The Fusion Revolution
[a.k.a. The LENR Revolution - Low Energy Nuclear Reaction]
NEWS! An extensive third party test report of Andrea Rossi's first generation "Hot Cat" reactor states that it works. See the pdf report. Authors:
Giuseppe Levi (Bologna University), Evelyn Foschi (Bologna, Italy),
Torbjörn Hartman, Bo Höistad, Roland Pettersson and Lars Tegnér
(Uppsala University), Hanno Essen (Royal Institute of Technology,
Stockholm) From the Abstract:
"Computed
volumetric and gravimetric energy densities were found to be far above
those of any known chemical source. Even by the most conservative
assumptions as to the errors in the measurements, the result is still
one order of magnitude greater than conventional energy sources."
When the scientists ran the reactor empty, with no nickel powder charge
in place, but with exactly the same energy input, they recorded no
extra heat was produced. This shows that the excess heat came
from a low level nuclear reaction inside the reactor. No chemical
reaction could explain such high energy output from a reactor running
in continuous operation for four days straight. There was no
noise, no smoke, no CO2 released, and no combustion.
Andrea Rossi
claims a much higher COP of 20 or more in his newer E-Cat models with the
addition of an activator "mouse" that "makes the E-Cats run." Rossi also
claims he is now able to build larger 100 kilowatt (heat) reactors
because he has solved the problem of destructive hot spots in the
nickel powder fuel. His new "Tiger" reactors are said to weigh 200 kilograms
each. You can keep abreast of the latest news at E-Cat World.
See the Wired Magazine article on the latest Rossi test,
Cold Fusion gets red hot and aims for EU.
NEWS! High beta fusion reactor - See the exciting Lockheed Martin Skunk Works video describing a radically new compact hot
fusion reactor design comparable in complexity and cost to a commercial
jet engine. Lockheed Martin claims to be able to produce a 100 megawatt prototype
by 2017. The plasma pressure/magnetic pressure reactor is about 2x2x4
meters in size. Lockheed Martin hopes to launch full scale commercial
production by 2022 and to be able to meet global baseload electricity
demand by the year 2050.
NEWS! Toyota scientists replicate Mitsubishi's cold fusion and element transmutation experiments.
NEWS! See three shocking NASA pdf files on LENR - Zawodny Bushnnell Nelson and NASA-Zawodny LENR patent
"A
cheap, abundant, clean, scalable, portable source of energy will impact
EVERYONE." - "Singular solution to peak oil, climate change, fresh
water, and associated geopolitical instabilities." - "Transmutation
products [of LENR are] most consistent with neutron absorption process." - Dr. Joseph M. Zawodny, NASA Langley Research Center
"The temperature you can get out of [LENR] is interesting.” - “We’ve had to be careful [in our
research in] terms of the energetics. I don’t think there is a
power [limitation] problem." - NASA scientist Dennis Bushnell
NASA concept for LENR space plane that flies from airport to orbit and back
using only one main rocket engine
NEWS! Defkalion Green Technologies corporate move from Greece to Vancouver BC, Canada, is now complete, and they have a new website on-line with more details of their business plans and products. See the PDF file summary of NASA scientist Michael A. Nelson's past visit to the old Defkalion laboratories in Greece.
Defkalion
Green Technologies states that their Hyperion LENR reactor cores contain ordinary H2 hydrogen gas, nickel
powder,
and proprietary materials and structures to aid in the reaction.
Simple resistance heating elements are turned on to excite the hydrogen
gas.
The naturally occurring H2 atoms are further excited by bursts of
electrical discharges via a spark plug-like device which breaks the H2
into H1 gas and transforms H1 atoms into Rydberg State Hydrogen
(RSH) atoms, which have very large, often elliptical electron (cloud)
orbits. The excited RSH hydrogen atoms are then squeezed into the
nickel atom latticework. "For a brief period of around 10 -13th second,
each RSH proton is very close to its electron. Then the RSH
nuclei is a masqueraded neutron. As a result, Coulomb forces
between such nuclei are almost zero during this short time window." The resulting reaction releases gamma rays and light which are absorbed inside the reactor to produce heat.
It is interesting to note that Defkalion no
longer uses any chemical catalyst to break H2 gas into H1 because their
"plasma ignition" method does it all. Unlike Andrea Rossi's
design, resistance heating elements are only required during the
initial start-up phase of the reaction. Defkalion uses timing of the
frequency of high voltage bursts to control reactor core temperature
within safe limits. Their system is highly energy efficient, allowing a COP of over 20,
meaning their reactors output over twenty times energy input. Andrea Rossi's latest Hot Cat high temperature reactor has a claimed COP of 11.7,
and he now claims energy input is provided by burning natural gas
instead of using electricity. A COP of over 10 using natural gas
as energy input makes Rossi's invention cost competitive with
Defkalion's device, which uses more expensive electrical input power.
NOTE - The
above public domain diagrams of hydrogen H1 atoms were taken off the Internet and not provided by Defkalion.
Defkalion
has moved their main corporate operations to Vancouver, Canada, because
their former
location in financially bankrupt Greece was scaring off
investors. Defkalion hopes to get commercial certification for
their Hyperion reactors soon and develop production lines in
Canada in addition to their newly constructed factory in Greece. They will also license their technology to other
companies from around the world.
Rumors and Defkalion's own statements suggest that problems related to
spark-plug longevity and reliability have kept them from launching
their product line commercially. They claim that new spark plug designs are on their way from their suppliers.
"Since
last April, we conducted successfully 21 official tests many days each,
with the presence and under the protocols agreed with very well know
international labs, using also their instrumentation. The last
two such official test runs only, from September 5th to September 14th,
lasted in total more than 55 hours starting/stopping the reaction and
controlling reactor's performance at will. These two tests were
the last official we conducted in Greece with our R5 lab prototype
reactors and the present calorimetric setup, whilst the next have been
scheduled to take place in Vancouver in the new R6 version
pre-industrial single reactor in Hyperion complete prototypes,
following in general the specs we have released already." - Defkalion Green Technologies
NEWS! Well know physicist and LENR pioneer, Dr. Francessco Celani, is working with a British startup company called Kresenn Ltd.
with the goal of manufacturing compact LENR electricity
generators. The proposed shipping container based power units
will use a "new catalyst" and will be specifically designed to power
computer storage data centers and other high energy users who wish to
function securely off the grid. See Celani's PDF report on his LENR wire experiments.
NEWS! National Instruments PDF slide show reveals keen interest in LENR.
NEWS! Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is using Low Energy Nuclear Reaction to transmute matter and create a "portable nuclear energy source." See their PDF file presentation. Honda and Toyota are also investing in LENR research in hopes of producing LENR powered automobiles.
"A Game-Changing Power Source Based on Low Energy Nuclear Reactions" -- Xiaoling Yang and George H. Miley, University of Illinois -- "Excess
heat generation from our gas-loading LENR power cell has been verified,
confirming nuclear reactions provide output energy. While there
are similarities between ours and the Rossi E-Cat gas-loaded kW-MW LENR
cells that have attracted inter-national attention, there are important
differences in nanoparticle composition and cell construction." See PDF
NEWS! Brillouin Energy Corporation claims
to use hydrogen atoms stored in ordinary tap water to produce
inexpensive clean energy. They call the process "Controlled
Electron Capture Reaction (CECR)" using a nickel matrix as a
catalyst. This is claimed to produce low energy neutrons which
generate heat as they are captured by other elements, which then
transmutate into heavier elements. Brillouin claims this is the same basic process that also drives Andrea Rossi and Defkalion reactors.
NEWS! On January 30, 2012, Dr. Mitchell Swartz and Prof. Peter Hagelstein started a demonstration of a Low Energy Nuclear Reaction test device at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that remains in continuous
24-7 operation to this day, outputting 10 to 14 times more energy than
input energy. This ongoing
public test confirms the role of nanoengineered metal lattice in
enabling LENR activity. See Hagelstein PDF on LENR
When the first human animal figured out how to
make fire at will, life on earth changed forever. The fictional character
Sherlock Holmes once said that "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,
however improbable, must be the truth." Using that logic, I have
come to the conclusion that fossil fuels will soon become
obsolete, and human history will again be dramatically altered. A total
switchover to fusion power, also known as Low Energy Nuclear Reaction, will take decades, but basic economics tells
us that LENR reactors will win in the marketplace over their more
costly competitors.
Italian engineer Andrea Rossi states that his Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat)
LENR reactor is fueled by micrometer sized nickel dust enriched to
contain more of two useful isotopes, N-62
and N-64. Defkalion claims that Rossi's nickel dust enrichment is
unnecessary with their design. The nickel is processed to
increase the number of
surface protrusions to provide greater area for heat
producing reactions with hydrogen gas under pressure. Secret
catalysts are added to the nickel, possibly potassium carbonate, to
break the H2 gas into H1, and to make the nickel more receptive.
Some chemists suggest that iron dust combined with pure carbon powder
might work as catalysts as well, but nothing has been confirmed. Rossi states that the total cost of nickel processing plus the catalyst
adds just 10% to the total cost of the fuel. Heat is applied to
the pressurized nickel-hydrogen mixture which initiates low energy nuclear reactions (LENR).
Some claim the Widom-Larsen Theory (patent) adequately describes the LENR process, but Andrea
Rossi
says they have it all wrong, and he will reveal his own ideas
after he obtains patent protection for his invention. Defkalion
reports they are using
custom
built test equipment to develop their own theory.
What they all agree upon now is that LENR works, and is very different
from conventional hot fusion reactions. No
matter which theory eventually becomes accepted as fact, LENR
represents an energy
source many times greater than the Earth's natural reservoir of
chemical energy
stored in fossil fuels. LENR may eventually replace
the burning
of oil, coal, and natural gas for heat. Andrea
Rossi states that converting just one gram of matter into energy,
nickel or any other element, produces 23,000 megawatt hours of heat
energy. Using nickel as nuclear fuel for all human
needs would only consume about 1% of the Earth's yearly nickel
production. The Earth will be consumed by the Sun before we run
out of nickel. [See nickel price charts]
NASA speculated diagram of the inside of Andrea Rossi's first E-Cat prototype
Rossi claims that LENR can
give the world electricity at a cost of just one cent per
kilowatt hour when produced by large scale LENR power plants. Even if we skeptically triple that cost
to 3 cents
per kilowatt hour, it is still an incredible bargain. We
currently pay at least 40 cents per kilowatt hour for
intermittent electricity produced by solar panels, 15 cents per
kilowatt hour for unpredictable wind power electricity, and 8 cents per
kilowatt
hour for electricity produce with natural gas.
In 2007 Rossi asked Professor Sergio Focardi
to help him test his E-Cat
prototype and
verify that it did not emit dangerous radiation. Conventional
"hot" nuclear fusion using lasers to super-heat deuterium and tritium
creates so much radiation that it would be impossible to shield in a
small, portable device like the E-Cat. Through extensive testing
the two scientists found no
dangerous levels of radiation escaping from the E-Cat’s lead lined
fusion chamber. No radioactive materials are used in the
reactor's construction, and the temporary internal gamma ray radiation
produced stops when the reactor is turned off, leaving behind
no residual radioactive elements and zero toxic waste. After four
years of studying the E-Cat, Professor Sergio Focardi
declared that "This is the greatest discovery in human history," and went on to say that "The results will be immense: clean energy at (almost) zero cost."
The men behind the most important invention of the 21st century
Left Picture - Rossi on left and Focardi
on right
Middle Picture - Stremmenos and Rossi working together, Focardi by fan
Right Picture - Stremmenos on left, Rossi in middle, and very interested Chinese official, Hauard Chen, on right
Background
Andrea Rossi - Master of Science and Engineering from the
Università Degli Studi Di Milan. His degree is also known as "Philosophy of Science and Engineering." It is a broad science and engineering degree, not a degree in
classical philosophy. Andrea Rossi has been an accomplished
engineer since age 22, starting and owning several energy related
businesses.
Sergio Focardi - Professor Emeritus of Experimental Physics at
the Università di Bologna and author of numerous books and scientific articles. Focardi researched nickel-hydrogen fusion with Francesco Piantelli before teaming up with Rossi.
Christos Stremmenos - Former physics professor at the Università di Bologna and former Greek ambassador to Italy. Stremmenos has many social
ties to the current Greek Government because of his history of valiant
political opposition to the military dictatorship in Greece during the
1960s. Stremmenos researched nickel-hydrogen fusion on his own before
meeting Rossi.
Sherlock Holmes would ask what are the odds
that so many scientists from around the world
could all go insane at the same time,
deciding to throw away their reputations, careers, and scientific
legacies by endorsing a fraudulent energy scheme. Large Japanese corporations, such as Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Honda, are
already financing LENR research, as is Pirelli in Italy. No matter how improbable it is that Rossi, Defkalion, and
others have discovered a new field of physics, it must be true according to the
practical logic of Sherlock Holmes.
As LENR is a relatively new, inherently
nontoxic technology, there are no major regulatory
barriers to slow its rapid technological advance. The growth of
LENR technology may thus be as exponential in progression as the use of
personal computers in the 1990s. No precious
metals are used in E-Cat or Defkalion reactors, and any company with the
technological skills
required to build an air conditioner can produce them in large
numbers on assembly lines. That means even poor, relatively
undeveloped countries will be able to manufacture them. LENR devices will eventually
be used to power cars, trucks, trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft. Imagine a luxury sedan you could drive for many thousands of
miles without refueling, or a small aircraft you
could fly from New York to Beijing nonstop at low cost.
If LENR technology works as promised,
and as every public and private test to date indicates, then humans
will gradually replace all fossil fuels with energy from
abundant nickel and hydrogen. There will be no risk of radioactive pollution because LENR devices contain no radioactive materials. LENR power
will put an end to biofuels and all the environmental damage and food
price hyperinflation they create. The application of LENR power sources will raise our standard
of living by lowering the cost of food, shelter, clothing, consumer
goods, transportation…everything.
Above is a single Andrea Rossi Hot Cat LENR reactor cell claimed to
operate at 1,050 degrees Celsius.
You can keep up with fast moving E-Cat events through http://www.e-catworld.com/.
LENR has potential
competition in the design of very large scale power
plants. Tri Alpha Energy
uses a unique, simplified form of high temperature fusion that uses boron and hydrogen as fuel. The fusion products are broken up into three
helium-4 nuclei and three alpha particles, a process that produces
little or no radioactive waste. Rossi and Defkalion LENR reactors must heat liquids to
push turbines to make electricity. Tri Alpha's reactor can
theoretically
create electricity directly with no turbine required, increasing
efficiency while reducing size and construction costs. Tri Alpha's
concept is so appealing that famed Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen,
has invested millions of dollars into the highly secretive Rancho Santa
Margarita based company. A smaller company called Lawrenceville Plasma Physics, Inc. claims to be working on similar boron fueled fusion technology that they hope can produce electricity for just .2 cent per kilowatt hour. See video.
If fusion/LENR technology does not work as hoped, then the next obvious alternative is the Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR),
which is the safest, cleanest, and most efficient fission reactor
design available. After the serious nuclear accidents in Japan,
however, any development of LFTR technology or other new fission reactor
design will be painfully slow, perhaps too slow to avoid further
dramatic collapse of the world economies which rely so heavily on
affordable energy. Let us all hope that nickel-hydrogen LENR technology does work as
claimed, because billions of human lives will be saved by a major
reduction in energy costs.
Please support and promote The National Food Security Act, which is needed to protect the affordability and long term survivability of the human food supply.
Please see my main website with overview of all major energy sources, The Renewable Energy Disaster, and the dramatic 15 minute YouTube video, The Global Biofuel Disaster.
Christopher Calder
email
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