I wrote: An observer there for the opening reported no such refractory shell (though >> might be under NDA). >> > > Can you elaborate on this detail? Is it a CMNS thing? >
I'm strongly inclined to think there's an inner cylinder that slides within the body of the reactor. Otherwise the diamond saw and the alumina refractory cement would have been used on the main body of the E-Cat, bypassing the area into which the thermocouple/bushing is inserted. Jones has also alluded to secret knowledge that there is an ampule (perhaps from Brian Ahern). Here's my current guess as to the structure of the E-Cat: - The outside shell is made of (possibly lightweight) sintered alumina. This includes the larger caps on either end, from which the cables emerge. - Beneath the sintered alumina shell are the parallel coils of Inconel cable. I'm leaning towards them being the dark lines in the picture, and they're dark because they're providing inductance heating rather than Joule heating. The cables surround an inner shell. - An inner shell of alumina (not aluminum) treated in the manner of the material shown in this page [1], so that, all else being equal, it provides an excellent barrier against the diffusion of hydrogen. This cylinder slides out, and the diamond saw and refractory cement used on it rather than the outside casing. Since it is ceramic, it will be transparent to magnetic fields. Since the refractory cement would be against the inner shell of alumina rather than a metal, I'm guessing the sealing will be better than between the cement and a metal. Also, since the shell is alumina and not a metal, I wonder whether it is potentially not all that heavy. Also, I'm guessing that alumina ceramic is more corrosion resistant than simple aluminum. Lots of unknowns. Eric [1] http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=3560
