The Ininsky rock garden is located in the Barguzin Valley. It was as if someone had deliberately scattered the huge stones or placed them deliberately. And in places where megaliths are located, something mysterious always happens.
One of the attractions of Buryatia is the Ininsky rock garden in the Barguzin Valley. It makes an amazing impression - huge stones scattered in disorder on a completely flat surface. It was as if someone had either scattered them on purpose, or had placed them with intent. And in places where megaliths are located, something mysterious always happens.
Power of nature
In general, “rock garden” is the Japanese name for an artificial landscape in which stones arranged according to strict rules play a key role. “Karesansui” (dry landscape) has been cultivated in Japan since the 14th century, and it appeared for a reason. It was believed that gods lived in places with a large accumulation of stones, and as a result, the stones themselves began to be given divine significance. Of course, now the Japanese use rock gardens as a place for meditation, where it is convenient to indulge in philosophical reflection.
And this is what philosophy has to do with it. The seemingly chaotic arrangement of stones is, in fact, strictly subject to certain laws. Firstly, the asymmetry and difference in the sizes of the stones must be observed. There are certain observation points in the garden, depending on the time when you are going to contemplate the structure of your microcosm. And the main trick is that from any observation point there should always be one stone that... is not visible.
The most famous rock garden in Japan is located in Kyoto, the ancient capital of the country of samurai, in the Ryoanji Temple. This is the refuge of Buddhist monks. And here in Buryatia, the “rock garden” appeared without human effort - its author is Nature itself.
In the southwestern part of the Barguzin Valley, 15 kilometers from the village of Suvo, where the Ina River emerges from the Ikat ridge, this place is located with an area of more than 10 square kilometers. Significantly more than any Japanese garden stones - in the same proportion as japanese bonsai less Buryat cedar. Here, large blocks of stone reaching 4-5 meters in diameter protrude from the flat ground, and these boulders go up to 10 meters deep!
The distance of these megaliths from the mountain range reaches 5 kilometers or more. What kind of force could scatter these huge stones over such distances? The fact that this was not done by a person became clear from recent history: a 3-kilometer canal was dug here for irrigation purposes. And here and there in the channel bed there are huge boulders that go down to a depth of 10 meters. They fought with them, of course, but to no avail. As a result, all work on the canal was stopped.
Scientists have put forward different versions of the origin of the Ininsky rock garden. Many people consider these blocks to be moraine boulders, that is, glacial deposits. Scientists call their ages different (E.I. Muravsky believes that they are 40-50 thousand years old, and V.V. Lamakin - more than 100 thousand years!), depending on which glaciation they are counting.
According to geologists, in ancient times the Barguzin depression was a freshwater shallow lake, which was separated from Lake Baikal by a narrow and low mountain bridge connecting the Barguzin and Ikat ridges. As the water level rose, a runoff formed, turning into a river bed that cut deeper and deeper into the hard crystalline rocks. Known as storm water flows in spring or after heavy rain blurred steep slopes, leaving deep furrows in beams and ravines. Over time, the water level dropped, and the area of the lake decreased due to the abundance of suspended material brought into it by rivers. As a result, the lake disappeared, and in its place there remained a wide valley with boulders, which were later classified as natural monuments.
But recently, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences G.F. Ufimtsev suggested very original idea, which has nothing to do with glaciations. In his opinion, the Ininsky rock garden was formed as a result of a relatively recent, catastrophic, gigantic ejection of large blocky material.
According to his observations, glacial activity on the Ikat ridge manifested itself only in a small area in the upper reaches of the Turokchi and Bogunda rivers, while in the middle part of these rivers there are no traces of glaciation. Thus, according to the scientist, the dam of the dammed lake along the Ina River and its tributaries broke. As a result of a breakthrough from the upper reaches of the Ina, a large volume of blocky material was thrown into the Barguzin Valley by a mudflow or a ground avalanche. This version is supported by the fact of severe destruction of the bedrock sides of the Ina River valley at the confluence with Turokcha, which may indicate the removal of a large volume of rock by the mudflow.
In the same section of the Ina River, Ufimtsev noted two large “amphitheatres” (resembling a huge funnel) measuring 2.0 by 1.3 kilometers and 1.2 by 0.8 kilometers, which could probably be the bed of large dammed lakes. The dam’s breakthrough and the release of water, according to Ufimtsev, could have occurred as a result of seismic processes, since both slope “amphitheaters” are confined to the zone of a young fault with thermal water outlets.
The gods were naughty here
This amazing place has long been of interest to local residents. And for the “rock garden” people came up with a legend that goes back to ancient times. The beginning is simple. Once two rivers, Ina and Barguzin, argued which of them would be the first to reach Lake Baikal. Barguzin cheated and set off on the road that evening, and in the morning the angry Ina rushed after him, angrily throwing huge boulders out of her way. So they still lie on both banks of the river. Isn't it true that this is just a poetic description of the powerful mudflow proposed to be explained by Dr. Ufimtsev?
The stones still keep the secret of their formation. They are not only different sizes and colors, they are generally from different breeds. That is, they were broken out from more than one place. And the depth of occurrence speaks of many thousands of years, during which meters of soil have grown around the boulders.
For those who have seen the movie Avatar, on a foggy morning the Ina stones will resemble hanging mountains with winged dragons flying around them. The peaks of the mountains protrude from the clouds of fog, like individual fortresses or the heads of giants in helmets. The impressions from contemplating a rock garden are amazing, and it is no coincidence that people endowed the stones with magical powers: it is believed that if you touch the boulders with your hands, they will take away negative energy, giving positive gifts in return.
In these amazing places there is another place where the gods played pranks. This place was nicknamed “Suva Saxon Castle”. This natural formation is located near the group of salty Alga lakes near the village of Suvo, on the steppe slopes of the hill at the foot of the Ikat ridge. The picturesque rocks are very reminiscent of the ruins of an ancient castle. These places served as a particularly revered and sacred place for Evenki shamans. In the Evenki language, “suvoya” or “suvo” means “whirlwind”.
It was believed that this is where spirits live - the masters of local winds. The main and most famous of which was the legendary wind of Baikal “Barguzin”. According to legend, an evil ruler lived in these places. He was distinguished by a ferocious disposition, he took pleasure in bringing misfortune to the poor and disadvantaged people.
He had his only and beloved son, who was bewitched by spirits as punishment for his cruel father. After realizing his cruel and unfair attitude towards people, the ruler fell to his knees, began to beg and tearfully ask to restore his son’s health and make him happy. And he distributed all his wealth to people.
And the spirits freed the ruler’s son from the power of illness! It is believed that for this reason the rocks are divided into several parts. Among the Buryats there is a belief that the owners of Suvo, Tumurzhi-Noyon and his wife Tutuzhig-Khatan, live in the rocks. Burkhans were erected in honor of the Suva rulers. On special days, entire rituals are performed in these places.
Academician Evgeniy Alexandrov
1. Introduction.
The release of energy during the fusion of light nuclei constitutes the content of one of the two branches nuclear power, which has so far been implemented only in the weapons sector in the form hydrogen bomb- in contrast to the second direction, associated with the chain reaction of fission of heavy nuclei, which is used both in weapons implementation and as a widely developed industrial source of thermal energy. At the same time, the process of fusion of light nuclei is associated with optimistic hopes of creating peaceful nuclear energy with an unlimited resource base. However, the project of a controlled thermonuclear reactor, put forward by Kurchatov 60 years ago, today seems, perhaps, to be an even more distant prospect than it was seen at the beginning of these studies. In the thermonuclear reactor it is planned to carry out the synthesis of deuterium and tritium nuclei in the process of collision of nuclei in a plasma heated to many tens of millions of degrees. The high kinetic energy of colliding nuclei should ensure overcoming the Coulomb barrier. However, in principle, the potential barrier to an exothermic reaction can be overcome without using high temperatures and/or high pressures using catalytic approaches, as is well known in chemistry and, especially, in biochemistry. This approach to the implementation of the fusion reaction of deuterium nuclei was implemented in a series of works on the so-called “muon catalysis”, a review of which is devoted to a detailed work. The process is based on the formation of a molecular ion consisting of two deuterons bound instead of an electron by a muon - an unstable particle with the charge of an electron and with a mass of ~200 electron masses. The muon pulls together the deuteron nuclei, bringing them closer to a distance of about 10 -12 m, which makes tunneling overcoming the Coulomb barrier and fusion of nuclei highly probable (about 10 8 s -1). Despite the great successes of this direction, it turned out to be a dead end with regard to the prospects for extracting nuclear energy due to the unprofitability of the process: the energy obtained along these paths does not pay for the costs of producing muons.
In addition to the very real mechanism of muon catalysis, over the past three decades, reports have repeatedly appeared about the supposedly successful demonstration of cold fusion in the conditions of the interaction of hydrogen isotope nuclei inside a metal matrix or on the surface solid. The first reports of this kind were associated with the names of Fleischmann, Pons and Hawkins, who studied the features of the electrolysis of heavy water in an installation with a palladium cathode, continuing electrochemical research with hydrogen isotopes undertaken in the early 80s. Fleischmann and Pons discovered excessive heat release during the electrolysis of heavy water and wondered whether this was a consequence of nuclear fusion reactions in two possible ways:
2 D + 2 D -> 3 T(1.01 MeV) + 1 H(3.02 MeV)
Or (1)
2 D + 2 D -> 3 He(0.82 MeV) + n(2.45 MeV)
These works generated great enthusiasm and a series of testing works with variable and unstable results. (In one of the recent works of this kind (), for example, an explosion of a facility, presumably of a nuclear nature, was reported!) However, over time, the scientific community formed the impression that the conclusions about the observation of “cold fusion” were dubious, mainly due to the lack of neutron output or their excess is too small above the background level. This has not stopped proponents of searching for “catalytic” approaches to “cold fusion.” Experiencing great difficulty in publishing the results of their research in respectable journals, they began to gather at regular conferences with autonomous publication of materials. In 2003, the tenth international conference on “cold fusion” took place, after which these meetings changed their names. In 2002, under the auspices of SpaceandNavalWarfareSystemsCommand (SPAWAR), a two-volume collection of articles was published in the USA. Edmund Storm's updated review of A Student's Guide to Cold Fusion was republished in 2012, containing 338 references - available online. Today, this area of work is most often referred to by the abbreviation LENR – LowEnergyNuclearReactions.
Let us note that public confidence in the results of these studies is further undermined by individual propaganda releases in the media of reports about more than dubious sensations on this front. In Russia it still exists mass production so-called “vortex generators” of heat (electro-mechanical water heaters) with a turnover of about billions of rubles per year. Manufacturers of these units assure consumers that these devices produce heat on average one and a half times more than they consume electricity. To explain the excess energy, they resort, among other things, to talk about cold fusion, supposedly occurring in cavitation bubbles that arise in water mills. Currently very popular in the media are reports about the Italian inventor Andrea Rossi (“with a complex biography,” as S.P. Kapitsa once said about V.I. Petrik), who demonstrates to television crews an installation that performs the catalytic transformation (transmutation) of nickel into copper due, allegedly, to the fusion of copper nuclei with hydrogen protons, releasing energy at the kilowatt level. Details of the device are kept secret, but it is reported that the basis of the reactor is a ceramic tube filled with nickel powder with secret additives, which is heated by current while being cooled by flowing water. Hydrogen gas is supplied to the tube. In this case, excess heat release with power at the level of several kilowatts is detected. Rossi promises to show a generator with a power of ~1 MW in the near future (in 2012!). The University of Bologna, on whose territory all this is unfolding, gives some respectability to this venture (with a distinct flavor of scam). (In 2012, this university stopped collaborating with Rossi).
2. New experiments on “metal-crystalline catalysis”.
Over the past ten years, the search for conditions for the occurrence of “cold fusion” has shifted from electrochemical experiments and electrical heating of samples to “dry” experiments in which deuterium nuclei penetrate into the crystal structure of transition element metals - palladium, nickel, platinum. These experiments are relatively simple and appear to be more reproducible than those previously mentioned. Interest in these works has been attracted by a recent publication in which an attempt is made to theoretically explain by cold nuclear fusion the phenomenon of excess heat production during the deuteration of metals in the absence of the emission of neutrons and gamma rays, which would seem necessary for such fusion.
Unlike the collision of “bare” nuclei in a hot plasma, where the collision energy must overcome the Coulomb barrier that prevents the fusion of nuclei, when a deuterium nucleus penetrates the crystal lattice of a metal, the Coulomb barrier between the nuclei is modified by the screening effect of electrons of atomic shells and conduction electrons. A.N. Egorov draws attention to the specific “looseness” of the deuteron nucleus, the volume of which is 125 times greater than the volume of the proton. The electron of an atom in the S state has the maximum probability of ending up inside the nucleus, which leads to the effective disappearance of the charge of the nucleus, which in this case is sometimes called a "dineutron". We can say that the deuterium atom is part of the time in such a “folded” compact state in which it is able to penetrate into other nuclei - including the nucleus of another deuteron. An additional factor influencing the probability of nuclei approaching each other in a crystal lattice is vibrations.
Without reproducing the considerations expressed in, let us consider some of the available experimental substantiations of the hypothesis about the occurrence of cold nuclear fusion during the deuteration of transition metals. There are quite detailed description experimental techniques of the Japanese group led by Professor Yoshiaki Arata (Osaka University). The Arata installation diagram is shown in Fig. 1:
Fig1. Here 2 is a stainless steel container containing “sample” 1, which is, in particular, a backfill (in a palladium capsule) of zirconium oxide coated with palladium (ZrO 2 -Pd); T in and T s are the positions of thermocouples that measure the temperature of the sample and container, respectively.
Before the start of the experiment, the container is warmed up and pumped out (degassed). After cooling it to room temperature a slow injection of hydrogen (H 2) or deuterium (D 2) from a cylinder with a pressure of about 100 atmospheres begins. In this case, the pressure in the container and the temperature at two selected points are controlled. During the first tens of minutes of inlet, the pressure inside the container remains close to zero due to the intense absorption of gas by the powder. In this case, the sample quickly heats up, reaching a maximum (60-70 0 C) after 15-18 minutes, after which the sample begins to cool. Soon after this (about 20 minutes), a monotonous increase in gas pressure inside the container begins.
The authors point out that the dynamics of the process are noticeably different in cases of hydrogen and deuterium infusion. When hydrogen is injected (Fig. 2), a maximum temperature of 610C is reached at the 15th minute, after which cooling begins.
When deuterium is injected (Fig. 3), the maximum temperature is ten degrees higher (71 0 C) and is reached somewhat later - at ~ 18 minutes. The cooling dynamics also reveal some differences in these two cases: in the case of hydrogen infusion, the temperatures of the sample and container (T in and T s) begin to approach earlier. Thus, 250 minutes after the start of hydrogen injection, the temperature of the sample does not differ from the temperature of the container and exceeds the temperature environment by 1 0 C. In the case of deuterium infusion, the temperature of the sample after the same 250 minutes significantly (by ~ 1 0 C) exceeds the temperature of the container and the ambient temperature by about 4 0 C.
Fig. 2 Change in time of pressure H 2 inside the container and temperatures T in and T s.
Rice. 3 Change in time of pressure D 2 and temperatures T in and T s.
The authors claim that the observed differences are reproducible. Beyond these differences, the observed rapid heating of the powder is explained by the energy of the chemical interaction of hydrogen/deuterium with the metal, during which hydride-metallic compounds are formed. The authors interpret the difference in the processes in the case of hydrogen and deuterium as evidence of the occurrence in the second case (with a very low probability, of course) of the fusion reaction of deuterium nuclei according to the scheme 2 D+ 2 D = 4 He + ~ 24 MeV. Such a reaction is completely incredible (about 10 -6 compared to reactions (1)) in the collision of “naked” nuclei due to the need to satisfy the laws of conservation of momentum and angular momentum. However, under solid-state conditions, such a reaction may be dominant. It is significant that this reaction does not produce fast particles, the absence (or deficiency) of which has invariably been considered as a decisive argument against the hypothesis of nuclear fusion. Of course, the question remains about the channel for the release of fusion energy. According to Tsyganov, in solid state conditions, processes of gamma quantum fragmentation into low-frequency electromagnetic and phonon excitations are possible.
Again, without going into depth theoretical basis hypothesis, let's return to its experimental justification.
As additional evidence, graphs of the cooling of the “reaction” zone at a later time (beyond 250 minutes), obtained with a higher temperature resolution and for different “backfilling” of the working fluid, are offered.
It can be seen from the figure that in the case of hydrogen infusion, starting from the 500th minute, the temperatures of the sample and container are compared with room temperature. In contrast, when deuterium is injected, by the 3000th minute a stationary excess of the sample temperature over the temperature of the container is established, which, in turn, turns out to be noticeably warmer than room temperature (by ~ 1.5 0 C for the case of the ZrO 2 -Pd sample).
Another important evidence in favor of nuclear fusion was the appearance of helium-4 as a reaction product. This issue has received considerable attention. First of all, the authors took measures to eliminate traces of helium in the released gases. For this purpose, an influx of H 2 /D 2 was used by diffusion through the palladium wall. As is known, palladium is highly permeable to hydrogen and deuterium and poorly permeable to helium. (The inlet through the diaphragm additionally slowed down the flow of gases into the reaction volume). After the reactor cooled, the gas in it was analyzed for the presence of helium. It is stated that helium was detected when deuterium was injected and was absent when hydrogen was injected. The analysis was carried out by mass spectrometry. (A quadrupole mass spectrograph was used).
The next slide is taken from Arata's (non-English speaking!) presentation. It contains some numerical data related to the experiments and estimates. These data are not entirely clear.
The first line apparently contains an estimate in moles of heavy hydrogen absorbed by the powder, D 2 .
The meaning of the second line seems to boil down to estimating the adsorption energy of 1700 cm 3 D 2 on palladium.
The third line appears to contain an estimate of the “excess heat” associated with nuclear fusion – 29.2...30 kJ.
The fourth line clearly refers to the estimate of the number of synthesized 4 He atoms - 3*10 17 . (This number of helium atoms created should correspond to a much greater heat release than indicated in line 3: (3*10 17) - (2.4*10 7 eV) = 1.1*10 13 erg = 1.1 MJ.).
The fifth line represents an estimate of the ratio of the number of synthesized helium atoms to the number of palladium atoms - 6.8*10 -6. The sixth line is the ratio of the numbers of synthesized helium atoms and adsorbed deuterium atoms: 4.3*10 -6.
3. On the prospects for independent verification of reports on “metal-crystalline nuclear catalysis.”
The experiments described appear to be relatively easy to reproduce, since they do not require large capital investments or the use of ultra-modern research methods. The main difficulty appears to be related to the lack of information about the structure of the working substance and the technology for its production.
When describing the working substance, the expression “nano-powder” is used: “ZrO 2 -nano-Pd sample powders, a matrix of zirconium oxide containing palladium nanoparticles” and, at the same time, the expression “alloys” is used: “ZrO 2 Pd alloy, Pd-Zr -Ni alloy.” One must think that the composition and structure of these “powders” - “alloys” play a key role in the observed phenomena. Indeed, in Fig. 4 one can see significant differences in the dynamics of late cooling of these two samples. They reveal even greater differences in the dynamics of temperature changes during the period of saturation with deuterium. The corresponding figure is reproduced below, which must be compared with a similar figure 3, where the “nuclear fuel” was ZrO 2 Pd alloy powder. It can be seen that the heating period of the Pd-Zr-Ni alloy lasts much longer (almost 10 times), the temperature rise is significantly less, and its decline is much slower. However, a direct comparison of this figure with Fig. 3 is hardly possible, bearing in mind, in particular, the difference in the masses of the “working substance”: 7 G - ZrO 2 Pd and 18.4 G - Pd-Zr-Ni.
Additional details regarding working powders can be found in the literature, in particular in.
4. Conclusion
It seems obvious that independent reproduction of experiments already performed would have great importance for any result.
What modifications could be made to the experiments already done?
It seems important to focus primarily not on measurements of excess heat release (since the accuracy of such measurements is low), but on the most reliable detection of the appearance of helium as the most striking evidence of the occurrence of a nuclear fusion reaction.
One should try to control the amount of helium in the reactor over time, which was not done by Japanese researchers. This is especially interesting considering the graph in Fig. 4, from which it can be assumed that the process of helium synthesis in the reactor continues indefinitely after deuterium is introduced into it.
It seems important to study the dependence of the described processes on the reactor temperature, since theoretical constructions take into account molecular vibrations. (One can imagine that as the temperature of the reactor increases, the probability of nuclear fusion increases.)
How does Yoshiaki Arata (and E.N. Tsyganov) interpret the appearance of excess heat?
They believe that in the crystal lattice of the metal there occurs (with a very low probability) the fusion of deuterium nuclei into helium nuclei, a process that is practically impossible during the collision of “naked” nuclei in plasma. A special feature of this reaction is the absence of neutrons - a clean process! (the question of the mechanism of transfer of the excitation energy of the helium nucleus into heat remains open).
Looks like I need to check it out!
Cited literature.
1. D. V. Balin, V. A. Ganzha, S. M. Kozlov, E. M. Maev, G. E. Petrov, M. A. Soroka, G. N. Schapkin, G. G. Semenchuk, V. A. Trofimov, A. A. Vasiliev, A. A. Vorobyov, N. I. Voropaev, C. Petitjean, B. Gartnerc, B. Laussc, 1, J. Marton, J. Zmeskal, T. Case, K. M. Crowe, P. Kammel, F. J. Hartmann M. P. Faifman, High precesion study of muon catalyzed fusionin D 2 and HD gases, Physics of elementary particles and the atomic nucleus, 2011, vol. 42, issue 2.
2. Fleischmann, M., S. Pons, and M. Hawkins, Electrochemically induced nuclear fusion of deuterium. J. Electroanal. Chem., 1989. 261: p. 301 and errata in Vol. 263.
3. M. Fleischmann, S. Pons. M.W. Anderson. L.J. Li, M. Hawkins, J. Electroanal. Chem. 287 (1990) 293.
4. S. Pons, M. Fleischmann, J. Chim. Phys. 93 (1996) 711.
5. W.M. Mueller, J.P. Blackledge and G.G. Libowitz, Metal Hydrides, Academic Press, New York, 1968; G. Bambakadis (Ed.), Metal Hydrides, Plenum Press, New York, 1981.
6. Jean-Paul Biberian, J. Condensed Matter Nucl. Sci. 2 (2009) 1–6
7. http://lenr-canr.org/acrobat/StormsEastudentsg.pdf
8. E.B. Aleksandrov “Miracle Mixer or New Coming” perpetual motion machine", collection "In Defense of Science", No. 6, 2011.
9. http://www.lenr-canr.org/News.htm; http://mykola.ru/archives/2740;
http://www.atomic-energy.ru/smi/2011/11/09/28437
10. E.N. Tsyganov, “COLD NUCLEAR fusion”, NUCLEAR PHYSICS, 2012, volume 75, no. 2, p. 174–180
11. A.I. Egorov, PNPI, private communication.
12. Y. Arata and Y. Zhang, “The Establishment of Solid Nuclear Fusion Reactor,” J. High Temp. Soc. 34, pp. 85-93 (2008). (Article in Japanese, abstract in English). A presentation of these experiments in English is available at
http://newenergytimes.com/v2/news/2008/NET29-8dd54geg.shtml#...
Under the Hood: The Arata-Zhang Osaka University LENR Demonstration
By Steven B. Krivit
April 28, 2012
International Low Energy Nuclear Reactions Symposium, ILENRS-12
The College of William and Mary, Sadler Center, Williamsburg, Virginia
July 1-3, 2012
13. Publication regarding the technology for obtaining a working powder matrix:
“Hydrogen absorption of nanoscale Pd particles embedded in ZrO2 matrix prepared from Zr-Pd amorphous alloys.”
Shin-ichi Yamaura, Ken-ichiro Sasamori, Hisamichi Kimura, Akihisa Inoue, Yue Chang Zhang, Yoshiaki Arata, J. Mater. Res., Vol. 17, No. 6, pp. 1329-1334, June 2002
This explanation seems initially untenable: nuclear fusion reactions are exothermic only under the condition that the mass of the nucleus of the final product remains less than the mass of the iron nucleus. Fusion of heavier nuclei requires energy expenditure. Nickel is heavier than iron. A.I. Egorov suggested that in A. Rossi’s installation a reaction takes place to synthesize helium from deuterium atoms, which are always present in hydrogen as a small impurity, with nickel playing the role of a catalyst, see below.
- Translation
This field is now called low-energy nuclear reactions, and it may be where real results are achieved - or it may turn out to be stubborn junk science
Dr. Martin Fleischman (right), an electrochemist, and Stanley Pons, chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Utah, answer questions from the Science and Technology Committee about their controversial work in cold fusion, April 26, 1989.
Howard J. Wilk - chemist, specialist in synthetic organics, already for a long time does not work in his specialty and lives in Philadelphia. Like many other researchers working in the pharmaceutical field, he was a victim of the drug industry's R&D cuts occurring in last years, and is now engaged in part-time work not related to science. Possessing free time, Wilk tracks the progress of New Jersey-based company Brilliant Light Power (BLP).
This is one of those companies that is developing processes that can be generally referred to as new energy extraction technologies. The movement is largely a resurrection of cold fusion, a short-lived 1980s phenomenon involving producing nuclear fusion in a simple benchtop electrolytic device that scientists quickly dismissed.
In 1991, BLP founder, Randall L. Mills, announced at a press conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the development of a theory in which an electron in hydrogen could go from a common, ground energy state to a previously unknown, higher energy state. steady states with lower energy, releasing huge amounts of energy. Mills named this strange new type of compressed hydrogen "hydrino," and has since been working to develop a commercial device that harvests this energy.
Wilk studied Mills' theory, read papers and patents, and did his own calculations for hydrinos. Wilk even attended a demonstration at BLP grounds in Cranbury, New Jersey, where he discussed hydrino with Mills. After this, Wilk still can't decide whether Mills is a unrealistic genius, a raving scientist, or something in between.
The story begins in 1989, when electrochemists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons made the astonishing announcement at a University of Utah press conference that they had tamed the energy of nuclear fusion in an electrolytic cell.
When researchers submitted electricity per cell, in their opinion, deuterium atoms from heavy water that penetrated the palladium cathode entered into a fusion reaction and generated helium atoms. The excess energy of the process was converted into heat. Fleischmann and Pons argued that this process could not be the result of any known chemical reaction, and added the term “cold fusion” to it.
After many months of investigation into their mysterious observations, however, the scientific community agreed that the effect was unstable or non-existent and that errors were made in the experiment. The research was scrapped, and cold fusion became synonymous with junk science.
Cold fusion and hydrino production is the holy grail for producing endless, cheap, clean energy. Cold fusion has disappointed scientists. They wanted to believe in him, but their collective mind decided that it was a mistake. Part of the problem was the lack of a generally accepted theory to explain the proposed phenomenon - as physicists say, you cannot trust an experiment until it is confirmed by a theory.
Mills has his own theory, but many scientists don't believe it and consider hydrinos unlikely. The community rejected cold fusion and ignored Mills and his work. Mills did the same, trying not to fall into the shadow of cold fusion.
Meanwhile, the field of cold fusion changed its name to low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) and continues to exist. Some scientists continue to try to explain the Fleischmann-Pons effect. Others have rejected nuclear fusion but are exploring other possible processes that could explain the excess heat. Like Mills, they were attracted by the potential for commercial applications. They are mainly interested in energy production for industrial needs, households and transport.
The small number of companies created to try to bring new energy technologies to market have business models similar to those of any technology startup: define new technology, try to patent the idea, attract investor interest, get funding, build prototypes, conduct demonstrations, announce dates for the working devices to go on sale. But in the new energy world, missing deadlines is the norm. No one has yet taken the final step of demonstrating a working device.
New theory
Mills grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, received a degree in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College, a medical degree from Harvard University, and studied electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a student, he began to develop a theory he called the "Grand Unified Theory of Classical Physics", which he said was based on classical physics and proposed new model atoms and molecules, departing from the foundations of quantum physics.It is generally accepted that a single electron of hydrogen darts around its nucleus, located in the most suitable orbit of the ground state. It is simply impossible to move a hydrogen electron closer to the nucleus. But Mills says it's possible.
Now a researcher at Airbus Defense & Space, he says he has not monitored Mills' activities since 2007 because the experiments did not show clear signs of excess energy. "I doubt that any of the later experiments were scientifically selected," Rathke said.
“I think it is generally accepted that Dr. Mills's theory as the basis for his claims is controversial and not predictive,” Rathke continues. “One might ask, 'Could we have so fortunately stumbled upon an energy source that simply works by following the wrong theoretical approach?' "
In the 1990s, several researchers, including a team from the Lewis Research Center, independently reported replicating Mills' approach and generating excess heat. The NASA team wrote in the report that “the results are far from convincing” and did not say anything about hydrino.
Researchers have proposed possible electrochemical processes to explain the heat, including irregularities in the electrochemical cell, unknown exothermic chemical reactions, and recombination of separated hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water. The same arguments were made by critics of the Fleischmann-Pons experiments. But the NASA team clarified that researchers shouldn't discount the phenomenon, just in case Mills was onto something.
Mills speaks very quickly and can go on and on about technical details. In addition to predicting hydrinos, Mills claims that his theory can perfectly predict the location of any electron in a molecule using special molecular modeling software, and even in complex molecules such as DNA. Using standard quantum theory, scientists have a hard time predicting the exact behavior of anything more complex than a hydrogen atom. Mills also claims that his theory explains the phenomenon of the expansion of the Universe with acceleration, which cosmologists have not yet fully understood.
In addition, Mills says that hydrinos are created by the burning of hydrogen in stars such as our Sun, and that they can be detected in the spectrum of starlight. Hydrogen is considered the most abundant element in the universe, but Mills argues that hydrino is dark matter, which cannot be found in the universe. Astrophysicists are surprised by such suggestions: "I've never heard of hydrinos," says Edward W. (Rocky) Kolb of the University of Chicago, an expert on the dark universe.
Mills reported the successful isolation and characterization of hydrinos using standard spectroscopic techniques such as infrared, Raman, and spectroscopy. nuclear magnetic resonance. In addition, he said, hydrinos can undergo reactions that lead to the emergence of new types of materials with “amazing properties.” This includes the guides that Mills says will revolutionize the world electronic devices and batteries.
And although his statements contradict public opinion, Mills' ideas do not seem so exotic compared to other unusual components of the Universe. For example, muonium is a known short-lived exotic entity consisting of an antimuon (a positively charged particle similar to an electron) and an electron. Chemically, muonium behaves like an isotope of hydrogen, but is nine times lighter.
SunCell, hydrin fuel cell
Regardless of where hydrinos fall on the credibility scale, Mills said a decade ago that BLP had moved beyond scientific confirmation and was only interested in the commercial side of things. Over the years, BLP has raised more than $110 million in investments.BLP's approach to creating hydrinos has manifested itself in a variety of ways. In early prototypes, Mills and his team used tungsten or nickel electrodes with an electrolytic solution of lithium or potassium. The supplied current split the water into hydrogen and oxygen, and when the right conditions lithium or potassium played the role of a catalyst to absorb energy and collapse the electron orbit of hydrogen. The energy created by the transition from the ground atomic state to a lower energy state was released in the form of bright, high-temperature plasma. The associated heat was then used to create steam and power an electric generator.
BLP is currently testing a device called SunCell, which feeds hydrogen (from water) and an oxide catalyst into a spherical carbon reactor with two streams of molten silver. An electrical current applied to the silver triggers a plasma reaction to form hydrinos. The reactor's energy is captured by carbon, which acts as a "black body radiator." When it heats up to thousands of degrees, it emits energy in the form of visible light, which is captured by photovoltaic cells that convert the light into electricity.
When it comes to commercial developments, Mills sometimes comes across as paranoid and at other times like a practical businessman. He registered trademark"Hydrino". And because its patents claim the invention of hydrino, BLP claims intellectual property for hydrino research. Because of this, the BLP prohibits other experimenters from conducting even basic research on hydrinos that could confirm or disprove their existence without first signing an intellectual property agreement. "We invite researchers, we want others to do this," Mills says. “But we need to protect our technology.”
Instead, Mills appointed authorized validators who claim to be able to confirm the functionality of BLP inventions. One of them is Bucknell University electrical engineer Professor Peter M. Jansson, who is paid to evaluate BLP technology through his consulting company, Integrated Systems. Jenson maintains that compensation for his time “does not in any way affect my conclusions as an independent investigator of scientific discoveries.” He adds that he has "disproved most of the findings" he has studied.
“BLP scientists are doing real science, and so far I have not found any errors in their methods and approaches,” says Jenson. – Over the years, I have seen many devices in BLP that are clearly capable of producing excess energy in meaningful quantities. I think it will take some time for the scientific community to accept and digest the possibility of the existence of low-energy states of hydrogen. In my opinion, Dr. Mills' work is undeniable." Jenson adds that BLP faces challenges in commercializing the technology, but the obstacles are business rather than scientific.
In the meantime, BLP has held several demonstrations of its new prototypes for investors since 2014, and published videos on its website. But these events do not provide clear evidence that SunCell actually works.
In July, following one of its demonstrations, the company announced that the estimated cost of energy from SunCell is so low—1% to 10% of any other known form of energy—that the company "is going to provide self-contained, custom power supplies for virtually all desktop and mobile applications, not tied to the grid or fuel energy sources.” In other words, the company plans to build and lease SunCells or other devices to consumers, charging a daily fee, allowing them to go off the grid and stop buying gasoline or solar power while spending a fraction of the money.
"This is the end of the era of fire, engine internal combustion And centralized systems energy supply,” says Mills. “Our technology will make all other forms of energy technology obsolete. Climate change problems will be solved." He adds that it appears BLP could begin production, to begin with MW plants, by the end of 2017.
What's in a name?
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Mills and the BLP, their story is only part of the larger new energy saga. As the dust settled from Fleischmann-Pons's initial announcement, two researchers began studying what was right and what was wrong. They were joined by dozens of co-authors and independent researchers.Many of these scientists and engineers, often self-funded, were interested less in commercial opportunities than in science: electrochemistry, metallurgy, calorimetry, mass spectrometry, and nuclear diagnostics. They continued to run experiments that produced excess heat, defined as the amount of energy produced by a system relative to the energy required to operate it. In some cases, nuclear anomalies were reported, such as the appearance of neutrinos, alpha particles (helium nuclei), isotopes of atoms and transmutations of some elements to others.
But ultimately, most researchers are looking for an explanation for what's happening, and would be happy if even a modest amount of heat were useful.
"LENRs are in an experimental phase and are not yet understood theoretically," says David J. Nagel, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Washington. George Washington, and former research manager at the Naval Research Laboratory. “Some results are simply inexplicable. Call it cold fusion, low-energy nuclear reactions, or whatever - there are plenty of names - we still don't know anything about it. But there is no doubt that nuclear reactions can be started using chemical energy.”
Nagel prefers to call the LENR phenomenon “lattice nuclear reactions,” since the phenomenon occurs in the crystal lattices of the electrode. An initial offshoot of this field focuses on introducing deuterium into a palladium electrode by applying high energy, Nagel explains. Researchers have reported that such electrochemical systems can produce up to 25 times more energy than they consume.
The other main offshoot of the field uses combinations of nickel and hydrogen, which produces up to 400 times more energy than it consumes. Nagel likes to compare these LENR technologies to the experimental international fusion reactor, based on well-known physics - the fusion of deuterium and tritium - which is being built in the south of France. The 20-year project costs $20 billion and aims to produce 10 times the energy consumed.
Nagel says the field of LENR is growing everywhere, and the main obstacles are a lack of funding and inconsistent results. For example, some researchers report that a certain threshold must be reached to trigger the reaction. It may require a minimal amount of deuterium or hydrogen to start, or the electrodes must be prepared with crystallographic orientation and surface morphology. The last requirement is common for heterogeneous catalysts used in gasoline purification and petrochemical production.
Nagel acknowledges that the commercial side of LENR also has problems. The prototypes being developed are, he says, “pretty crude,” and there has yet to be a company that has demonstrated a working prototype or made money from it.
E-Cat from Russia
One of the most striking attempts to put LENR on a commercial basis was made by engineer Andrea Rossi from Leonardo Corp, located in Miami. In 2011, Rossi and his colleagues announced at a press conference in Italy the construction of a benchtop "Energy Catalyst" reactor, or E-Cat, that produces excess energy in a process using nickel as a catalyst. To substantiate the invention, Rossi demonstrated the E-Cat to potential investors and the media, and commissioned independent tests.
Rossi claims that his E-Cat undergoes a self-sustaining process in which an incoming electrical current triggers the synthesis of hydrogen and lithium in the presence of a powder mixture of nickel, lithium and lithium aluminum hydride, resulting in an isotope of beryllium. Short-lived beryllium decays into two alpha particles, and the excess energy is released as heat. Some of the nickel turns into copper. Rossi talks about the absence of both waste and radiation outside the device.
Rossi's announcement gave scientists the same unpleasant feeling as cold fusion. Rossi is mistrusted by many people due to his controversial past. In Italy he was accused of fraud due to his previous business dealings. Rossi says the allegations are in the past and doesn't want to discuss them. He also once had a contract to create thermal systems for the US military, but the devices he supplied did not work to specifications.
In 2012, Rossi announced the creation of a 1 MW system suitable for heating large buildings. He also assumed that by 2013 he would already have a factory producing a million 10 kW, laptop-sized units annually, designed for home use. But neither the factory nor these devices ever happened.
In 2014, Rossi licensed the technology to Industrial Heat, Cherokee's public investment firm that buys real estate and clears old industrial sites for new development. In 2015 CEO Cherokee, Tom Darden, a lawyer and environmental scientist by training, called Industrial Heat "a source of funding for the inventors of LENR."
Darden says Cherokee launched Industrial Heat because the investment firm believes the LENR technology is worthy of research. "We were willing to be wrong, we were willing to invest time and resources to see if this area could be useful in our mission to prevent [environmental] pollution," he says.
Meanwhile, Industrial Heat and Leonardo had a fight and are now suing each other over violations of the agreement. Rossi would receive $100 million if a one-year test of his 1 MW system was successful. Rossi says the test is complete, but Industrial Heat doesn't think so and fears the device isn't working.
Nagel says E-Cat has brought enthusiasm and hope to the NLNR field. He argued in 2012 that he believed Rossi was not a fraud, "but I don't like some of his approaches to testing." Nagel believed that Rossi should have acted more carefully and transparently. But at that time, Nagel himself believed that devices based on the LENR principle would appear on sale by 2013.
Rossi continues his research and has announced the development of other prototypes. But he doesn't say much about his work. He says 1 MW units are already in production and he has received the “necessary certifications” to sell them. Home devices, he said, are still awaiting certification.
Nagel says that after the elation surrounding Rossi's announcements subsided, the status quo has returned to NLNR. The availability of commercial LENR generators has been delayed by several years. And even if the device survives reproducibility issues and is useful, its developers face a tough battle with regulators and user acceptance.
But he remains optimistic. “LENR may become commercially available before it is fully understood, just like X-rays were,” he says. He has already equipped a laboratory at the University. George Washington for new experiments with nickel and hydrogen.
Scientific heritage
Many researchers who continue to work on LENR are already accomplished retired scientists. This is not easy for them, because for years their work has been returned unreviewed from mainstream journals, and their proposals to present at scientific conferences have been rejected. They are increasingly worried about the status of this area of research as their time runs out. They either want to record their heritage in scientific history NEYAR, or at least take comfort in the fact that their instincts did not let them down.“It was unfortunate when cold fusion was first published in 1989 as a new source of fusion energy, rather than just some new scientific curiosity,” says electrochemist Melvin Miles. “Perhaps the research could proceed as usual, with more careful and precise study.”
A former researcher at the China Lake Air and Maritime Research Center, Miles sometimes worked with Fleischman, who died in 2012. Miles believes Fleischman and Pons were right. But to this day he does not know how to make a commercial energy source for a palladium-deuterium system, despite many experiments that have produced excess heat that correlates with helium production.
“Why would anyone continue to research or be interested in a topic that was declared a mistake 27 years ago? – asks Miles. “I am convinced that cold fusion will one day be recognized as another important discovery that has been long accepted, and that a theoretical platform will emerge to explain the experimental results.”
Nuclear physicist Ludwik Kowalski, professor emeritus from Montclair state university agrees that cold fusion was the victim of a bad start. "I'm old enough to remember the effect the first announcement had on the scientific community and the public," Kowalski says. At times he collaborated with NLNR researchers, “but my three attempts to confirm the sensational claims were unsuccessful.”
Kowalski believes that the initial disgrace earned by the research resulted in bigger problem unsuitable for the scientific method. Whether the LENR researchers are fair or not, Kowalski still believes it is worth getting to the bottom of a clear yes or no verdict. But it won't be found as long as cold fusion researchers are considered "eccentric pseudoscientists," Kowalski says. “Progress is impossible and no one benefits when the results of honest research are not published and independently verified by other laboratories.”
Time will show
Even if Kowalski gets a definite answer to his question and the statements of the LENR researchers are confirmed, the road to commercialization of the technology will be full of obstacles. Many startups, even with solid technology, fail for reasons unrelated to science: capitalization, liquidity flow, cost, production, insurance, uncompetitive prices, etc.Take Sun Catalytix for example. The company emerged from MIT with the backing of solid science, but fell victim to commercial attacks before it hit the market. It was created to commercialize artificial photosynthesis, developed by chemist Daniel G. Nocera, now at Harvard, to efficiently convert water into hydrogen fuel using sunlight and an inexpensive catalyst.
Nocera dreamed that the hydrogen produced in this way could power simple fuel cells and power homes and villages in underserved regions of the world without access to the grid, allowing them to enjoy modern conveniences that improve their standard of living. But it took a lot to develop more money and time than it seemed at first. After four years, Sun Catalytix gave up trying to commercialize the technology, started making flow batteries, and then in 2014 it was bought by Lockheed Martin.
It is unknown whether the same obstacles hinder the development of companies involved in LENR. For example, Wilk, an organic chemist who has been following Mills' progress, is concerned about whether attempts to commercialize BLP are based on something real. He just needs to know if hydrino exists.
In 2014, Wilk asked Mills if he had isolated hydrino, and although Mills had already written in papers and patents that he had succeeded, he replied that such a thing had not yet been done and that it would be “a very big task.” But Wilk thinks differently. If the process creates liters of hydrine gas, it should be obvious. “Show us the hydrino!” Wilk demands.
Wilk says that Mills' world, and with it the world of other people involved in LENR, reminds him of one of Zeno's paradoxes, which speaks of the illusory nature of movement. “Every year they get halfway to commercialization, but will they ever get there?” Wilk came up with four explanations for the BLP: Mills' calculations are correct; This is a fraud; This is bad science; it is a pathological science, as Nobel laureate in physics Irving Langmuir called it.
Langmuir invented the term more than 50 years ago to describe the psychological process in which a scientist subconsciously withdraws from the scientific method and becomes so immersed in his or her pursuit that he develops an inability to look at things objectively and see what is real and what is not. Pathological science is “the science of things not being what they seem,” said Langmuir. In some cases, it develops in areas such as cold fusion/LENR, and does not give up, despite the fact that it is recognized as false by the majority of scientists.
"I hope they're right," Wilk says of Mills and the BLP. "Indeed. I don’t want to refute them, I’m just looking for the truth.” But if "pigs could fly," as Wilkes says, he would accept their data, theory, and other predictions that follow from it. But he was never a believer. “I think if hydrinos existed, they would have been discovered in other laboratories or in nature many years ago.”
All discussions of cold fusion and LENR end exactly like this: they always come to the conclusion that no one has brought a working device to the market, and none of the prototypes can be commercialized in the near future. So time will be the final judge.
Tags:
Add tagsThe scientists who made the sensational statement seemed to have a solid reputation and were completely trustworthy. A member of the Royal Society and ex-president of the International Society of Electrochemistry, Martin Fleischman, who moved to the United States from Great Britain, had international fame earned by his participation in the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman scattering of light. Co-author of the discovery, Stanley Pons, headed the chemistry department at the University of Utah.
Pyroelectric cold fusion
It should be understood that cold nuclear fusion on desktop devices is not only possible, but also implemented, and in several versions. So, in 2005, researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles reported in Nature that they were able to launch a similar reaction in a container of deuterium, inside of which an electrostatic field was created. Its source was the tip of a tungsten needle connected to a pyroelectric lithium tantalate crystal, upon cooling and subsequent heating of which a potential difference of the order of 100−120 kV was created. A field of about 25 gigavolts/meter completely ionized the deuterium atoms and accelerated its nuclei so much that when they collided with a target of erbium deuteride, they gave rise to helium-3 nuclei and neutrons. The measured peak neutron flux was about 900 neutrons per second (which is several hundred times higher than the typical background value).
Although such a system has certain prospects as a neutron generator, talking about it as an energy source makes no sense. Both this installation and other similar devices consume much more energy than they generate at the output: in experiments at the University of California, approximately 10^(-8) J were released in one cooling-heating cycle lasting several minutes. This is 11 orders of magnitude less than needed, to heat a glass of water by 1 degree Celsius.
Source of cheap energy
Fleischmann and Pons claimed that they caused deuterium nuclei to fuse with each other at ordinary temperatures and pressures. Their “cold fusion reactor” was a calorimeter containing an aqueous salt solution through which an electric current was passed. True, the water was not simple, but heavy, D2O, the cathode was made of palladium, and the dissolved salt included lithium and deuterium. A direct current was continuously passed through the solution for months, so that oxygen was released at the anode and heavy hydrogen at the cathode. Fleischman and Pons allegedly discovered that the temperature of the electrolyte periodically increased by tens of degrees, and sometimes more, although the power source provided stable power. They explained this by the supply of intranuclear energy released during the fusion of deuterium nuclei.
Palladium has a unique ability to absorb hydrogen. Fleischmann and Pons believed that inside the crystal lattice of this metal, deuterium atoms come so close together that their nuclei merge into the nuclei of the main isotope helium. This process occurs with the release of energy, which, according to their hypothesis, heats the electrolyte. The explanation was captivating in its simplicity and completely convinced politicians, journalists and even chemists.
Accelerator with heating. A setup used in cold fusion experiments by UCLA researchers. When a pyroelectric crystal is heated, a potential difference is created on its faces, creating a high-intensity electric field in which deuterium ions are accelerated.
Physicists clarify
However, nuclear physicists and plasma physicists were in no hurry to beat the kettledrums. They knew very well that two deuterons, in principle, could give rise to a helium-4 nucleus and a high-energy gamma quantum, but the chances of such an outcome are extremely small. Even if deuterons enter nuclear reaction, it almost certainly ends with the birth of a tritium nucleus and a proton, or the appearance of a neutron and a helium-3 nucleus, and the probabilities of these transformations are approximately the same. If nuclear fusion really occurs inside palladium, then it should generate a large number of neutrons of a very specific energy (about 2.45 MeV). They are not difficult to detect either directly (using neutron detectors) or indirectly (since the collision of such a neutron with a heavy hydrogen nucleus should produce a gamma quantum with an energy of 2.22 MeV, which is again detectable). In general, the hypothesis of Fleischmann and Pons could be confirmed using standard radiometric equipment.
However, nothing came of this. Fleishman used connections at home and convinced employees of the British nuclear center in Harwell to check his “reactor” for the generation of neutrons. Harwell had ultra-sensitive detectors for these particles, but they showed nothing! The search for gamma rays of the appropriate energy also turned out to be a failure. Physicists from the University of Utah came to the same conclusion. MIT researchers tried to reproduce the experiments of Fleischmann and Pons, but again to no avail. It should not be surprising, therefore, that the bid for a great discovery suffered a crushing defeat at the American Physical Society (APS) conference, which took place in Baltimore on May 1 of that year.
Schematic diagram installation of pyroelectric synthesis with the crystal shown on it, equipotential lines and trajectories of deuterium ions. A grounded copper mesh shields the Faraday cup. The cylinder and target are charged to +40 V to collect secondary electrons.
Sic transit gloria mundi
Pons and Fleishman never recovered from this blow. A devastating article appeared in the New York Times, and by the end of May the scientific community had come to the conclusion that the claims of the Utah chemists were either a manifestation of extreme incompetence or simple fraud.
But there were also dissidents, even among the scientific elite. The eccentric Nobel laureate Julian Schwinger, one of the creators of quantum electrodynamics, believed so much in the discovery of the Salt Lake City chemists that he revoked his membership in the AFO in protest.
Nevertheless, the academic careers of Fleischmann and Pons ended quickly and ingloriously. In 1992, they left the University of Utah and continued their work in France with Japanese money until they lost this funding as well. Fleishman returned to England, where he lives in retirement. Pons renounced his American citizenship and settled in France.
Cold thermonuclear fusion- What is this? Myth or reality? This is the direction scientific activity appeared in the last century and still excites many scientific minds. Many gossip, rumors, and speculations are associated with this appearance. He has his fans, who greedily believe that one day some scientist will create a device that will save the world not so much from energy costs as from radiation exposure. There are also opponents who ardently insist that back in the second half of the last century, the smartest Soviet man, Ivan Stepanovich Filimonenko, almost created a similar reactor.
Experimental setup
The year 1957 was marked by the fact that Ivan Stepanovich Filimonenko developed a completely different option for creating energy using nuclear fusion from helium deuterium. And already in July of the sixty-second year he patented his work on thermal emission processes and systems. The basic principle of operation: a type of warm where the temperature is 1000 degrees. Eighty organizations and enterprises were allocated to implement this patent. When Kurchatov died, development began to be suppressed, and after Korolev’s death they completely stopped developing thermonuclear fusion (cold).
In 1968, all of Filimonenko’s work was stopped, since since 1958 he had been conducting research to determine the radiation hazard at nuclear power plants and thermal power plants, as well as testing nuclear weapons. His forty-six page report helped stop a program that proposed launching a nuclear-powered rocket to Jupiter and the Moon. After all, during any accident or upon the return of the spacecraft, an explosion could occur. It would have six hundred times the power of Hiroshima.
But many did not like this decision, and Filimonenko was persecuted, and after a while he was removed from work. Since he did not stop his research, he was accused of subversion. Ivan Stepanovich received six years in prison.
Cold Fusion and Alchemy
Many years later, in 1989, Martin Fleischman and Stanley Pons, using electrodes, created helium from deuterium, as did Filimonenko. The physicists impressed the entire scientific community and the press, which wrote about bright colors the life that will exist after the installation of a facility allowing thermonuclear fusion (cold). Of course, physicists around the world began to check their results on their own.
At the forefront of testing the theory was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its director, Ronald Parker, criticized nuclear fusion. “Cold fusion is a myth,” this person said. Newspapers accused the physicists Pons and Fleischmann of charlatanism and fraud, since they could not test the theory, because it always worked different result. Reports indicated a large amount of heat generated. But in the end, a forgery was made and the data was corrected. And after these events, physicists abandoned the search for a solution to Filimonenko’s “Cold thermonuclear fusion” theory.
Cavitation nuclear fusion
But in 2002, this topic was remembered. American physicists Ruzi Taleyarkhan and Richard Lahey said that they achieved the convergence of nuclei, but used the effect of cavitation. This is when gaseous bubbles form in a liquid cavity. They can appear due to the passage of sound waves through a liquid. When the bubbles burst, a large amount of energy is generated.
Scientists were able to register high-energy neutrons, which produced helium and tritium, which is considered a product of nuclear fusion. After checking this experiment, no falsification was found, but they were not yet going to admit it.
Siegel readings
They take place in Moscow and are named after the astronomer and ufologist Siegel. Such readings are held twice a year. They are more like meetings of scientists in a psychiatric hospital, because here scientists speak with their theories and hypotheses. But since they are associated with ufology, their messages go beyond reason. However, sometimes interesting theories are expressed. For example, Academician A.F. Okhatrin reported his discovery of microleptons. It's very light elementary particles, which have new properties that cannot be explained. In practice, its developments can warn of an impending earthquake or help in the search for minerals. Okhatrin developed a method of geological exploration that shows not only oil deposits, but also its chemical component.
Tests in the north
In Surgut, tests of the installation were carried out on an old well. A vibration generator was lowered three kilometers deep. It set in motion the microlepton field of the Earth. After a few minutes, the amount of paraffin and bitumen in the oil decreased, and the viscosity also became less. Quality has risen from six to eighteen percent. Foreign companies became interested in this technology. But Russian geologists still do not use these developments. The government of the country only took them into account, but the matter did not progress further than that.
Therefore, Okhatrin has to work for foreign organizations. Recently, the academician has been more involved in research of a different nature: how the dome affects a person. Many claim that he has a fragment of a UFO that fell in 1977 in Latvia.
Student of Academician Akimov
Anatoly Evgenievich Akimov heads the interdisciplinary scientific center “Vent”. His developments are as interesting as Okhatrin’s. He tried to attract the government's attention to his work, but this only made more enemies. His research was also classified as pseudoscience. An entire commission was created to combat falsification. A draft law on the protection of the human psychosphere was even presented for review. Some deputies are confident that there is a generator that can act on the psyche.
Scientist Ivan Stepanovich Filimonenko and his discoveries
So the discoveries of our physicist were not continued in science. Everyone knows him as the inventor of a vehicle that moves using magnetic propulsion. And they say that an apparatus was created that could lift five tons. But some argue that the saucer does not fly. Filimonenko created a device that reduces the radioactivity of some objects. Its installations use the energy of cold thermonuclear fusion. They inactivate radio emissions and also produce energy. The waste from such installations is hydrogen and oxygen, as well as steam. high pressure. A cold thermonuclear fusion generator can provide an entire village with energy, as well as cleanse the lake on the shore of which it will be located.
Of course, his work was supported by Korolev and Kurchatov, so the experiments were carried out. But it was not possible to bring them to their logical conclusion. Installing cold thermonuclear fusion would allow saving about two hundred billion rubles every year. The academician's activities were resumed only in the eighties. In 1989, prototypes began to be produced. Was created arc reactor cold thermonuclear fusion to suppress radiation. Also, several installations were designed in the Chelyabinsk region, but they were not operational. Even in Chernobyl they did not use a thermonuclear fusion (cold) installation. And the scientist was fired from his job again.
Life at home
In our country there was no intention of developing the discoveries of the scientist Filimonenko. Cold fusion, the installation of which was completed, could be sold abroad. They said that in the seventies, someone took documents on Filimonenko’s installations to Europe. But scientists abroad did not succeed, because Ivan Stepanovich specifically did not complete the data on which it was possible to create a reactor using cold thermonuclear fusion.
They made him lucrative offers, but he is a patriot. It would be better to live in poverty, but in your own country. Filimonenko has own garden, which brings harvest four times a year, since the physicist uses a film that he himself created. However, no one is putting it into production.
Avramenko's hypothesis
This ufologist devoted his life to the study of plasma. Avramenko Rimliy Fedorovich wanted to create a plasma generator as an alternative to modern energy sources. In 1991, he conducted experiments in the laboratory on the formation of ball lightning. And the plasma that was shot from it consumed much more energy. The scientist proposed using this plasmoid for defense against missiles.
The tests were carried out at a military training ground. The action of such a plasmoid could help in the fight against asteroids that threaten disaster. Avramenko’s development also did not continue, and no one knows why.
Life's battle with radiation
More than forty years ago there was a secret organization “Red Star”, led by I. S. Filimonenko. He and his group developed a life support complex for flights to Mars. He developed thermonuclear fusion (cold) for his installation. The latter, in turn, was supposed to become the engine for spaceships. But when the cold fusion reactor was verified, it became clear that it could also help on Earth. With this discovery, it is possible to neutralize isotopes and avoid
But Ivan Stepanovich Filimonenko, who created cold thermonuclear fusion with his own hands, refused to install it in underground cities of refuge for the country’s party leaders. The crisis in the Caribbean shows that the USSR and America were ready to get involved in nuclear war. But they were held back by the fact that there was no such installation that could protect against the effects of radiation.
At that time, cold thermonuclear fusion was firmly associated with the name Filimonenko. The reactor generated clean energy, which would protect the party leadership from radiation contamination. By refusing to hand over his developments to the authorities, the scientist did not give the country’s leadership a “trump card” if it had started. Without its installation, underground bunkers would have protected senior party leaders from nuclear strike, but sooner or later the radiation would get to them. Thus, Ivan Stepanovich protected the world from global nuclear war.
Oblivion of a scientist
After the scientist’s refusal, he had to endure more than one negotiation regarding his developments. As a result, Filimonenko was fired from his job and stripped of all titles and regalia. And for thirty years now, a physicist who could develop cold thermonuclear fusion in an ordinary mug has been living in the country with his family. All of Filimonenko’s discoveries could make a great contribution to the development of science. But, as happens in our country, his cold thermonuclear fusion, the reactor of which was created and tested in practice, was forgotten.
Ecology and its problems
Today Ivan Stepanovich is involved in environmental problems; he is concerned that a catastrophe is approaching the Earth. He believes that the main reason deterioration of the environmental situation - this is smoke in large cities airspace. In addition to exhaust gases, many objects emit substances harmful to humans: radon and krypton. But they have not yet learned how to dispose of the latter. And cold fusion, whose principle is to absorb radiation, would help protect the environment.
In addition, the peculiarities of the action of cold thermonuclear fusion, according to the scientist, could save people from many diseases and would prolong life many times over. human life, eliminating all sources of radiation. And, as Ivan Stepanovich claims, there are a lot of them. They are found literally at every step and even at home. According to the scientist, in ancient times people lived for centuries, and all because there was no radiation. Its installation could eliminate it, but, apparently, this will not happen soon.
Conclusion
Thus, the question of what cold thermonuclear fusion is and when it will come to the defense of humanity is quite relevant. And if this is not a myth, but a reality, then it is necessary to direct all efforts and resources to study this area nuclear physics. After all, ultimately, an installation that could produce such a reaction would be useful to everyone.
