From: hoyt@isus.UUCP (Hoyt A. Stearns jr.)
Subject: Re: List
Followup-To: sci.physics.fusion
Summary: Sealed "cold fusion" cell.
Keywords: P&F, recombiner, sealed cell
Organization: International Society of Unified Science
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 18:14:58 GMT

In article <930105144432.20a07695@FNALD.FNAL.GOV> DROEGE@fnald.fnal.gov writes:
>Hoyt A Stearns writes:
>
>"I think you forgot one: My Pd Pt cell has a hydrocap recombiner, and was
>evacuated after Pd charging.  The head pressure is very low."
>
>Does it stay low?  Under these conditions, either outgassing or new absorption

Yes. It has been "low" for a year.

The hydrocap is quite efficient, I guess.

DISCLAIMER: I don't have any where near the equipment, time, or money
available to me as you have.  This is a "back burner" project. If something
is convenient to try, I'll do it, without necessarily having any
hypothesis.

The electrolyte is 100g  99.9% D20, 1 pellet of Li metal, and a trace of CS2.

The cell was evacutated to prevent the Li0D from absorbing C02 to form
LiCO3; to prevent H20 exchange with D20, and, of course, the cell is sealed
because I can't afford to keep buying D20.

Because of previous experiments with very high voltages and currents,
I definitely don't want very much combustible gas in the head space,
and the hydrocap obliges.

The cell consists of 2 in^2 of platinum ribbon wrapped on a polyethylene
semi-permeable membrane 1" dia. In the center is a 5g Pd rod.
At the top fluid surface is a 10 g Pd disk, half immersed, flat side down.
All electrodes are wired with Pt wire mechanically connected (no brazing).

The cell is sealed with parafilm around a 2" rubber stopper.

Normally I have the two Pd pieces connected together electrically, but
I have varied the currents to change the current distribution in the 
electrolyte.

>
>Note anything kills the vacuum.  If there is D2 absorption then the excess O2
>kills the vacuum.  If the cathode outgasses D2 then that kills the vacuum 
>since there is no O2 to combine it on the catalyst.  
>

I wouldn't say my "low pressure" is a vacuum. It is, of course, higher than
the vapor pressure of D20 at room temperature, but substantially lower than
atmospheric (but I don't have calibrated guage).

A bit of history:  This cell has been sealed for >2YR, and been through
many different experimental conditions.  It has been operating with 5 volts,
42 ma for a year.   It gets warm to the touch every couple of weeks
for a day or so (There is no calorimeter, so this counts for nothing).

Previously (>1 year ago):

The cell has been run with 10 amps in a water cooled jacket, which
boils the electrolyte and expels vapor out a check valve through a bubbler,
due to thermal expansion, boiling etc. (this leaves low pressure when the steam
condenses);

It has been pulsed with 1000V high current pulses once a second for a while
(interesting and spectacular display of red plasma--this probably creates
ultrasonic shock waves. It was violent enough I was worried about shattering
the container. It also created a black sediment of unknown composition);

It has been run with an immersed ultrasonic generator
(the only effect I saw was the electrolysis bubbles changed in size,
as I recall there were fewer of them, but larger, making it easier to
see inside).

It has been run surrounded with a wire solenoid, with pulsed high current
applied, constant DC current, and sinuosoidal AC.(The idea here was
to induce large circulating currents in the Pd) (A previous cell had
electrical connections on both ends of the Pd rod, and various combinations
of currents through the rod and currents to the electrolyte were tried,
including AC and DC).


It has been run raised to + and - 40KV (the whole apparatus).;

It has been run with DC offset AC electrolysis current, the AC varying from
60 HZ to several MHz.
____

Things I'd like to try but haven't yet:

Mount a Pd rod in two bearings to make an axle, then angularly misalign
one bearing, and rotate the Pd to create alternating compression and
rarefaction at the perimeter of the rod.

Rotate the Pd rod at high speed to create a boundary layer of electrolyte.

Rotate the whole apparatus about the Pd rod (this will cause the bubbles
to migrate toward the rod).

Put the whole apparatus in an ultra-centrifuge (this will cause the bubbles
to be of much higher pressure, and probably rise faster.

Fire a high power pulse laser to a spot on the Pd.

Ultrasonically excite the Pd rod itself.

Explosively compress a D charged Pd sphere.

-- 
Hoyt A. Stearns jr.|hoyt@          | International Society of Unified Science|
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