From: ames!FNALD.FNAL.GOV!DROEGE
Subject: A Ying Result
Reply-To: ames!FNALD.FNAL.GOV!DROEGE
Organization: Sci.physics.fusion/Mail Gateway
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 02:36:36 GMT

With apologies to Coke and Pepsi:

"It's the real Ying"

But it doesn't have any "Uh-Huh".

Those of you who wondered why I did not use Ying-Yang for In/Out now 
know that I had something more grand in mind.  If you do not get the 
pun, you live in another solar system.  

This last weekend we completed the first real test of the Ying 
experiment.  We used the same type of glass bottle as Ying used, 
samples of which were provided by Gene Mallove.  The cell was fitted 
with a rubber stopper with four penetrations.  One was a .5 mm dia Pd 
cathode.  A second was a .25 mm dia Pt anode.  About 3 cm of the 
cathode was active, the anode length was adjusted to give about equal 
anode and cathode area.  Two stainless steel tubes were provided, one 
to the bottom of the cell and one to the top.  The top tube 
penetration was connected by a tube to a second container which held a 
catalyst and which was also located inside the calorimeter.  The 
outlet from the catalyst container was brought outside the calorimeter 
where any excess gas was measured by a motor driven syringe.  The 
bottom cell tube was kept sealed except for it use in loading the 
electrolyte.  The system was operated completely sealed. 

The configuration was that specified by Ying in his private 
communication which I am pledged to keep secret until he can obtain 
publication.  
              
The cell was placed in the calorimeter empty and allowed to stabilize 
for a few hours, then an eleven hour null measurement was made.  This 
indicated a mean drift of less than +2 mw for the 11 hour measurement 
period.  

The bottom cell tube was then used to load the cell with D2O.  The 
command current was adjusted (we command current not voltage) to 
provide a cell voltage near 15 volts.  After another few hours to 
allow the calorimeter to stabilize from the electrolyte insertion, a 
run was made to look for "anomalous heat".  This run again gave a 
measurement of near +2 mw.  

The cell current was then reversed, and again after a period to allow 
the cell to stabilize, another long term measurement was made.  This 
measurement is still going on, but the early indication is that it 
will also give a result near zero, but somewhat negative. 

At this time, I can say that I have run the Ying experiment and the 
result is consistent with zero "anomalous heat" +/- 20 mw.  The error 
will likely get closer to zero when the off line calibrations are 
applied.  Because of the weather (hurricanes, volcanos, etc.) the 
house temperature has varied more that usual so that some study will 
be required to get the most accurate measurement. 

One thing that was troublesome was that the cell ran at a higher 
current than that reported by Ying.  His 26 June press release states 
that the input power was 15 milli-watts.  Private communication with 
him indicated an operating point of 100 micro-amperes at 15 volts.  At 
14.5 volts, we were drawing more than 25 ma.  We took reasonable care 
to keep contaminants out of the cell, so I am surprised that Ying was 
able to achieve such low cell current at 15 volts.  It has not been 
overlooked that 15 volts and 25 ma is pretty close to the half watt of 
excess power reported by Ying when he though his input power was 100 
micro-amperes and 15 volts.  One possibility is that Ying's ammeter 
was not accurate.  In private discussion Ying said that he only had 
one ammeter but that he now had a second and that he would operate the 
two in series as a check.  We note that it is very easy to damage an 
ammeter.  
                            
Since Ying has advertised "Cold fusion on demand ..." (26 July press 
release), I can say that I have demanded, and there was no heat 
presented.  Unlike some of the other "cold fusion" experiments where 
it was only promised that some cells show "anomalous heat", this looks 
like a bona fide negative result to me.  

Tom Droege

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