From: crb7q@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (Cameron Randale Bass)
Subject: Re: HICCUP Fusion
Organization: University of Virginia
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 21:46:50 GMT

In article <1992Dec16.201708.26730@asl.dl.nec.com> terry@asl.dl.nec.com writes:
>Hi folks,
>
>HICCUP Fusion: Hot-In-Cold Cavitation Ultra Pressure Fusion
>
>A humorous name, yes, but the suggestion you are about to read for totally
>conventional Jones-level "hot-in-cold" fusion is entirely serious.  I hope
>someone out there will actually give it a try.
>
>For those of you unfamiliar with the term, "cavitation" refers to the
>creation -- often via ultrasound -- and subsequent collapse of very tiny
>bubbles in a fluid.  Exceptionally high pressures are generated as the
>bubbles collapse.
>
>PROPOSED CRITERIA FOR INCREASING MAXIMUM CAVITATION PRESSURES
>
>Key feature which I would assert are necessary for achieving unusually
>high pressures with cavitation:
>
> 1) USE OF LIQUIDS WITH VERY HIGH SURFACE TENSION

     The only problem is that 'pressure' itself does not seem to 
     be sufficient to even get to electronic levels much less
     to nuclear levels.  The entire concept of fluid surface tension
     breaks down long before getting to the level of nuclear
     interactions.  I am also not sure that high surface tension
     has much effect on the so-called stable sonoluminescence, which
     is a cavitation phenomenon of the sort you envision.

> 3) USE OF HARD-TO-BREAK-DOWN MOLECULES
>
>    If the molecule is too fragile, it is likely to break down at the
>    inner bubble surface as higher pressures are reached.  H20 is (yet
>    again) a good choice in terms of resistance to breadown.

    Again, the phenomenon of breaking molecular bonds a) requires
    much less energy than fusion and b) is localized on much larger
    scales than fusion.  Why would such localized energy not
    simply destroy any molecule first?

> 4) USE OF VERY-LOW-VAPOR-PRESSURE MOLECULES
>
>    Here's one for which H2O does not rate as well.  I suspect that one
>    of the most important limiting factors in final cavitation pressure
>    is the number of gases and vapor-phase molecules existing within the
>    bubble.  The bubble is like a collapsing baloon whose final size (and
>    thus pressure) is determined largely by the volume of gas contained
>    in it when it began collapsing.  Very little gas means that the
>    bubble can collapse to a much smaller size before gas pressure halts
>    the collapse.

     I suspect if your aim is to produce large cavitation pressures, then
     the character of the sound field is probably much more important 
     than vapour pressures.

>HOW HIGH CAN YOU GO, JOE?

     Since I've never seen a good full spectrum of sonoluminescence from 
     cavitation, the question is still unanswered. 

>Well, that about wraps up my proposal for HICCUP fusion.  If someone
>actually tries it an gets interesting results, feel free to put in a
>patent disclosure on it -- you will get no argument from me, provided
>only that you have the courtesy of saying you got the idea here.

>My thanks to Dale Bass (crb7q@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU) for poking me
>in a private email about how interesting the cavitation effect is.

     You'll get no argument from me either, provided that someone gives me
     a hint as to how cavitation sonoluminescence works in the process.
 
                            dale bass
-- 
C. R. Bass                                          crb7q@virginia.edu        
Department of Mechanical, 
     Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering
University of Virginia                              (804) 924-7926
Newsgroups: sci.physics.fusion