by Dott. Giuliano Bettini
Retired. Earlier: Selenia SpA, Rome and IDS SpA, Pisa
Also Adjunct Professor at the University of Pisa
Adjunct Professor at Naval Academy, Leghorn (Italian Navy)
Abstract
In the present article I would like to answer a question posed by L. Kowalsky in a recent paper: how can 30% of nickel in Rossi’s reactor be transmuted into copper? “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”, says a guy. I apologizes if I am too simplistic here.
Introduction
The interest on Andrea Rossi’s Nickel-Hydrogen Cold Fusion technology is accelerating [1]. However, Rossi says that about 30% of nickel was turned into copper, after 6 months of uninterrupted operation. Kowalski [2]. says that “this seems to be impossible because the produced copper isotopes rapidly decay into Ni”. But how it works?
How it works
Following Focardi Rossi [3]. a Ni58 nucleus produces a Copper nucleus according to the reaction
Ni58 + p → Cu59
Copper nucleus Cu59 decays with positron (e+) and neutrino (ν) emission in Ni59 nucleus according to
Cu59 → Ni59 + ν + e+
Then (e+) annichilates with (e-) in two gamma-rays
e- + e+ → γ + γ
Starting [3] from Ni58 which is the more abundant isotope, we can obtain as described in the two above processes Copper formation and its successive decay in Nickel, producing Ni59, Ni60, Ni61 and Ni62. Because Cu63, which can be formed starting by Ni62, is stable and does not decay in Ni63, the chain stops at Ni62 (i.e. Cu63). Each process means some MeV.
Of course how can a proton p gets captured by the Ni58 nucleus? (and subsequent Ni59, Ni60, Ni61 and Ni62). Following Stremmenos [4]. a neutron-like particle, an electron proton pair, a mini-atom, a proton masked as a neutron, gets captured by the Ni58.
If the masked proton becomes a neutron the result is Ni59.
In order to have Cu59 (increase of atomic number from 28 to 29) the electron (of the masked proton) gets ejected from the nucleus. The masked proton becomes a proton.
The same process holds for all the subsequent transformations, until Cu63.
It remains to be understood the issue of the gamma radiation in the MeV range.
Numbers
I am an electronic engineer, so I need easy numbers in order to understand.
However “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”, says a guy. Maybe I am too simple here.
Let’s calculate.
MeV for each Ni transformation
I read that starting from Ni58 we can obtain Copper formation and its successive decay in Nickel, producing Ni59, Ni60, and Ni62. The chain stops at Cu63 stable.
For simplicity I assume all the Nickel in the reactor in the form Ni58.
For simplicity I suppose for each Ni58 the whole sequence of events from Ni58 to Cu63 and as a rough estimate I calculate the mass defect between (Ni58 plus 5 nucleons) and the final state Cu63.
Ni58 mass is calculated to be 57.95380± 15 amu
The actual mass of a copper-Cu63 nucleus is 62.91367 amu
Mass of Ni58 plus 5 nucleons is 57.95380+5=62.95380 amu
Mass defect is 62.95380-62.91367=0.04013 amu
1 amu = 931 MeV is used as a standard conversion
0.04013×931 MeV=37.36 MeV
So each transformation of Ni58 into Cu63 releases 37.36MeV of nuclear energy.
Nickel consumption
According to many blogs in the Internet “One hundred grams of nickel powder can power a 10 kW unit for a minimum of six months”.
How much of Ni58 should be transformed, in six months of continuous operation, in order to generate 10 kW?
I follow a procedure outlined in [2].
10 kW is thermal or electrical (?) power. The nuclear power must be larger. Assume a nuclear power twice:
20 kW = 20,000 J/s = 1.25 x 10**17 MeV/s.
Each transformation of Ni58 into Cu63 releases 37.36MeV of nuclear energy.
The number of Ni58 transformations should thus be equal to (1.25 x 10**17)/37.36 = 3.346 x 10**15 per second.
Multiplying by the number of seconds in six months (1.55 x 10**7) the total number of transformed Ni58 nuclei is 5.186 x 10**22.
This means 5 grams.
The order of magnitude is not exactly the same but seems to be plausible. This means also 5 grams of Nickel in Rossi’s reactor transmuted into (stable) Copper after six months of continuous operation at the rate of 10 kW.
Conclusions
Rossi says that about 30% of nickel was turned into copper, after 6 months of uninterrupted operation. At first glance this seems to agree with calculations based on simple assumptions.
References
Derar Mr “HRG”:
Yes, we got melting of Ni in experiments where we made exactly what you say. To stop the mechanism is enough auxiliary cooling and cut of hydrogen feed. In few minutes the Cat falls asleep.
Warm regards,
A.R.
Dear Mr Bjorn Genborg:
1- no, because we stop tha valve that gives hydrogen, so that the reaction is cut in few minutes. It has been tested.
2- Not shown
Warm regards,
A.R.
Thanks Mr.Rossi for the answer.
The natural next question would be: If the reaction would be enabled to continue without any cooling at all…? Has this been tested?
At the testrun at March 29 no secondary cooling system seems to be present? Or does the pictures not show this?
Thanks warmly for replies,
Bjorn
Dr. Rossi:
If you really pull out all the stops (ie. use no cooling, large volume of fuel, high concentration of heavy Ni isotopes), can you get fuel melting? Have you ever seen evidence of fuel melt? I am thinking there might be a mechanism that automatically slows the reaction. Namely; annealing of the nickel metal that increases the size of the crystal domains and thereby slows reaction. Hawe you looked at the effect of crystal domain size on reaction rate? Have you looked at amorphous nickel?
Dear Mr Bjorn Genborg:
If the water flow is stopped or is not enough, the temperature raises and when it reaches the limit we set, automatically the reactor is shut off with a secondary cooling system.
Warm Regards,
A.R.
Dear Mr. Rossi,
I’ve read most of the comments but not found this question (sorry if I’m wrong):
As I have understood, you “close” the energy production by a major increase of the water flow together with switching off the heater. This leads to the question:
What happens if the water flow is completely abrupted (valve closed) during full operation?
Kind regards,
Bjorn
Sweden
Dear Mr Serg:
We already have a pretty good idea about the reason. We will publish it in October, with the presentation of ou 1 MW plant.
Warm Regards,
A.R.
Dear Mr Rossi
I have an idea that explain the nature of the copper in the spent fuel .. According to which all the odd elements of the periodic table, which occurs during the cold nuclear transmutation of rare isotopes of even elements ..For example Fe58 must be many in earth crust, and its very small .. Pay attention to the pictures ..
http://s003.radikal.ru/i204/1104/12/6323e88cba71.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/SolarSystemAbundances.png/800px-SolarSystemAbundances.png
Dear Mr Todd Burkett:
Please find the answers in former comments,
Warm Regards,
A.R.
Sono felicemente sorpreso che dopo le angherie e le vicissitudini subite in precedenti esperienze industriali, l’Ing. Andrea Rossi abbia avuto la forza e il coraggio di rimettersi in gioco. Io non entro in dettagli tecnici, anche perchè i miei studi non me lo consentirebbero, dico soltanto, che se la scoperta del dottor Rossi in collaborazione con il Prof. Focardi da i risultati che tutti si aspettano, siamo di fronte all’invenzione del millennio e alla soluzione dei problemi energetici del pianeta, con tutti gli sviluppi del caso e se sarà così, siamo al cospetto di un’uomo straordinario.
Distinti saluti
Alessandro Cappa
Dear Mr Rossi
When Researchers at Angstrom examined the spent fuel they concluded 10% copper and the isotope ratios of copper was about the same as in natural copper, 70/30 Is it a fact to indicate the reason copper is found in nature at that ratio 70/30 is related to why this fusion process is possible ? Or were you using nickel sorted by isotope to give this ratio?
Also was the iron present before test began? Or is from walls of container? Or something you added? Or do you believe it was product of fusion?
With respect
Todd Burkett
Egr. dr. Rossi,
grazie per la cortesia e il tempo che può dedicare a chi la segue.
Mi interessa sapere se Lei dopo essersi posto l’obiettivo di raggiungere a Xanthi una potenza termica target di 1MW, che è un traguardo eccezionale, da questa intende generare successivamente del vapore in pressione e provare ad alimentare una turbina e generare potenza elettrica, il problema immagino sia che al momento gli E-cat non sono fatti per garantire pressioni di almeno 70 bar delle tubazioni di raffreddamento/vapore.
Per quanto riguarda la potenza di 1MW termico probabilmente Lei conta di generare vapore saturo a 100/110°C con una portata di acqua fredda di alimentazione a 20°C pari ad almeno 1385 litri/h, infatti:
80 + 540 = 620 kcal/kg di acqua da 20° a 100° vapore
1MW = 3600 MJ = 859.000 kcal/h
portata acqua 859.000 / 620 = 1385 litri/h che passano allo stato di vapore saturo
Per quanto tempo dovrà rimanere ad ottobre l’impianto dimostrativo da 1MW in funzione?
Cordialmente,
List
Dear Mr Mattias Anderson:
1- we’ll see
2- I never talk of things I do not know well
3- 2,5 kW
Warm Regards,
A.R.
Gent. Sig. Fabrizio P.:
Guardi, io penso solo a lavorare.
Cordiali saluti,
A.R.
Gent. Sig. Luca Finardi:
No, la questione e’ piu’ complessa.
Cordiali saluti,
A.R.
Gentile ing. Rossi,
Lei ha dichiarato che la reazione può avvenire anche con altri metalli. Suppongo che l’idea di provare a usare il nichel le sia venuta per via del fatto che nella tavola periodica si trova sulla stessa colonna del palladio (precedentemente supposto il miglior elemento per una reazione di ff). Se così è, sarebbe possibile utilizzare il platino, anch’esso sulla stessa colonna? Se sì, sarebbe forse l’oro lo scarto della reazione?
Grazie per l’attenzione.
Luca Finardi.
Innanzi tutto voglio complimentarmi e fare un in bocca al lupo all’Ing. A. Rossi e al Dott. S. Focardi.
Voglio fare presente agli scettici che più che scettici mi sembrano tifosi contrari.
Loro credono di difendere il primato scientifico tecnologico e culturale dell’ occidente che è espresso dall’attuale struttura industriale e finanziaria e via dicendo.
Bisogna però riflettere sullo possibile futuro scenario.
Intendo dire.Ci sono paesi come India , Cina , Brasile ecc. con popolazioni enormi e bisogno di energia proporzionato.
Senza nulla togliere all’ ing. Rossi credo che l’E-Cat sia abbastanza semplice da replicare da un buon team di scienziati.
Considerato ciò la politica occidentale non può di sicuro restare inerte davanti a questo ,nel senso che deve favorire una tale rivoluzione energetica epocale, altrimenti per fare gli interessi di pochi finiremmo per essere… non saprei forse colonizzati forse semplicemente ridimensionati e marginalizzati.
Buona Ecatrivoluzione a tutti.
Just a curiosity.
Using this link you can see the world web popularity of your device, extrapolated using your name (if someone writes about your device, undoubtedly there is the inventor’s name).
Trends
Popularity peaks follow tests.
Interestingly the e-cat is quite known especially in Italy and in Sweden.
Unfortunately the newspapers’ coverage is very low: you can see “no data available” in the relative diagram.
Caro Dottor Rossi,
ho una domanda che certamente molti le avranno già fatto.
Che effetto fa entrare nella storia? Sapere che tra 200 anni i ragazzi a scuola studieranno il suo nome e quello di Focardi?
Immagino che sia una sensazione che va oltre la consapevolezza del ritorno economico della vostra scoperta.
Già il poterle scrivere, da normale inquilino di questo pianeta, mi pare surreale.. come parlare ad un grande inventore del passato..
Mi farebbe enormemente piacere conoscerla di persona per poterle esprimere i miei più sentiti complimenti per quello che lei sta facendo per tutti noi.
Attendo con fiducia e impazienza la commercializzazione del suo e-cat e tutto quello che ne conseguirà.
Nel frattempo potrei acquistare del Nichel.. prima che i prezzi salgano.. che ne dice? 🙂
In bocca al lupo, che i suoi sforzi e quelli di Focardi siano premiati come meritate.
Fabrizio
Dear Ing. Rossi,
I think it’s hard to even begin to imagine the implications of this invention. Maybe this is the solution we need in order to break our current dependency on fossil fuels and nuclear fission and to create a global sustainable environment.
I have some question of a more general nature:
1- What would you anticipate will be the main source of energy 100 years from now?
2- What is your opinion on the ITER project?
3- Would you say that there is a constraint on the minimum size of the e-Cat reactor unit?
Kind regards,
Mattias Andersson
Mr. Rossi, I have tremendous faith in your work. The world desperately needs this technology right now what with Oil rigs exploding and Nuclear Plants melting down. As a student in Canada, there seems very little I can do to help play my part. Is there anything you can suggest that would enable those of us who want to seriously make progress happen on this earth? I feel like the window of opportunity is closing on us fast with rising conflict and an unstable global economy.
Good luck and god speed.
Dr. Rossi,
I worked on cold fusion in it’s infancy when I was at TAMU in 1989. We saw the effect when we used heavy water and Pd rods. Unfortunately as we attempted to purify our Pd rods, the lack of impurities diminished the effect. I have maintained my strong belief in the process, but I have been laughed at by the ignorant masses, including my colleagues for years. I would love to offer my help, collaboration and support as you seek to develop your version. I am very interested in taking this to the development level, but I also want to develop the theory and be able to defend it. If you would like to continue the dialogue, please feel free to contact me. Ed Storms has done a great job and having visited his lab in Santa Fe, it excites me that we have a future in seeing this LENR finally take hold and regain respect among the scientific community. This is a paradigm shift. Let’s talk!
[…] such concerns were expressed by visitors to his site today, and in true Rossi fashion he answered them […]
Supporter:
Thank you!
In the paper I used old Internet data for masses.
More recent data seem to be (see for ex. Wiki, isotopes of Nickel, isotopes of Copper):
Ni58(57.9353429)
Cu63(62.9295975)
With these data, mass of Ni58 plus 5 nucleons is 57.9353429 +5=62.9353429 amu
Mass defect 0.0057454 amu
This is 7 lower with respect to 0.04013 amu reported in the paper.
It means 7 times more Nickel, 7 times more Copper, 5×7=35 grams.
Keep up the good work.
Hope to hear u soon on the news.
Regards from the Netherlands.
Dear Mr Luke Mortensen:
1- I have taken the necessary safety measures, also with the consulting of our radiation experts.
2- yes, our catalysts don’t pose availability problems
3- I have been many times in a highly risky situations. When God thinks it’s my time it’s my time. When not, it will be not. I never lose time about these security syndromes also because I have not time to think about. Got good attorneys, though.
Warm regards,
A.R.
Dear Mr Moho,
I have already answered as far as I am allowed to to these questions. Please review the comments.
Warm Regards,
A.R.
Hi Mr. Rossi,
I have a (I think) simple question.
Let’s hypothesize for a moment that your E-cat reactors have been perfected to the point that from a volume of 1 liter it’s possible to extract safely and reliably 100 kW of thermal power (during February’s tests by Levi, the 12 kW version was able to provide 130 kW of power for a short while, after all. So it’s not a hypothesis too far from reality).
Let’s also assume that such state-of-the-art 100 kW reactor is ran for one year non-stop at full power, continuously recharged as nickel is transmuted into copper so that there isn’t any downtime period.
We’re speaking therefore of a best-case scenario. How many kilograms of nickel would a 100 kW reactor transmute into copper in one year at full power in the best case? Or, in more technical terms, do you have any estimate of what would be the specific consumption of nickel in g/MW·h (grams per megawatt-hour) ?
Thanks in advance,
IM,
Dear Mr Rossi,
I am a business consultant in the United States. The skepticism regarding the fuel seems to be the most objective way to evaluate the probability this is real. And the probability makes a business difference here, as I’ll mention below.
My question: What procautions are you taking for your own safety? Have you made an effort to make sure the “secret ingredient” is still made available in the event something happens to you or your team before October?
I would suspect that the major intelligence services of the world would have setup listening stations across the street if they perceived there was even a 10% chance this discovery was legit. With each validation, the probability increases and their stake in controlling it would grow. Thus the “probability of validity” seems directly proportional to risks to yourself and your team. Strange situation to be in. Very strange.
And if you are building a business development team in the US for this technology, I want a job!
Best regards,
~Luke Mortensen
Dear Mr Godbole:
I studied very carefully the book of Norman Cooks. Yes, I got explications from it.
Warm regards,
A.R.
Do quarks always have an electric charge? Or is it separable from them? Quark behaviour (strong force) and EM force are separable and hence many such phenomena are possible. What keeps quark and charge together? Can Dr. Norman Cook’s idea of a lattice structured nucleus explain the phenomena?
[…] Rossi says that about 30% of nickel was turned into copper, after 6 months of uninterrupted operation. At first glance this seems to agree with calculations […]
Maybe it is the flux of water passing through a foam that ignites the fusion. Certainly, inside a rigid porous material, there is a lot of turbulance and thus a lot of high differential zones of pressures. It causes cavitation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C…
“Other ways of generating cavitation voids involve the local deposition of energy, such as an intense focused laser pulse (optic cavitation) or with an electrical discharge through a spark. Vapor gases evaporate into the cavity from the surrounding medium; thus, the cavity is not a perfect vacuum, but has a relatively low gas pressure. Such a low-pressure cavitation bubble in a liquid begins to collapse due to the higher pressure of the surrounding medium. As the bubble collapses, the pressure and temperature of the vapor within increases. The bubble eventually collapses to a minute fraction of its original size, at which point the gas within dissipates into the surrounding liquid via a rather violent mechanism, which releases a significant amount of energy in the form of an acoustic shock wave and as visible light. At the point of total collapse, the temperature of the vapor within the bubble may be several thousand kelvin, and the pressure several hundred atmospheres.”
So, if there is fusion, it is very similar to the idea of bubble fusion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B…
“Bubble fusion, also known as sonofusion, is the non-technical name for a nuclear fusion reaction hypothesized to occur during a high-pressure version of sonoluminescence, an extreme form of acoustic cavitation. Officially, this reaction is termed acoustic inertial confinement fusion (AICF) (see ICF) since the inertia of the collapsing bubble wall confines the energy, causing an extreme rise in temperature. The high temperatures that sonoluminescence can produce raise the possibility that it might be a means to achieve thermonuclear fusion.”
What might happen it is that now, we have a bubble collapsing on a microcavity of nickel. So, vapor, is now a plasma of oxygen and hydrogen. Maybe there are x-rays, or gamma rays, but they are contained due the ultra high density of the bubble. Or maybe this is characteristic of the fusion of the nickel, to emit a lot of low energy photons, which are blocked by the collapsing bubble.
Dear Dr Francesco Benedetti:
Thanks to you,
Warm regards,
A.R.
Dear Mr Erick Claussen:
Thank you!
Warm regards,
A.R.
Estimado señor rosi.
personas como usted , son las que sacaran a este mundo de aprietos,y terminaran con la ESCLAVITUD
a la que nos tienen sometidos los grandes grupos financieros del mundo.
seran usted y su socio las personas que VIVIRAN INMORTALES EN EL CORAZON DE LA HUMANIDAD:
no se deje amedrentar,siga adelante , ENSEÑELE AL MUNDO COMO HACER SU APARATO: asi nadie podra negarlo.
FELICITACIONES POR SUS LOGROS
ERICK
Dear Ing. Rossi,
First for all, as I said to Prof. Focardi, congratulations!
I’m graduated in Bechelor Electronic Engineer and I’m student of Master Electronical Engineer in University of Cesena( I hope to see another dimostration on Bologna!I’m so sorry of my absence to the last one…)very interested in the sector of fusion, expecially in cold fusion.
I think that you running on the road of one of the most important change in the History of human being.
As student, researecher and worker you have my complete support and I will speak everywhere of the incredible importance of your experiments.
I’m studing very carefully all the important issues in relation with your apparatus.
Thank you very much & good luck!
Francesco Benedetti
Dear Mr Aron Duckworth:
As I said many times, Fleishman and Pons have been the ones who gave us a dream following which the present results have been achieved. We owe this to them. As for what you ask, yes, I have made the necessary deeds.
Please present my best wishes to Martin Fleishman.
Warm regards,
Andrea Rossi
Dear Mr Matteo Ciardi:
Of course you are free to write what you want; feel also free to use all the documents published on the Journal Of Nuclear Physics.
Warm Regards,
A.R.
Dear Mr Rossi,
i have got a political blog because i like to follow the political events. I write on it the local political events. The most important politicians like mayor, councillors and city councillors read my blog. Can i begin to write on blog about your new energy system? Others blog made it in the past when you showed the experiment in Bologna. I wish inform people about the system.
Dear Ing. Rossi,
Amazing work.
I’am a good friend of Martin Fleischmans Grand Daughter. We have been keenly following your work since January. Anna and I have talked a lot about the turmoil He experienced back then. As you probaly have heard from him during your visit a few weeks ago, he has some depressing stories.
Obviously you are threatening entire industries and countries with this technology. I really hope you have spread the knowledge far enough as to avoid being a target yourself or just having the project shut down. Have you considered sharing the exact workings of the device; catalysts, quantities, pressure, ect? I understand the financial benefit you stand to make but maybe the world needs this out there so we can start to put right the damage done during the oil age. If you were to ask for donations for the download of the design I think you would still end up one of the richest men in the world along with the most well remembered. Think what happened to GM electric car, Stanley Meyer and others. I think I speak for most of the worlds youth when i say please share before its too late!! You will be Leonardo Divinche of the 21st century.
Dear Mr Carlo Ombello:
Thank you for the suggestion: I will think about it .
Warm regards,
A.R.
Dear Ing. Rossi,
Thank you for your kind answer. I wish I could be of help in spreading your business once it’s up and running. What I can do for now is spreading the news from my blog. I guess what’s most important for you, for us all is the Greek pilot project and the yet undisclosed milestone agreement with a US body, which hopefully will involve the construction of several distributed CHP plants? I truly hope Italy will also soon awake to this opportunity.
PS: may I suggest you open a forum in order to channel comments in one platform? anyway, it is great to see how available and humble you are despite the hard work you are going through on a daily basis. Thank you!
Ing. Carlo Ombello
Dear Mr Paul Fernhout:
Thank you for your insight. In October, with the start up of the 1 MW plant I will also release the theory behind the effect.
Warm regards,
A.R.
Ing. Rossi, congratulations on the most recent presentation discussed here:
http://pesn.com/2011/04/07/9501805_Rossi_Cold_Fusion_Validated_by_Swedish_Skeptics_Society/
I’ve been thinking on the pulse of activity at the start up and shut down of the device. I wonder if varying electrical fields might affect the reaction rate somehow (perhaps by shifting hydrogen ions somehow so they move closer to some nickel)? Anyway, have you tried feeding in oscillating current of some sort or otherwise doing something to create a varying electromagnetic field (with appropriate safety precautions if that made the reaction more unstable or progress very much faster)? In general, those edge effects might be worth exploring to better understand what is going on.
I also took my previous comments to this site on the socio-economics of abundant cheap energy and put a copy of them on the PE Wiki site:
http://peswiki.com/index.php/OS:Economic_Transformation
Dear Mr Carlo Ombello:
For this kind of commercial issues, please contact me in November, after the start up of the first 1 MW plant. For now I want not do deal with commercial issues: they are premature.
Thank you for your kind attention,
Warm regards,
A.R.
Ing. Rossi, I’ve been following you since January, and I sincerely believe you’re on the verge of making history. I’m originally from Milan but I live and work in the UK. Being very interested in energy, I can only say that the UK (with its great uncertainty over energy policy for the near future, with several coal and nuclear fission power plants due to decommissioning in the coming years) would greatly benefit from the full scale deployment of your clean, renewable, cheap energy source. So far though, the UK seems oblivious to your findings. Do you have any active contacts yet to develop your business in UK?
Kind Regards
Carlo Ombello
Dear Mr Bertil Nilsson:
Yes.
Warm regards,
A.R.
Dear Mr Bjorn:
First of all, I am not Professor.
The isotopes of Ni have a slight displacement from the natural composition for reasons we know well, but are at the moment confidential
Yopu will find anyway the part of explication I could give in former comments in this blog.
Warm Regards,
A.R.