The flashes of light that emit a puff of smoke may be occurring somewhat like you describe. The fact that they are located only in the vicinity of the negative supply connected nickel suggests that hydrogen is also a factor or perhaps the emission of electrons from that electrode is important. I agree that the bubbles are envolved as they are causing the voltage to vary significantly during this event. I also wonder if sparks due to the large electric field across the bubbles are igniting hydrogen in the area?
I suppose the puffs of smoke could have been condensed water vapor. It was evident that the cell content was boiling vigorously between the electrodes during that episode and a far smaller quantity of vapor was always being emitted due to the high liquid temperature. Perhaps small hydrogen explosions suppled enough energy to make the big puffs. The sparks that are of short duration and not directly associated with the flashes behave in a different manner. These tiny events appear to radiate away from the nickel or thick white deposit extremely rapidly and in a straight line. They have the appearance of being shot from a point on the surface outward. If I recall, they look as if they were traveling one to two inches before becoming invisible. When I saw a group of them synchronized it reminded me of the science fiction films of wild time machine emissions. In this strange case they originate in several different locations and travel is random directions. Each one moves independent of the others but synchronized very closely in time. On a few occasions I noticed that there appeared to be a single tiny region typically along one edge of the nickel from which a series of the short duration sparks would originate. These sparks would shoot out in a straight line away from the active region while each one headed in a semi random direction. Here I use the word semi random because they tended to head outward within a cone shaped pattern of perhaps 45 degrees span. During these bursts of sparks I became concerned as it looked like a flame would originate from there. A volcano erruption of hot cinders from its crater is somewhat similar in appearance. This behavior is quite difficult to put into words and I apologize for my poor description! You should perform a similar experiment if you want to add a small dose of excitement to your day. I am not sure of exactly what is occurring at this time but I suspect that it is of a chemical nature. If it is an LENR effect, then everyone should be able to experience it as it happens with regularity. (Poor Dave mumbles to himself as he experiences a short period of brain death due to his attempt to describe the indescribable.) Dave -----Original Message----- From: Jeff Berkowitz <pdx...@gmail.com> To: vortex-l <vortex-l@eskimo.com> Sent: Thu, Oct 18, 2012 12:24 am Subject: Re: [Vo]:New Experiment Started It's possible that as the electrolyte evaporates, and there is not sufficient electrolyte to make a fully-immersed path from anode to cathode (you'll have to confirm that), there are moments when the liquid withdraws from point(s) on one of the electrodes - because of the tendency of water to form minimum-area surfaces due to surface tension, for example. At this moment, even a relatively low voltage might be enough to arc across the tiny, just-formed air gap between the exposed cathode and the withdrawing electrolyte. The arc would be visible as a tiny spark. The spark could vaporize a tiny bit of the withdrawing water, and the conductivity of the microscopic puff of steam could kill the arc a moment later. This effect could occur repeatedly and rapidly. Jeff On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 10:14 AM, David Roberson <dlrober...@aol.com> wrote: It would be nearly impossible to catch the spark in the act with single frame photography since the duration is so short. I am confident that anyone could get similar results if they use sodium carbonate along with a supply like I am using. All they need do is dissolve plenty of the carbonate in the bath and allow the water to vaporize. It happens on every experiment now, even with new nickels. During certain spark events I see two or three sparks appear simultaneously at different locations around and upon the nickel attached to the negative supply terminal. This reminds me of lightning streamers. Many times the flash appears to be underneath the thick white deposit that coats most of the test nickel. I do not recall ever seeing a spark or flash at the other nickel and they are both coated and separated by a distance of about 1 to 1.5 inches. I am not sure what the sparks represent, but the fact that it can be obtained so easily leads me to believe that it is most likely not LENR related. My suspicion is that this is some chemical reaction that occurs as a result of intense heating at the point where the released electrical energy is focused. Could it be the result of a plasma reaction within the hydrogen gas and carbonate? I have added water after the sparking phenomena finally concludes and the thick nickel deposits dissolve back into the solution. There is no additional sparking after these deposits are gone and the bath level increased. On occasion, I have seen a long burst of sparking from the edge of the test nickel when water has just been added to the bath but before the deposit has started to dissolve. On a couple of occasions, I was afraid a fire would begin at the point of intense spark emission. Fortunately, this never lasts for a significant length of time. The sparking and flashing phenomena continues to occur within the same experimental setup after the freshly added water has vaporized again. I performed this test several times, each taking a couple of hours. The main clue I detect is that the sparks are always associated with the negative connected nickel which should be emitting hydrogen gas. For this reason, I suspect that the gas may become ignited by some high intensity of heat or local electrical spark or plasma due to the high open circuit voltage of my supply. The vapor that often arises during the bright flashes has a strong odor but dissipates quickly. I hope that this description of my observations is helpful. I can go into more details if you wish. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Teslaalset <robbiehobbiesh...@gmail.com> To: vortex-l <vortex-l@eskimo.com> Sent: Wed, Oct 17, 2012 3:56 am Subject: Re: [Vo]:New Experiment Started Dave, can you take some pictures and post? On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 8:26 AM, David Roberson <dlrober...@aol.com> wrote: > Eric, I am running 3 amps of DC through my system. The sparks occur when > the electrolyte is getting low, deposits are collecting on both nickels, and > the supply voltage is varying a lot. I would guess that I am getting a > couple of amps per square cm due to the deposits covering nickel area and > many large bubbles as the electrolyte is boiling. > > There are sparks and bright yellow looking flashes that are very near or on > the negative terminal connected nickel. I also see puffs of smoke rising > after a large flash. These displays are quite interesting to watch. > > My supply most likely has a large capacitor connected across its output > since I found that the two nickels will stick together with a bright flash > if I allow them to touch when out of the cell. I wonder if the excess burst > of energy due to capacitor discharge is evolved in the activity. > > This behavior appears every time I allow the electrolyte to boil until the > cell is almost dry. > > Dave > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Eric Walker <eric.wal...@gmail.com> > To: vortex-l <vortex-l@eskimo.com> > Sent: Tue, Oct 16, 2012 11:43 pm > Subject: Re: [Vo]:New Experiment Started > > On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 4:35 PM, David Roberson <dlrober...@aol.com> wrote: > >> I finally obtained a safe alternative that is working at the moment. I am >> getting sparks and all. Thanks for the idea. > > > Does anyone know if sparks are common? What is the amperage per cm^2? > > Eric >
