Francis L. Tanzella

Isothermal flow calorimetric investigations of the D/Pd and H/Pd systems

Abstract Isothermal calorimetric studies of the D/Pd and H/Pd systems have been carried out at high deuterium (hydrogen) loadings (i.e. [D(H)]/[Pd] > 0.9) at approximately 30°C. Under these conditions, the generation of “excess power” was observed in a series of deuterium-based experiments, but not in a hydrogen-based experiment. The results of these experiments enable several (tentative) conclusions to be reached concerning the conditions necessary for the reproducible observation of this anomalous thermal effect.

Temperature coefficient of resistivity at compositions approaching PdH

Abstract Measurements have been made of the temperature coefficient of resistivity, λ , versus hydrogen concentration, H/Pd, at very high concentrations in the Pd–H system. Unusually high hydrogen compositions were achieved using an electrochemical loading procedure which allowed stable Pd–H systems to be obtained. It is well known that increasing the H/Pd concentrations leads to three different phases ( α , α + β , β ), respectively, in the Pd–H system; the β phase is thought to end in an asymptotic limit. Possible evidence that a new phase ( γ ) exists, bordering the β phase at compositions H/Pd > 0.9 is reported and discussed.

Search for 3He and 4He in Arata-Style Palladium Cathodes II: Evidence for Tritium Production

Abstract Measurements have been made of 3He, 4He, and 3H in a sample containing 2.7% of the gas from the interior of an Arata-style hollow palladium electrode charged with ~5 g Pd-black that had undergone electrolysis in D2O as a cathode for 90 days and then as an anode for a further 83 days. There is no evidence for the much larger amounts of 4He observed by Arata and Zhang in similar experiments. However, a very large concentration has been found of 3He, 2.3 ± 0.5 × 1012 atoms/cm3 standard temperature and pressure that apparently can all be attributed to the decay of tritium produced during electrolysis. No direct production of 3He can be specified, a result that is also different from the conclusions of Arata and Zhang. The 3He and tritium measurements and the results of a gas analysis using a Finnigan-type mass spectrometer show that at the end of the anodic electrolysis, the electrode void contained 5.8 ± 0.7 × 1013 atoms tritium in the gas phase as HT, DT, and T2, and 1.7 ± 0.3 × 1015 atoms tritium in the aqueous phase as HTO, DTO, and T2O. At this stage, the gas phase pressure was ~18.8 atm in a free volume of 0.6 cm3, and the total mass of water was ~5.7 mg. The gas phase tritium value is viewed as a lower limit for gaseous tritium produced inside the electrode because some of that tritium must have been removed into the D2O electrolyte during the anodic episode. The 3He and 4He measurements were also made in the two samples of the Pd-black and in sections cut from the walls of both Pd electrodes. The H2O electrolyzed samples did not show any evidence of unusually high 3He and/or 4He, but all the D2O electrolyzed samples showed clear evidence of 3He from tritium decay. A stepwise temperature heating experiment performed with a 24.9-mg sample of the D2O Pd-black showed that the diffusion process for 3He can be described by an equation of the form D = D0 exp(-U/kT) with an activation energy U of 1.1 eV. It is also apparent that the 3He from tritium is quantitatively retained in the Pd-black at room temperature.

A new look at low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR) research: a response to Shanahan

In his criticisms of the review article on LENR by Krivit and Marwan, Shanahan has raised a number of issues in the areas of calorimetry, heat after death, elemental transmutation, energetic particle detection using CR-39, and the temporal correlation between heat and helium-4. These issues are addressed by the researchers who conducted the original work discussed in the Krivit and Marwan (K&M) review paper.

The effect of ultrasound on the electrochemical loading of hydrogen in palladium

Although the application of ultrasound for the control and modulation of various chemical processes is a subject of continued interest [l], there is surprisingly little discus- sion in the recent literature of the effects of ultrasound on fundamental electrochemical processes. In early systematic studies of the hydrogen evolution reaction under acidic conditions [2,3], it was observed that, on a platinum elec- trode, the overvoltage for hydrogen evolution decreased by up to 30mV on the application of ultrasound, and that this decrease was largely independent of current density in the approximate range l-100 mA cm-‘, i.e. the Tafel slope was largely unaffected under these conditions. On removal of the ultrasound, the original polarization was regained only on continued electrolysis for up to 1 h. These results refer to electrolytes which had been pre-electrolysed for 10 to 20h. With more extensive pre-electrolysis (36h), the results were generally similar; however, the polarization decrease on the application of ultrasound was smaller (by a factor of two) under comparable conditions, and the origi- nal polarization was recovered rapidly on cessation of irradiation. On the application of ultrasound to a nickel electrode evolving hydrogen, the same general phe- nomenon was observed, i.e. a decrease in overvoltage without a significant change in Tafel slope [3]. For these experiments, the acoustic frequency was 3OOkHz and the ;icoustic intensity was estimated to be approximately I Wcmw2 of electrode area.

Progress in excess of power experiments with electrochemical loading of deuterium in palladium

Research has been carried out during the last three years in the field of triggering anomalous heat effects in palladium deuteride. An enhancement of excess power reproducibility in deuterated palladium was obtained by using HeNe laser irradiation during electrochemical loading. A preliminary correlation between excess energy and helium-4 concentration increasing above the background was found. The continuation of the experimental program confirmed that laser triggering produce an interesting gain of reproducibility. The experimental set-up has been upgraded.

Some recent results at ENEA

Recent research activity at ENEA, in the field of Condensed Matter Nuclear Science, has been oriented to material science and Laser triggering in order to increase the reproducibility of excess of power production during loading of palladium with deuterium. Isoperibolic calorimetry in gas phase, isoperibolic and flow calorimetry with electrochemical systems have been carried out. Nuclear ashes detection was done by means of high resolution and high sensitivity mass spectrometer. Material science studies allowed to obtain a palladium showing high solubility for hydrogen isotopes and giving deuterium concentration at equilibrium larger than 0.95 (as D/Pd atomic fraction) with a reproducibility larger than 90%. Excess of power production by using the above-mentioned material achieves a reproducibility up to 30% without triggering. Laser irradiation with a proper polarization seems to have a significant role in further increasing of the excess of power production reproducibility. Heat bursts exhibit an integrated energy at least 10 times greater than the sum of all possible chemical reactions within a closed cell. The energy gain calculated at the end of the experiments is observed with deuterium but not with hydrogen. Preliminary measurements give a 4He signal in reasonable agreement with the expected values by assuming a D + D = 4He + heat (24 MeV for event) reaction.

PROGRESS TOWARD A THEORY FOR EXCESS HEAT IN METAL DEUTERIDES

The strength of the experimental evidence for an excess heat effect in metal deuterides has motivated us to consider theoretical models. The observation of 4He correlated with energy with an associated reaction Q‐value determined experimentally to be near 24 MeV implicates reaction mechanisms consistent with d+d⇥4He+heat. Most significant is that the reaction energy is not expressed through the emission of energetic reaction products. Hence, whatever process is involved constitutes a fundamentally new kind of physical mechanism unlike anything seen previously in nuclear physics.Here we discuss a theoretical model that consists of sets of two‐level systems coupled indirectly through a low‐energy oscillator that is off‐resonant. The two‐level systems represent nuclear states, and the oscillator stands in for a highly excited phonon mode. This kind of model exhibits an excitation transfer effect, in which the excitation at one site is transferred to another site. This is interesting since it corresponds to a...

Progress report on an experiment to clarify collimated x-ray emission in Karabut’s experiment

Karabut has reported collimated x-ray emission in a high-current density glow discharge experiment, a result which has for some years remain unexplained. A model has been proposed to account for the emission based on the up-conversion of vibrational quanta to produce excitation of the 1565 eV excited state in 201Hg. To test this idea, we are developing an experiment in which a Cu foil is vibrated. Evidence for charge emission is described; and preliminary x-ray measurements discussed.

Progress on the study of isotopic composition in metallic thin films undergone to electrochemical loading of hydrogen

A research activity has started some years ago in the framework of collaboration between the ENEA (Italy) and the SRI (USA), aimed to the identification of traces of nuclear reactions in condensed matter. This work has also involved crosslinked analysis in order to identify effects due to contaminants that could affect the isotopic shift estimate. Nickel thin films have been sputtered on a polymeric substrate and loaded with hydrogen by electrolysis. Reference and active thin films have been prepared contemporaneously during the same sputtering process to have on both the same deposition and the same impurities composition. Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) has been used to analyze the isotopic composition of the electrolyzed and blank substrates. Preliminary results (Violante et al., Proc. 10th Int. Conf. Cold Fusion (ICCF-10), Cambridge, 2003) indicated that a reasonable reproducible apparent shift of the isotopic composition of the Cu element occurred in some of the electrolyzed films, with an increasing of mass 65, while the natural value was always observed for all the blank samples. Cu was particularly suitable for being used as a marker elements because of its only two mass isotopes (63/65) that do not overlap with isotopes of other elements having the same masses. In this work, new experiments have been reproduced to increase the statitistics and further analysis has been performed in order to exclude that the revealed shift was traceable to an artifact.These included SIMS scanning of the sample surface, depth profile analysis by SIMS, mass spectrometric analysis of the electrolyte, SUPER-SIMS [2] analysis of one couple of reference and active films. In particular, the possible contribution from mass interferences on the 65-mass extrasignal has been considered, coming from contaminants or double ionized species. On the basis of the new results, a more complex scenario has been evidenced,