause the entire charge to be across the two thin walls, and zero within the electrolyte -- however microamps of leakage current will result in complex low voltage currents within the electrolyte, its components, and all surfaces. Widom and Larsen have cited deterioration of plastic insulation on underground power cables, fractal "water trees", eventually shorting out the cable with conducting tree-like filaments, so it is reasonable to suspect similar processes in the 1 mm clear plastic at 6 KV. Resulting complex leakage currents will variably produce micro and nano bubbles of O2 and H2, which can react by collision within the electrolyte, or by being drawn together on various surfaces, or into cracks, voids, or tiny filaments, or by O2 bubbles, attached to the surface, reacting with H that has been loaded as much as 1 to 1 ratio within the Pd lattice surface. It is easy to calculate that the H2 with O2 bubble reactions will release enough energy to melt and vaporize about the same volume of Pd as the reacting bubbles -- so this is a reasonable probability that has to be included in any theory that explains the puzzling, complex micropits that are observed in many different experiments. The chemical reaction of H2 and O2 is very high, so it is reasonable to see that, atom for atom, the weaker covalent bonding that keeps Pd solid would be overcome for more atoms of Pd than the reacting atoms of H and O. In the range of bubble sizes from micro to nano, the mean free path of the resulting hot, energetic, possibly ionized H2O molecules will be larger than the bubbles, indicating that the reaction will be very fast, ie, explosive. Impurities on and within surfaces will catalyze the gas reactions, and local high electric fields on sharp nano features and from external EM radiation and surface plasmons will also affect the reactions. All possible gases have to be considered, including N2, Cl2, CO, C02, O3, hydrocarbons, plastic components, and vaporized metals. So, this adds major, complex unknown possibilities to Widom-Larsen theory and any attempts to test its predictions and interpretations. All this will increase with time for a cell -- fractal deterioration of the plastic cell walls, increased leakage currents, increasing chemical and micro and nano particle complexity of the electrolyte, evolving fractal erosion and deposition to all surfaces within the cell, more dust and gases possibly coming into the cell from air leaks -- so the phenomena within the cell will always be changing, and sometimes discontinuously. Varying the prior exposure of the clear plastic walls to UV or various penetrating radiations, and to reactive chemicals, or making the plastic surface rougher, changing the DC voltage, pulsing the DC voltage, or using AC at many frequencies would necessitate extensive experimental grunt work. I imagine turning 16 Mpx video chips into myriad low-cost cells by plating them with, say, Pd or Ni, adding an insulating grid of SiO2 to make a huge array of very thin nanocells, adding an electrolyte, capping the array with a transparent conducting thin film, which would be the anode -- then the time, location, and energy of any nano reactions can be read out real time from the video array, while a camera can record and store images of the whole array, zeroing in on hotspots to record UV to IR, while any emitted radiations can be detected. Many variables could be studied simultaneously, by varying them systematically for each nano cell in the array. This would enable the kind of specific precision measurements that allow theories to be tested with well defined setups that catch specific events in time and space. Successful setups can be shared for replication by different labs. "...After extensive analysis, it was determined that a significant number of such cable failures were caused by structural 'defects' that 'grew' over time in XPLE sheathing after in-ground installation. Such defects came to be known in the electric utility business as "water trees." These so-called water (or electrochemical) trees are complex, branching 3-D dendritic structures that grow outward from conductor-XLPE interfaces in hydrophobic polymers in the presence of electric fields and water... ...Further investigation over the past 5 years now suggests that 'contaminants' in water trees were not present anywhere in the cables prior to being buried underground and used to carry electric power. In 2005 and 2008, Kumazawa et al. of Chubu Electric Power Co., Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable Co., Ltd., and Osaka Prefecture University reported experimental detection of nuclear transmutation products in water trees in excellent papers published in the refereed Wiley InterScience journal, Electrical Engineering in Japan." http://newenergytimes.com/v2/sr/WL/slides/2010July16LatticeEnergySlides.pdf #8 - July 16, 2010 - 68 pages Low Energy Neutron Reactions (LENRs) in Advanced Batteries and Other Condensed Matter Environments. Li-Ion Battery Fires. Early LENR transmutation experimentsin 1920s. High-current exploding wires. slide 50 Unexpected degradation/failure of underground power cables During the mid-1960s, a number of different electrical equipment manufacturers developed technology for producing durable underground AC or DC (copper or aluminum as the conductor) power cables carrying up to 450 kV using cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) that replaced layers of paper-oil for insulation. When widespread global deployment of such power cables began in the mid-1970s, it was widely believed they might enjoy trouble-free in-ground lifetimes of at least 40 - 50 years before experiencing significant rates of failure. Much to everyone's surprise, unexpectedly high rates of premature cable failures began to appear worldwide by the mid-1980s. This is can be an expensive problem for utilities with large deployments of underground cable within their grids, particularly in case of high-current, high voltage underground cables (up to 450 kV) used in many countries such as Japan. Unexpected service disruptions and expenses associated with digging-up and repairing failed high-capacity underground power cables is an issue for many electric utilities scattered around the world. After extensive analysis, it was determined that a significant number of such cable failures were caused by structural 'defects' that 'grew' over time in XPLE sheathing after in-ground installation. Such defects came to be known in the electric utility business as "water trees." These so-called water (or electrochemical) trees are complex, branching 3-D dendritic structures that grow outward from conductor-XLPE interfaces in hydrophobic polymers in the presence of electric fields and water. Evidence indicates that in damaged regions of XLPE sheaths, water trees consist of random 'tracks' of oxidized polymer that interconnect a series of microvoids. The greater the density of such microvoids in XLPE sheathing, the greater the likelihood that water trees, once formed, will continue to grow and connect, eventually causing significant degradation of XLPE insulation's effectiveness and eventually, potentially catastrophic cable failure. Until very recently, specifics of the conditions under which water trees form and grow in XLPE cables, as well as the physico-chemical mechanisms underlying such phenomena, were something of a mystery. Early work on failed cables determined that a variety of different anomalous 'contaminants' were present in and around water trees. This was initially thought to result from problems with either quality control in the XLPE chemical manufacturing process and/or in the bonding chemistry at the interface between the XLPE and the metallic conductive cable (copper or aluminum). Oddly, additional study appeared to rule-out those possibilities as the source of the anomalous 'contaminants' associated with water trees. Further investigation over the past 5 years now suggests that 'contaminants' in water trees were not present anywhere in the cables prior to being buried underground and used to carry electric power. In 2005 and 2008, Kumazawa et al. of Chubu Electric Power Co., Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable Co., Ltd., and Osaka Prefecture University reported experimental detection of nuclear transmutation products in water trees in excellent papers published in the refereed Wiley InterScience journal, Electrical Engineering in Japan. "...Furthermore, the isotopic content of Zn deviated over 6% from natural abundance. These results suggest that water tree propagation is related to unknown physical or electrochemical reactions." slide 51 Important Japanese experiments help unravel mystery - 1 Reference: T. Kumazawa 1, W. Nakagawa 2, and H. Tsurumaru 2, "A Study on Behavior of Inorganic Impurities in Water Tree,“ Electrical Engineering in Japan 153, No. 2, 2005 Translated from Denki Gakkai Ronbunshi, Vol. 124-A, No. 9, September 2004, pp. 827–836 1 Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., Japan 2 Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable Co., Ltd., Japan Abstract: "It is well known that water tree propagation in XLPE cable is significantly influenced by inorganic impurities in water. Therefore, we investigated both changes in concentration and deviation of isotopic content of inorganic elements in XLPE samples by water tree experiments in a clean [room] environment. The concentration of several kinds of elements (e.g., Li, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Bi) in water-tree sample showed anomalous increase or decrease dependent on cation (K+, Na+, or Ag+) in water solution compared with blank or original samples. Furthermore, the isotopic content of Zn deviated over 6% from natural abundance. These results suggest that water tree propagation is related to unknown physical or electrochemical reactions." 'Clean room' - sample contamination not a significant issue: Please note that Kumazawa et al.'s carefully controlled laboratory experiments with 'water trees' described in this reference were conducted under rigorous electronic 'clean room' conditions, so contamination from outside sources is not a problematic issue in their mass spectroscopy measurements, that is, their detection of LENR nuclear transmutation products in and around the "water trees" growing inside the XLPE power cable insulation in their experiments. Quoting directly from their 2005 paper: "Various models have been proposed regarding the mechanism by which water trees, an important form of deterioration in XLPE cable, are created and propagated. Initially, theories which modeled the physical breakdown mechanism of XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) based on Maxwell stress and dielectrophoresis in the concentric field were frequently seen. ... On the other hand, because no general correlation has been seen between the development of water trees and oxidation products, there have also been reports suggesting an unknown chemical reaction that XLPE, oxygen, or ions participate in. Given this background, the authors attempted to discover experimentally whether or not an unknown breakdown mechanism could exist separate from conventional ideas. The focus of this attempt is impurities frequently detected in regions with water tree deterioration. In particular, inorganic elements (metallic ions) are known to participate significantly in the occurrence and development of water trees. This is thought to suggest that an important message for understanding the key to this mechanism is hidden in these 'traces.' Thus, the authors generate water trees in XLPE samples in as clean an environment as possible, and then explore in detail the concentration of inorganic elements and the changes to their isotopic content present in the samples … the authors discuss the source and features of these variable elements." http://www.iscmns.org/iccf14/ProcICCF14b.pdf Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Condensed Matter Nuclear Science and the 14th International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF-14) 10-15 August 2008 Washington DC Volume 2 General Editors: David J. Nagel and Michael E. Melich Theory Editors: Rodney W. Johnson and Scott R. Chubb Copy Editor: Jed Rothwell ISBN: 978-0-578-06694-3 482 The “water tree” in the title of the paper by Hideo Kozima and Hiroshi Date (17) is a micron-scale defect, filled with electrolyte, which forms in polyethylene subjected to intense electric fields and has been implicated in failures of polyethylene-insulated power lines. The authors propose an explanation for observations by T. Kumazawa et al. that suggest various transmutations associated with the formation of water trees. The explanation is based on the authors’ “neutron-drop model,” developed in earlier work, which hypothesized the existence of a "dense neutron liquid at boundary / surface regions of . . . crystals" that contains "neutron drops," denoted A ZΔ, having Z protons, Z electrons, and (A − Z) neutrons. The transmutations in question could be attributed to absorption by a nucleus of a neutron, with or without subsequent beta-decay, or to absorption of a 4 2d or an 8 4d 618-622 Nuclear Transmutations in Polyethylene (XLPE) Films and Water Tree Generation in Them Hideo Kozima and Hiroshi Date* Cold Fusion Research Laboratory ( hjrfq...@ybb.ne.jp ) 597-16 Yatsu, Aoi, Shizuoka, 421-1202, Japan *Recruit R&D Staffing Co., Ltd. Abstract An explanation of the nuclear transmutation (NT) observed in XLPE (crosslinked polyethylene) films is presented based on the neutron-drop model used in the theoretical investigation of the cold fusion phenomenon in other cold fusion materials (CF materials); transition-metal hydrides/deuterides. The NT’s, K -> Ca, Mg -> Al, 56 26Fe -> 57 26Fe and Fe -> Ni, are explained by a single-neutron absorption with or without a succeeding beta-decay to get final nuclides On the other hand, the NT’s, 56 26Fe -> 64 30Zn and 56 26Fe -> 60 28Ni, are explained by an absorption of a neutron drop 8 4d and 4 2d, respectively, in the cf-matter formed in CF materials. Production of extraordinary elements Li, Pb and Bi is discussed from our point of view. Thus, we concluded that the generation of water trees in XLPE samples is caused by nuclear reactions induced by cold fusion phenomenon at around spherulites. The NT found in XLPE may have a relation with the NT’s found in biological bodies (biotransmutation). 1. Introduction We have tried to explain the wide-spread experimental facts in the cold fusion phenomenon (CFP) from a unified point of view using a phenomenological models, the trapped neutron catalyzed fusion model (TNCF model) at first [1] and then the neutron-drop model (ND model), a generalized version of the former [2]. It should be remembered here that the development of the model demands an explanation for NT’s with large changes of the nucleon and proton numbers observed in the CFP. In the process of verification of the basic premises of these successful models, we have developed a quantal investigation of the CF materials such as transition metal hydrides/deuterides composed of a host lattice of transition metals and interlaced lattice of interstitial protons/deuterons [3]. It was shown that it is possible for cf-matter to exist when it is composed of neutron drops A Zd with Z protons, Z electrons and (A – Z) neutrons in a dense neutron liquid at boundary /surface regions of the crystals. Recently, Kumazawa et al. [4, 5] observed the nuclear transmutation (NT) in XLPE (closslinked polyethylene) including water trees, and then detected weak mission of gamma or X-rays from similar samples [6]. Their results show, generally speaking, that water trees are formed macroscopically at boundaries of XLPE samples and microscopically at amorphous portions of the sample among spherulites composed of crystalline lamellae. Use of heavy water instead of light water did not show any positive effect on the occurrence of NT [5] The NT observed in the XLPE films by Kumazawa et al. [4–6] has characteristics in common with CF materials as a part of the CFP. Therefore, it is natural to apply the same model (TNCF model) [1, 2] to explain the NT in XLPE that successfully explained the NT in the CF materials [3]. 2. Experimental Facts about Water Tree in Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE) We give an explanation of characteristics of the experimental data sets obtained by Kumazawa et al. [4 -- 6] in this section. 2.1 Summary of Experimental Data Sets obtained by Kumazawa et al. We can summarize the experimental results obtained by Kumazawa et al. [4--6] as follows: In the experiments, a XLPE (cross-linked polyethylene) sheet 0.5 mm thick was used. Au was deposited as a ground electrode onto the bottom surface of the sample. Then, the sample was dipped in aqueous solutions of electrolytes (a) KCl, (b) NaCl and (c) AgNO3 to make the Blank samples. The Blank samples were placed in the aqueous solutions, and electric fields with high -frequency (2.4–3.0 kHz) and high-voltage (3.0 – 4.0 kV/mm) were applied between the voltage application wire above the sample and the ground electrode for 140 -- 320 hours to obtain "the samples after voltage application" (let us call them the Experimental samples, for simplicity). Quantitative analysis of elements were performed for (I) the Original, (II) the Blank and (III) the Experimental samples for three electrolytes (a) KCl, (b) NaCl and (c) AgNO3. In the case (c), there are no data on the blank samples but data on the two distinct regions selected visually (i) with water trees and (ii) without water trees. Characteristics in the changes of elements from (I) the Original to (II) the Blank and (III) the Experimental samples were summarized as follows: In case (a) (KCl), (1) K decreased and Ca increased, (2) 56 Fe decreased and 57 Fe increased, (3) 64 Zn increased while other isotopes of Zn decreased. In case (b) (NaCl), (4) Mg decreased and Al increased in which the gross weight of the two elements was hardly different compared to the Blank or the Original samples. In case (c) (AgNO3), (5) Fe decreased and Ni increased, (6) New elements Li, Na, Pb and Bi were detected, and (7) There are changes of elements in both regions with and without water trees. Furthermore, there are interesting features of the blank samples (II) in case (a); (8) In Blank samples, Mg and Ca are increased from those in the Original one while Fe is decreased. In their second paper, [5] Kumazawa et al. reported detection of weak and burst-like radiation, which they assumed was low energy gamma or X-rays. In the CFP, there are a few observations of gamma and X-rays but they are peripheral (cf. Section 6.3 of [1] for the data of gamma ray observation). We concentrate our investigation in this paper to the data reported in the first paper [4]. 3. Explanation of Nuclear Transmutation in XLPE by the TNCF Model 3.1 Microscopic Structure of Polyethylene (PE), Lamella and Spherulites in XLPE The lengths of the C-C and C-H bonds of PE are estimated as 1.54 and 1.09A, respectively. The carbon chain is composed of tetrahedrally connected carbons with an angle between two C-C bonds of 109.5 degree. A lamella has a lattice structure with ordered carbon nuclei (lattice nuclei) interlaced with ordered protons even when the structure is not so simple, as in the case of transition-metal hydrides/deuterides. The size of spherulites, crystal components of solid polyethylene, also depends on conditions in which the sample is produced and ranges from ~1 um to ~1 mm, in general. The ratio of portions occupied by crystalline component and amorphous component of a solid PE sample depends also on the conditions. 3.2 Cold Fusion (CF) Matter in XLPE It is natural to investigate nuclear transmutations observed in XLPE with the same phenomenological approach as that used to analyze the CFP observed in transition-metal hydrides/deuterides as a first step. We have to notice common factors in transition-metal hydrides/deuterides and XLPE if we take the point of view explained above. First of all, (1) there are crystalline structures of host and hydrogen isotopes in both cases. Second, (2) the reaction products of nuclear transmutations were found localized in boundary or surface regions of crystalline structure in both cases. Third, (3) the neutron affinity we have defined to specify responsibility of nuclides for the CFP [1, 2] is positive (favorable for the CFP) for C (2.22 MeV for 6 12C) in XLPE and Ti (0.602 for 22 48Ti, for instance), Ni (4.80 for 28 58Ni), Pd (2.097 for 46 105Pd) in transition-metal hydrides/deuterides. Lattice constants of CF materials are tabulated in Table 1. Table 1. Lattice constants of host nuclides lattices Host nuclides Lattice constants (Å) Ti (hcp) a = 2.95, c = 4.792 Ni (fcc) a = 3.52 Pd (fcc) a = 3.89 XLPE (orthorhombic) a = 7.40, b = 4.93, c = 2.53621 >From our point of view, the super-nuclear interaction between neutrons mediated by protons/deuterons in lattice nuclei (carbon in the case of XLPE), cross-linking in XLPE is decisive; cross-linking protons (covalent bonded to two carbon atoms) mediate the interaction of neutrons in carbon nuclei 12 6C on adjacent PE chains. 3.3 Explanation of Nuclear Transmutation in XLPE where observed Water Trees (1) Decrease of K and increase of Ca in the case (a) are explained by such a reaction in the solids by absorption of a neutron followed by beta decay with a liberated energy dE = 1.31 MeV; n + 39 19K → 40 20K* → 40 20Ca + e- + νe, (anK39 = 2.10 b) (3-1) where νe is an electron neutrino. As a measure of the reaction cross-section in solids we cited the value in free space in the parenthesis behind the equation. (2) Decrease of 56 26Fe and increase of 57 26Fe in the case (a) are similarly explained but without beta decay due to the stability of 57 26Fe with an energy Q = 1.15 keV transferred to the lattice system instead of gamma ray emission in free space; n + 56 26Fe → 57 26Fe + Q. (anFe56 = 2.81 b) (3-2) (3) Increase of 64 30Zn and decrease of 66 30Zn, 67 30Zn and 68 30Zn in the case (a) are explained by using the neutron drop A Zd, for example; 56 26Fe + 8 4d → 64 30Zn. (3-3) The decrease in other isotopes may be explained by nuclear reactions to transform them into other elements but its details are left for another work. (4) Increase of Al and decrease of Mg in the case (b) are explained by reactions similar to (3-2) with Q = 7.08 MeV and Q' = 12.11 MeV and a reaction similar to (3-1) with dE = 2.61 MeV. n + 24 12Mg → 25 12Mg + Q. (anMg24 = 0.05 b) n + 25 12Mg → 26 12Mg + Q'. (anMg25 = 0.19 b) n + 26 12Mg → 27 12Mg* → 27 13Al + e- + νe. (anMg26 = 0.04 b) (5) Decrease of Fe and increase of Ni in the case (c) are explained similarly with use of the neutron drop, for example; 56 26Fe + 4 2d → 60 28Ni. Thus, we may imagine the following scenario of growth of a water tree: (i) a NT of impurity nuclides occurs at a boundary region heating there by a liberated energy, (ii) a seed of a water tree is induced by the liberated energy, and (iii) the applied high-frequency electric field makes the water tree grow. The NT’s in phenanthrene [7] may have close relation with that in XLPE discussed in this paper. Acknowledgement The authors would like to express their thanks to Hiroshi Yamada of Iwate University and Takao Kumazawa of Chubu Electric Power Co. for their valuable discussions on the work by Kumazawa et al. This work is supported by a grant from the New York Community Trust. References 1. H. Kozima, Discovery of the Cold Fusion Phenomenon -- Evolution of the Solid State Nuclear Physics and the Energy Crisis in 21st Century, Ohtake Shuppan KK., Tokyo, Japan, 1998. ISBN 4-87186-044-2 (S10.1 Bio- transmutation) 2. H. Kozima, The Science of the Cold Fusion Phenomenon, Elsevier Science, 2006. ISBN-10: 0-08-045110-1. 3. H. Kozima, "Physics of the Cold Fusion Phenomenon" Proc. ICCF13 (2007, to be published). 4. T. Kumazawa, W. Nakagawa and H. Tsurumaru, "A Study on Behavior of Inorganic Impurities in Water Tree" Electrical Engineering in Japan 153, 1 – 13 (2005). (Experiment with Light Water) 5. T. Kumazawa, W. Nakagawa and H. Tsurumaru, "Experimental Study on Behavior of Bow-tie Tree Generation by Using Heavy Water" (in Japanese) IEEJ Trans. FM, 126, 863 -- 868 (2006). (Experiment with Heavy Water) 6. T. Kumazawa and R. Taniguchi, "Detection of Weak Radiation Involving Generation and Progress of Water Tree" (in Japanese) IEEJ Trans. FM, 127, 89 -- 96 (2007). (Experiment with Light Soft and Hard Waters) 7. T. Mizuno, K. Kurokawa, K. Azumi, S. Sawada and H. Kozima, "Heat Generation during Hydrogenation of Carbon (Phenanthrene)", Proc. ICCF14 (to be published).
