[opendtv] OT: Italian scientists claim cold fusion success
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:40:32 -0600
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4212428/Italian-scientists-claim-cold-fusion-success?cid=NL_EETimesDaily
Italian scientists claim cold fusion success
Peter Clarke
1/24/2011 8:58 AM EST
LONDON - Two Italian scientists have reported that they have successfully
created a cold fusion reaction that produces energy at temperatures below 1000K
through the fusion of nickel and hydrogen.
The process produces energy as it creates a copper isotope which then decays to
produce a different nickel isotope yielding further energy, according to an
online paper authored by Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi of the physics
department of the University of Bologna. The two claim to have developed a cold
fusion reactor capable of producing 12,400 watts of heat power from an
electrical input of just 400 watts. They held a press conference to show off
their apparatus working on Friday Jan. 14.
Conventional fusion reactions, where hydrogen is fused into helium, occur at
millions of degrees. If room temperature fusion reactions could be realized
commercially it promises abundant nuclear energy. It could in theory produce
vast amounts of energy from the transformation of relatively small amounts of
material and would likely transform global politics.
However, there is a great deal of skepticism around the topic of cold fusion.
This has been the case since scientists were unable to reproduce results
reported by Stanley Pons of the University of Utah and Martin Fleischmann of
the University of Southampton in 1989. Pons and Fleischmann worked on the
absorption of hydrogen by palladium.
It is reported that Focardi and Rossi have had their paper refused by
peer-review publications.
Nonetheless the reactor showed off by Focardi and Rossi is beyond the research
stage they say, and reports quote the scientists saying they plan to start
shipping commercial devices within the next three months and start mass
production by the end of 2011. Rossi's affiliation on the paper is given as
Leonardo Corp. Leonardo (Bedford, New Hampshire) is a subsidiary of Eon srl a
manufacturer of electric generators fueled by vegetable oils and animal fats.
The reactor uses less than 1 gram of hydrogen and starts by consuming about
1,000 W of electricity, which is reduced to 400 W after a few minutes,
according to PhysOrg report. The output of the reactor converts 292 grams of 20
degree C water into dry steam at about 101 degree C per minute. The raising of
the temperature of water by 80 degrees C and converting it to steam requires
about 12,400 W of power; a power gain of a factor of 31. As for costs, the
scientists estimate that electricity can be generated at a cost of less than 1
cent per kWh, Physorg said.
The scientists also said that one of their reactors has been running
continuously for two years, providing heat for a factory, but they did provide
details, PhysOrg added.
Despite abounding skepticism a number of groups continue to work on
low-temperature fusion reactions. In March 2009 U.S. Navy researchers claimed
to have experimentally confirmed cold fusion reactions in a presentation at the
American Chemical Society's annual meeting. "We have compelling evidence that
fusion reactions are occurring" at room temperature, said Pamela Mosier-Boss, a
scientist with the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (San Diego) at that
time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
Other related posts:
- » [opendtv] OT: Italian scientists claim cold fusion success - Manfredi, Albert E
