265 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
265 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2)
|
|
Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
|
|
Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
|
|
PO BOX 1031
|
|
Mesquite, TX 75150
|
|
|
|
There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
|
|
on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
|
|
files on KeelyNet except where noted!
|
|
|
|
September 2, 1993
|
|
|
|
DIYCF.ASC
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
This interesting file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Steve Muise.
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Protocols for Conducting Light Water Excess Energy Experiments
|
|
|
|
January 28, 1992
|
|
|
|
Assembled by Eugene F. Mallove from published and unpublished
|
|
material.
|
|
|
|
By Jed Rothwell * Cold Fusion Research Advocates
|
|
* 2060 Peachtree Industrial Court #313
|
|
* Chamblee, GA 30341 * USA
|
|
* Phone: 404-451-9890
|
|
* Fax: 404-458-2404.
|
|
|
|
Notes from Jed Rothwell:
|
|
|
|
1. This document is intended to augment the Fusion Technology paper
|
|
by Mills & Kneizys. Fusion Technology is carried in many major
|
|
libraries, for example, the Boston Public Library, and the
|
|
M.I.T. science library.
|
|
|
|
2. Subscripts are shown with square brackets: H[2]O.
|
|
|
|
Purpose:
|
|
|
|
Many people have heard of the light water excess energy experiment
|
|
reported by Mills and Kneizys in Fusion Technology. (1) By January,
|
|
1992, this excess energy effect had been reproduced by at least a
|
|
half-dozen other groups.
|
|
|
|
Even though the experiment is simple and apparently highly
|
|
reproducible, many would-be experimenters might be deterred from
|
|
trying it because of the well-known history of difficulties with
|
|
the heavy water palladium-platinum approach of Fleischmann and
|
|
Pons.
|
|
|
|
Even though Mills et al do not think that their excess energy is
|
|
due to "cold fusion" -- they have an elaborate theory of shrinking
|
|
hydrogen atoms to explain the excess power -- their experiment
|
|
_was_ inspired by the Fleischmann-Pons announcement.
|
|
|
|
The purpose of this brief collection of experimental protocols is
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
to encourage others to try the Mills experiment and perhaps go
|
|
beyond it in their investigations.
|
|
|
|
How to Begin
|
|
|
|
The first order of business is to read the experimental part of the
|
|
Mills-Kneizys paper in Fusion Technology to familiarize yourself
|
|
with the basic approach.
|
|
|
|
Don't try any fancy pulsed input power in the beginning. Stick with
|
|
continuous (DC) input power. Don't be concerned either about the
|
|
exotic theory of Mills and Kneizys. Their theory may be wrong or
|
|
right, but it's the validity of the experiment that's important at
|
|
the moment. Other theories -- including "conventional" cold fusion
|
|
mechanisms working with the trace amount of deuterium -- might be
|
|
invoked to explain the excess energy in this light water
|
|
experiment.
|
|
|
|
Conditions that should be employed:
|
|
|
|
1. The volume of solution could be from 100 ml to 1,000 ml in a
|
|
vacuum-jacketed glass dewar cell. Note: Some people have tried a
|
|
non-dewar cell -- a heavily insulated glass beaker with plastic
|
|
materials to give the same insulating dewar effect. The cell
|
|
should be closed at the top with a tapered rubber stopper.
|
|
|
|
2. The electrolyte should be: 0.6 M aqueous K[2]CO[3] of high
|
|
purity.
|
|
|
|
3. The electrolyte should be stirred continuously with a magnetic
|
|
stirring bar to ensure temperature uniformity.
|
|
|
|
4. The nickel cathode does not apparently have to have the exact
|
|
configuration of the "spiral wound" sheet described by Mills-
|
|
Kneizys in their paper. It could be just a flat sheet of nickel,
|
|
but the ratio of the _total surface area_ (i.e. both sides) of
|
|
the nickel cathode to the surface area of the platinum anode
|
|
should be no less than 20/1.
|
|
|
|
5. The anode is of platinum wire, 1 mm diameter. Mills and Kneizys
|
|
used a spiral-shaped piece 10 cm long.
|
|
|
|
6. Above all, avoid impurities and contamination of the cell
|
|
materials, whether in handling or in environmental conditions.
|
|
Particularly insure that no organic contaminants are in the cell
|
|
or on the electrodes. (Don't forget that remnant soap film could
|
|
be a problem!)
|
|
|
|
7. Dr. V.C. Noninski, who has replicated this light water work (2),
|
|
recommends:
|
|
|
|
"Before starting the experiment, mechanically scour the platinum
|
|
anode with steel wool, soak overnight in concentrated HNO[3],
|
|
and then rinse with distilled water. Remove the nickel cathode
|
|
from its container with rubber gloves, and cut and bend it in
|
|
such a way that no organic substances are transferred to the
|
|
nickel surface.
|
|
|
|
Preferably, dip the nickel cathode into the working solution
|
|
|
|
Page 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
under an electrolysis current, and _avoid leaving the nickel
|
|
cathode in the working solution in the absence of an
|
|
electrolysis current._"
|
|
|
|
8. Before attempting to run the cell to demonstrate excess energy,
|
|
reverse the cell polarity for about one-hour to anodize the
|
|
nickel cathode. However, Professor John Farrell of the Mills
|
|
group has said that 0.5 hour of this treatment is adequate. He
|
|
says this "electropolishes the Ni."
|
|
|
|
9. Use distilled H[2]O.
|
|
|
|
10. There have been claims and counter claims about whether the
|
|
experiment will work in "closed-cell" mode with a catalytic
|
|
recombiner. Begin your work without one to be on the safe side.
|
|
Professor Farrell and, independently, Dr. Noninski have
|
|
measured the oxygen and hydrogen evolution in the absence of a
|
|
recombiner and find these gases in the expected quantities,
|
|
i.e. unsuspected recombination is NOT causing the excess power
|
|
effect.
|
|
|
|
11. The current density on the cathode should be on the order of
|
|
_one milliamp per square centimeter_. This is very low compared
|
|
to the Pons-Fleischmann heavy water experiments.
|
|
|
|
12. To calibrate the cell, introduce a pure resistance heating of
|
|
known power by using a 100 ohm precision resistor encased in
|
|
teflon tubing.
|
|
|
|
Simple Analysis:
|
|
|
|
The basic goal of the experiment is to demonstrate that
|
|
significantly more heat emerges from the cell under electrolysis
|
|
than the joule heating of the cell. This is how the basic analysis
|
|
works:
|
|
|
|
The cell has a particular heating coefficient (HC), which can
|
|
be determined by employing (in the absence of electrolysis) _pure
|
|
resistance heating_ by an ordinary precision resistor with an
|
|
applied voltage. One might find, for example, that the HC of a
|
|
particular cell is say 25 C/watt. This means that for a watt of
|
|
input power, the temperature of the liquid contents of the cell
|
|
should rise 25 C above ambient. In this regard, keeping the ambient
|
|
temperature stable is important; this is a source of possible error
|
|
in the experiment.
|
|
|
|
The heat input to the cell that would ordinarily be expected
|
|
from electrolysis (the so-called "joule heating") is given by the
|
|
expression:
|
|
(V - 1.48)I
|
|
|
|
where V is the voltage applied to the cell, and I is the current
|
|
passing though. The "I x 1.48" quantity here is the power lost by
|
|
electrolytic production of oxygen and hydrogen. Because the cell is
|
|
open to the atmosphere, this "power" in the form of potentially
|
|
recoverable chemical energy simply escapes the cell.
|
|
|
|
If, for example, the current is 80 mA and the applied voltage
|
|
is 2.25 volts, the joule heat input to the cell would be 61.6 mW.
|
|
|
|
Page 3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[An example used by Professor Farrell]. If the HC were 25 C/watt,
|
|
the expected _temperature rise_ of the cell due to the 61.6 mW
|
|
input power would be 25 x 0.0616 = 1.54 C. If the temperature is
|
|
observed to rise any more than 1.54 C, an unknown excess power
|
|
source may exist in the cell. If, for example, the temperature were
|
|
observed to rise 3.08 C, rather than only 1.54C, this would
|
|
represent 100% more heat than 61.6 mW coming from the cell, that
|
|
is, 133.2 mW.
|
|
|
|
Excess powers on the order of 100 to 300%, calculated in this
|
|
manner, are said to be readily achievable. As Professor Farrell has
|
|
said, "We have never NOT gotten the effect." [With these general
|
|
conditions.]
|
|
|
|
Caveat:
|
|
|
|
This has been a tutorial for beginners by someone who has not
|
|
done the experiment himself, but who has talked to the people who
|
|
have. You should be able to go off on your own now and find bigger
|
|
and better ways to do this. You might begin by trying pulsed power
|
|
input, which supposedly increases the output. If you are a cold
|
|
fusion skeptic, you should really relish this experiment! It offers
|
|
an easily reproducible effect. If you can find a _trivial_
|
|
explanation for the excess power, think how famous you'll be! More
|
|
likely, you'll become a "Believer" -- or at least a very frustrated
|
|
skeptic -- so watch out!
|
|
|
|
1. Mills, Randell L. and Steven P. Kneizys, "Excess Heat Production
|
|
by the Electrolysis of an Aqueous Potassium Carbonate
|
|
Electrolyte and the Implications for Cold Fusion," Fusion
|
|
Technology, Vol.20, August 1991, pp.65-81.
|
|
|
|
2. Noninski, V.C., "Excess Heat During the Electrolysis of a Light
|
|
Water Solution of K[2]CO[3] With a Nickel Cathode," Fusion
|
|
Technology, accepted for publication in the March 1992 issue.
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
|
|
as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
|
|
Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
|
|
Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
|
|
|
|
Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
|
|
Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
If we can be of service, you may contact
|
|
Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page 4
|
|
|
|
|