That is what I concluded as well when I reread the article carefully. The small quantity tested would thus not represent a total sample in the analysis, so there is no way to ensure that all of the input nickel was converted into that single 62Ni isotope.
This fact leaves unanswered the question as to whether or not all of the input nickel was consumed and any discussion about the concern that the reaction was near its conclusion moot. We have no way of knowing whether or not the enhanced nickel is merely remaining on the surface of the ash sample or throughout its volume. IIRC the amount of material tested in the actual mass spectrometry instrument is extremely tiny. Remember how difficult it was to seperate out any significant amount of uranium isotopes during the Manhattan Project and you can appreciate how little would be obtained in a small scale test. For the above reasons I conclude that the mere fact that the metals on the surfaces are transformed to such a degree as being quite important. There remains hidden other possibilities within the bulk of the ash that may become exposed with further, time consuming analysis. I only hope that someone is pursuing this avenue in order for a thorough understanding of the reactions taking place. This energy source is of great importance and needs any amount of attention that can be directed towards its development. Ultimately, a clear understanding of exactly what is taking place within the fuel will be required. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Eric Walker <eric.wal...@gmail.com> To: vortex-l <vortex-l@eskimo.com> Sent: Sat, Oct 11, 2014 11:29 am Subject: Re: [Vo]:Pomp weighs in On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 8:52 PM, David Roberson <dlrober...@aol.com> wrote: I may have missed the paragraph that stated the amount of material that was taken from within the reactor as ash. Did they recover approximately the same amount as was put in? Approximately 1 gram of fuel was added at the start of the trial. At the end of the trial, one (and I think only one) of the experimenters was present to choose 10 mg from the spent fuel. From this smaller sample, they appear to have set aside two (or three?) grains of different shapes and compositions for analysis. Eric
