Posted on 10/08/2014 11:12:32 AM PDT by toast
ABSTRACT
New results are presented from an extended experimental investigation of anomalous heat production in a special type of reactor tube operating at high temperatures. The reactor, named E-Cat, is charged with a small amount of hydrogen-loaded nickel powder plus some additives, mainly Lithium. The reaction is primarily initiated by heat from resistor coils around the reactor tube. Measurements of the radiated power from the reactor were performed with high-resolution thermal imaging cameras. The measurements of electrical power input were performed with a large bandwidth three-phase power analyzer. Data were collected during 32 days of running in March 2014. The reactor operating point was set to about 1260 ºC in the first half of the run, and at about 1400 °C in the second half. The measured energy balance between input and output heat yielded a COP factor of about 3.2 and 3.6 for the 1260 ºC and 1400 ºC runs, respectively. The total net energy obtained during the 32 days run was about 1.5 MWh. This amount of energy is far more than can be obtained from any known chemical sources in the small reactor volume.
A sample of the fuel was carefully examined with respect to its isotopic composition before the run and after the run, using several standard methods: XPS, EDS, SIMS, ICP-MS and ICP-AES. The isotope composition in Lithium and Nickel was found to agree with the natural composition before the run, while after the run it was found to have changed substantially. Nuclear reactions are therefore indicated to be present in the run process, which however is hard to reconcile with the fact that no radioactivity was detected outside the reactor during the run.
(Excerpt) Read more at sifferkoll.se ...
What does this mean for the laymen among us?
From the little that I understand, it seems to verify by a legitimate source, that LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reaction)is real. It releases more energy than can be explained by a simple chemical reaction and the isotopes that remain say it is nuclear in nature, but not with radiation or high energy particles like typical nuclear. A clean economical ‘new’ energy source?
It means that this stupid $4!+ is back!
There is still work to do on theory and engineering to maximize potential but LENR (cold fusion) is confirmed as a real energy source.
It means the snake-oil salesman Rossi is running low on funds and trying to squeeze a little more funding out of his flagship hoax.
In simplistic terms, what is the chemical conversion process? Does it make sense that it could be exothermic?
What did the lithium and nickel change into? Matter to energy?
The transmutation of such light elements (In this case, Nickel to Copper) is thought to be impossible without a stellar mass to heat and squeeze the elements together.
A pretty big deal, if true. It could open up an entire new branch of physics, provide a new source of energy (not renewable, but clean, cheap and plentiful), and change how we think about the universe that we live in.
Bologna University and the Stockholm Institute of Technology. Interesting. Those appear to be legit independent third parties.
I wonder why that might be?
I dunno. 1.5 MWh would do quite a bit more than that. Went to the paper - the organizations whose people did the study and wrote the paper appear to be legit independent third parties. Of corse, that does not rule out other shenanigans...
Good point.
It,s apparently tough to kick off and doesn’t,t burn fuel fast enough to generate much net energy.
Considering a thermal to electric efficiency of 40% (generous) the plant can sell only 44% more than the electricity put in. That is, they put in 1 megawatt hour into the reactor, they can generate 1 megawatt to go back into the reactor and 440 KW for sales distribution.
My only explanation for the long development time is that the mainstream science rejected it because it doesn’t fit any known nuclear model. This is the same mainstream science that says AGW is not open to debate. I will be reading up on Pons and Fleischmann from the original cold fusion days in the ‘70’s. Science is not supposed to be run like the Inquisition with non-believers discredited/disgraced by those in power.I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I don’t trust mainstream anything anymore.
I've been following this for many years. It initially seemed promising, but I'm jaded by lack of results. Ping me when they have a product which actually makes money in a commercial environment.
The "COP factor" is the ratio of output energy to input energy. The problem for e-Cat is that the input energy is electricity, the output is heat, and electricity is much more expensive than heat. They need to get a COP ratio of 10 or more to be economically viable.
If it is a viable source of energy a revolutionary product would have been introduced long ago.
You don't need the permission of "mainstream science" to build something that works. You just have to have a technology that works.
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