I recall an old phrase attributed to Sherlock Holmes along the lines of “Once
all of the probable answers have been proven wrong, then it must be the
improbable”. Someone among the vortex will correct my phrase and that is a
good thing. My wording is incorrect, but that is not the important issue.
I have come up with a hypothesis as to what might be occurring within the ECAT
core region design. Our resident experts in nuclear radiation have convinced
me that there is a limit placed upon the energy of any gammas which are
generated within the process due to shielding restraints. So I will take their
advice and assume that they have an excellent point. Since we know that the
ECAT really does generate excess energy, then this follows from that assumption.
First, gammas are not directly generated by the energy mechanism within the
core. Instead, beta particles are the product along with some inadvertent
heat. Mr. Rossi has suggested this process earlier in his paper describing the
initial work he shared with Dr. Focardi,
http://www.journal-of-nuclear-physics.com/files/Rossi-Focardi_paper.pdf. Now,
these beta particles have a great deal of energy and can penetrate into the
shield material where they deposit most of that energy as heat due to
collisions with the shield. After they have slowed down somewhat, they are
annihilated by combining with electrons within the shield. This process is the
one that generates the gamma radiation. My understanding is that two gammas
are the result of this action, each with an energy of 511 KeV. It so happens
that Wikipedia’s article on shielding claims that 2.2 cm of lead is required to
attenuate these to a safe level. That would make a lot of sense since Mr.
Rossi originally uses 2 cm but later has decided to use 5 cm for his shield.
The resulting gammas are converted to heat within the shield.
This suggested process relieves us from the original concern about the
dangerous levels of gamma radiation. Here we allow a low penetration particle
to carry the dangerous high levels of heat and yet we still have a moderate
flux of gammas to shield, explaining the need for the awkward lead anchor.
I am not very familiar with beta decay so I request that someone within the
vortex assist me in figuring out the required beta flux and then whether or not
this solution will safely absorb the gamma rays released.
Consider the following concept and comment as you will. I am not a nuclear
physicist and am immune to being told that I am entirely out line with my
unusual ideas. I do not have tenure and will not lose my position because I do
not tow the proper path of well known processes. Does anyone know of what I
will call a “Beta Battery”? This is a new idea to me although it seems simple
and I would assume that it is already well understood within the world of
physics. Here is how I presume it would function.
First, you need a source of high energy beta particles which the ECAT seems to
produce in large numbers. I would suggest one is emitted per nuclear reaction.
Next, an electrical insulator is placed around the reaction chamber. This
material needs to have a very large breakdown voltage yet passes the betas
freely. The betas penetrate through the insulator and then slam into the
shield material. After they slow down due to collisions within the shield,
they become annihilated by a nearby electron. We find that a negative charge
is left behind within the core region and an equal positive charge is stored
within the shield.
This charge distribution will continue to build up until the electric field is
allowed to do one of the following. It can either become large enough to break
down the insulator or we can supply a conductive path through our desired load
and allow the charges to equalize. Herein lays the beauty of the process. I
would assume that the effective open circuit voltage source would be
approximately at the breakdown voltage of the insulator. The short circuit
current available is defined by the number of nuclear reactions per second at
one electron charge per reaction. I am planning to calculate this value as
soon as I get the opportunity but was hoping that one of our group will save me
the difficulty. We may have the conversion process that converts a portion of
the ECAT output directly into DC power. It is time to determine exactly how
much DC power is available for us to use.
An additional concept arises as I explore the implications of the Beta Battery
concept. Might this mechanism have another function associated with the
operation of the ECAT core itself? I am confident that a significant DC
current is generated by the beta decay-metal absorption process which I will
quantify as time allows. This large current must return to the nickel-hydrogen
mix even if there is no insulator available. It should appear as an electron
current leaving the active beta generation regions and finally meeting the
equal positive charge originating within the conductive metal shield. Take a
moment to give this serious consideration. Two interesting possibilities
immediately come to mind. First, an electric field is generated within the
active material that may enhance the reaction. Earlier research has shown that
externally applied fields seem to modify cell behavior. Could this be the
effect showing up in the ECAT? Second, the potentially large DC current
passing through the active zones seems to be reminiscent of the DC current
required to activate the electrolysis cells of the original design. Could this
be just a coincidence?
I am hoping that the vortex will supply some of the incredible knowledge that I
need to explain these proposed mechanisms in details. There is a lot to
analyze and together we might be able to solve some of the interesting
questions that the ECAT reveals for us.
Dave
