Indication of anomalous heat energy production in a reactor device
(Submitted on 16 May 2013 (v1), last revised 20 May 2013 (this version, v2))
An experimental investigation of possible anomalous heat production in a special type of reactor tube named E-Cat HT is carried out. The reactor tube is charged with a small amount of hydrogen loaded nickel powder plus some additives. The reaction is primarily initiated by heat from resistor coils inside the reactor tube. Measurement of the produced heat was performed with high-resolution thermal imaging cameras, recording data every second from the hot reactor tube. The measurements of electrical power input were performed with a large bandwidth three-phase power analyzer. Data were collected in two experimental runs lasting 96 and 116 hours, respectively. An anomalous heat production was indicated in both experiments. The 116-hour experiment also included a calibration of the experimental set-up without the active charge present in the E-Cat HT. In this case, no extra heat was generated beyond the expected heat from the electric input. 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.
Italian offers cold fusion promise
ReplyDeletePosted May 23, 2013 - 18:17 by Nick Farrell
A panel of researchers has released a paper confirming that a device made by a secretive Italian might be cold fusion.
The paper, penned by a team of independent scientists, has yet to receive a peer review, but appears to suggest that Andrea Rossi's cold fusion device might be the business.
The cold fusion device being tested has roughly 10,000 times the energy density and 1,000 times the power density of gasoline. The paper said that even allowing for a massively conservative margin of error, the scientists say that the cold fusion device they tested is 10 times more powerful than petrol which is the best fuel readily available to mankind.
According to Extreme Tech, Rossi has been claiming for the past two years that he had cracked cold fusion with his devise dubbed the Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat).
He has not won any friends in the scientific community by letting them independently analyse the device, at least before he turned the gear over to the panel. Even now, while the boffins had a fairly free rein while testing the E-Cat, they could not work out what was going on inside the sealed steel cylinder reactor.
The team of seven scientists, all from European universities, obviously felt confident enough with their findings.
Rossi and his chum Sergio Focardi have previously said their device works by infusing hydrogen into nickel, transmuting the nickel into copper and releasing a large amount of heat.
Hydrogen ions are sucked into a nickel lattice and the nickel's electrons are forced into the hydrogen to produce neutrons. The nickel nuclei absorb these neutrons; the neutrons are stripped of their electrons to become protons; and thus the nickel goes up in atomic number from 28 to 29, becoming copper.
All this produces a lot of heat - something like 500MW from half a gram of hydrogen, but does not create ionizing radiation or radioactive waste.
If Rossi's idea pans out then it really could change the world dramatically.
http://www.tgdaily.com/hardware-brief/71839-italian-offers-cold-fusion-promise#uPdcF6elEtbgkfE1.30
COLD FUSION is BACK with 'anomalous heat' claim
ReplyDeleteAndrea Rossi's E-Cat rig tested by boffins
By Richard Chirgwin • Get more from this author
Posted in Science, 22nd May 2013 00:49 GMT
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Italian entrepreneur Andrea Rossi has surfaced again to restate his claim that his E-Cat low energy nuclear reaction kit puts out more energy than goes in. And so it is that the “cold fusion” debate will be re-ignited – this time with new voices in Rossi's corner.
Giuseppe Levi and Evelyn Foschi (Bologna University, Italy); Torbjörn Hartman, Bo Höistad, Roland Pettersson and Lars Tegnér, all of Uppsala University in Sweden, and Hanno Essén of the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, are claiming that the heat produced in the latest tests of Rossi's E-Cat rig is “one order of magnitude greater than conventional energy sources”.
The report has been released via Arxiv.
Rossi's claim for the E-Cat is that a “low energy nuclear reaction” puts together nickel and hydrogen, with the outputs being copper and heat. He has, however, met with a great deal of scepticism – including on the part of The Register – and has not, to date, been able to have his claims considered to be proven.
One of the chief problems is that nobody has had the opportunity to verify the science behind the claims, because – as noted in the current paper – Rossi continues to regard the insides of the e-Cat as a trade secret:
“As in the original E-Cat, the reaction is fueled by a mixture of nickel, hydrogen, and a catalyst, which is kept as an industrial trade secret. The charge sets off the production of thermal energy after having been activated by heat produced by a set of resistor coils located inside the reactor.” (Emphasis added)
The setup included the system being fed by: “... a TRIAC power regulator device which interrupted each phase periodically, in order to modulate power input with an industrial trade secret waveform.” (Emphasis added)
So the test is probably going to be vulnerable to scientific tooth and claw from the start, since it amounts to researchers being asked to visit the premises of EFA – that is, the company that holds the production rights for the E-Cat – and test a black box whose operations are invisible.
The test claims to have observed power production of 2,034 Watts thermal for an input of 360 Watts.
And that's been received with ecstasy in some unexpected quarters, like Forbes, which got all gushy about E-Cat
“While a few commentators have raised criticisms concerning how the measurements were made and sources of error others have argued that the energy produced is so significant even knocking off an order of magnitude on either axis still portrays a process with insanely valuable output.”
Actually, Mark Gibbs (the Forbes author I've quoted), the “order of magnitude” claim wasn't made by unnamed commentators – it's made in the abstract of the Levi paper we've linked to above.
On the plus side, publication of the test on Arxiv will at least give the rest of the scientific world something to get their teeth into. Articles on Arxiv are not peer reviewed, but may be moderated before inclusion.
It'll also be fascinating to see if this test is strong enough "proof" for Australian philanthropist Dick Smith to fork out the $AUD200,000 he has on the table if the E-Cat works.
Over to you, readers of El Reg; we await your comments with fascination and trepidation. ®
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/22/e_cat_test_claims_success_yet_again/