Posted on 03/07/2013 12:03:20 PM PST by Kevmo
Nuclear processes in solids: basic 2nd-order processes
P´eter K´alm´an∗ and Tam´as Keszthelyi
Budapest University of Technology and Economics,
Institute of Physics, Budafoki ´ut 8. F., H-1521 Budapest, Hungary
(Date textdate; Received textdate; Revised textdate; Accepted textdate; Published textdate)
Abstract
Nuclear processes in solid environment are investigated. It is shown that if a slow, quasi-free
heavy particle of positive charge interacts with a ”free” electron of a metallic host, it can obtain
such a great magnitude of momentum in its intermediate state that the probability of its nuclear
reaction with an other positively charged, slow, heavy particle can significantly increase. It is also
shown that if a quasi-free heavy particle of positive charge of intermediately low energy interacts
with a heavy particle of positive charge of the solid host, it can obtain much greater momentum
relative to the former case in the intermediate state and consequently, the probability of a nuclear
reaction with a positively charged, heavy particle can even more increase. This mechanism opens
the door to a great variety of nuclear processes which up till know are thought to have negligible
rate at low energies. Low energy nuclear reactions allowed by the Coulomb assistance of heavy
charged particles is partly overviewed. Nuclear pd and dd reactions are investigated numerically.
It was found that the leading channel in all the discussed charged particle assisted dd reactions is
the electron assisted d + d → 4He process.
PACS numbers: 25.70.Jj, 25.45.-z, 25.40.-h
Keywords: fusion and fusion-fission reactions, 2H-induced nuclear reactions, nucleon induced reactions
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VI. SUMMARY
It is found that, contrary to the commonly accepted opinion, in a solid metal surrounding
nuclear reactions can happen between heavy, charged particles of like (positive) charge of
low initial energy. It is recognized, that one of the participant particles of a nuclear reaction
of low initial energy may pick up great momentum in a Coulomb scattering process on a
free, third particle of the surroundings. The virtually acquired great momentum, that is
determined by the energy of the reaction, can help to overcome the hindering Coulomb
barrier and can highly increase the rate of the nuclear reaction even in cases when the rate
would be otherwise negligible. It is found that the electron assisted d + d → 4He process
has the leading rate. In the reactions discussed energetic charged particles are created, that
can become (directly or after Coulomb collisions) the source of heavy charged particles of
intermediately low (of about a few keV ) energy. These heavy particles can assist nuclear
reactions too. It is worth mentioning that the shielding of the Coulomb potential has no
effect on the mechanisms discussed.
Our thoughts were motivated by our former theoretical findings [9] according to which
the leading channel of the p + d → 3He reaction in solid environment is the so called solid
state internal conversion process, an adapted version of ordinary internal conversion process
[10]. In the process formerly discussed [9] if the reaction takes place in solid material, in
which instead of the emission of a photon, the nuclear energy is taken away by an electron
of the environment (the metal), the Coulomb interaction induces a p + d → 3He nuclear
transition. The processes discussed here can be considered as an alternative version of the
solid state internal conversion process since it is thought that one party of the initial particles
of the nuclear process takes part in Coulomb interaction with a charged particle of the solid
material (e.g. of a metal).
There may be many fields of physics where the traces of the proposed mechanism may have
been previously appeared. It is not the aim of this work to give a systematic overview these
fields. We only mention here two of them that are thought to be partly related or explained
by the processes proposed. The first is the so called anomalous screening effect observed in
low energy accelerator physics investigating astrophysical factors of nuclear reactions of low
atomic numbers [11]. The other one is the family of low energy nuclear fusion processes.
The physical background, discussed in the Introduction and in the first part of Section V.,
was questioned by the two decade old announcement [12] on excess heat generation due to
nuclear fusion reaction of deuterons at deuterized Pd cathodes during electrolysis at near
room temperature. The paper [12] initiated continuous experimental work whose results
were summarized recently [13]. The mechanisms discussed here can explain some of the
main problems raised in [13]. (a) The mechanisms proposed here make low energy fusion
reactions and nuclear transmutations possible. (b) The processes discussed explain the lack
of the normally expected reaction products.
Good find. Maybe the theoretical work will finally catch up with the experimental.
Experimental work indicates that even if all this is true, energy production is unreliable, and not of a magnitude to be useful. (The same goes for transmutations.) But it could lead to a new field of high school science fair projects.
DO NOT POST TO ME! (3)
I saw this sort of thing with the blue laser competitors ~ neighbor kid got into it early and even earned a doctorate in physics so he could join a research team that could come up with one that worked ~ billions were to be made.
Billions weren't made, but we do have blue laser electronic gear ~ and near-ultraviolet devices in use in industry. So, what are all those physicists doing who lost that race.
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