One observation that I'm noting in reviewing the data is the remarkably complete conversion of nickel isotopes to Ni68, (from 3.9% in the starting fuel to 98.7% in the ash) and the corresponding nearly-complete transition of lithium-6 from 8.6% fuel to 92.1% ash abundance ratios. Given that the ash sample was taken at an arbitrarily-defined time point, which happened while the operating conditions of the reaction were stable, if not improving, then I believe this indicates that the reaction is a cyclic one, which decays to the measured ash isotope ratios while the reaction is stopping.
If the reaction were based on a linear consumption of reactants, then it would be truly miraculous to have stopped the reaction and sampled the ash just when Nickel-68 had reached 98.7 enrichment. Given that there was no trending reduction in the output power prior to the ash sampling, I think this clearly indicates that we were not approaching the depletion point of the reactants, and that the heat must be produced as part of a durable cycle. This could indicate a much, much longer-lasting fuel charge is possible than the 6 months figure which has been floating around without apparent basis-in-fact. -Bob Ellefson
