(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2) Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501 Sponsored by Vangard Sciences PO BOX 1031 Mesquite, TX 75150 There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS on duplicating, publishing or distributing the files on KeelyNet except where noted! September 2, 1993 DIYCF.ASC -------------------------------------------------------------------- This interesting file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Steve Muise. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Protocols for Conducting Light Water Excess Energy Experiments January 28, 1992 Assembled by Eugene F. Mallove from published and unpublished material. By Jed Rothwell * Cold Fusion Research Advocates * 2060 Peachtree Industrial Court #313 * Chamblee, GA 30341 * USA * Phone: 404-451-9890 * Fax: 404-458-2404. Notes from Jed Rothwell: 1. This document is intended to augment the Fusion Technology paper by Mills & Kneizys. Fusion Technology is carried in many major libraries, for example, the Boston Public Library, and the M.I.T. science library. 2. Subscripts are shown with square brackets: H[2]O. Purpose: Many people have heard of the light water excess energy experiment reported by Mills and Kneizys in Fusion Technology. (1) By January, 1992, this excess energy effect had been reproduced by at least a half-dozen other groups. Even though the experiment is simple and apparently highly reproducible, many would-be experimenters might be deterred from trying it because of the well-known history of difficulties with the heavy water palladium-platinum approach of Fleischmann and Pons. Even though Mills et al do not think that their excess energy is due to "cold fusion" -- they have an elaborate theory of shrinking hydrogen atoms to explain the excess power -- their experiment _was_ inspired by the Fleischmann-Pons announcement. The purpose of this brief collection of experimental protocols is Page 1 to encourage others to try the Mills experiment and perhaps go beyond it in their investigations. How to Begin The first order of business is to read the experimental part of the Mills-Kneizys paper in Fusion Technology to familiarize yourself with the basic approach. Don't try any fancy pulsed input power in the beginning. Stick with continuous (DC) input power. Don't be concerned either about the exotic theory of Mills and Kneizys. Their theory may be wrong or right, but it's the validity of the experiment that's important at the moment. Other theories -- including "conventional" cold fusion mechanisms working with the trace amount of deuterium -- might be invoked to explain the excess energy in this light water experiment. Conditions that should be employed: 1. The volume of solution could be from 100 ml to 1,000 ml in a vacuum-jacketed glass dewar cell. Note: Some people have tried a non-dewar cell -- a heavily insulated glass beaker with plastic materials to give the same insulating dewar effect. The cell should be closed at the top with a tapered rubber stopper. 2. The electrolyte should be: 0.6 M aqueous K[2]CO[3] of high purity. 3. The electrolyte should be stirred continuously with a magnetic stirring bar to ensure temperature uniformity. 4. The nickel cathode does not apparently have to have the exact configuration of the "spiral wound" sheet described by Mills- Kneizys in their paper. It could be just a flat sheet of nickel, but the ratio of the _total surface area_ (i.e. both sides) of the nickel cathode to the surface area of the platinum anode should be no less than 20/1. 5. The anode is of platinum wire, 1 mm diameter. Mills and Kneizys used a spiral-shaped piece 10 cm long. 6. Above all, avoid impurities and contamination of the cell materials, whether in handling or in environmental conditions. Particularly insure that no organic contaminants are in the cell or on the electrodes. (Don't forget that remnant soap film could be a problem!) 7. Dr. V.C. Noninski, who has replicated this light water work (2), recommends: "Before starting the experiment, mechanically scour the platinum anode with steel wool, soak overnight in concentrated HNO[3], and then rinse with distilled water. Remove the nickel cathode from its container with rubber gloves, and cut and bend it in such a way that no organic substances are transferred to the nickel surface. Preferably, dip the nickel cathode into the working solution Page 2 under an electrolysis current, and _avoid leaving the nickel cathode in the working solution in the absence of an electrolysis current._" 8. Before attempting to run the cell to demonstrate excess energy, reverse the cell polarity for about one-hour to anodize the nickel cathode. However, Professor John Farrell of the Mills group has said that 0.5 hour of this treatment is adequate. He says this "electropolishes the Ni." 9. Use distilled H[2]O. 10. There have been claims and counter claims about whether the experiment will work in "closed-cell" mode with a catalytic recombiner. Begin your work without one to be on the safe side. Professor Farrell and, independently, Dr. Noninski have measured the oxygen and hydrogen evolution in the absence of a recombiner and find these gases in the expected quantities, i.e. unsuspected recombination is NOT causing the excess power effect. 11. The current density on the cathode should be on the order of _one milliamp per square centimeter_. This is very low compared to the Pons-Fleischmann heavy water experiments. 12. To calibrate the cell, introduce a pure resistance heating of known power by using a 100 ohm precision resistor encased in teflon tubing. Simple Analysis: The basic goal of the experiment is to demonstrate that significantly more heat emerges from the cell under electrolysis than the joule heating of the cell. This is how the basic analysis works: The cell has a particular heating coefficient (HC), which can be determined by employing (in the absence of electrolysis) _pure resistance heating_ by an ordinary precision resistor with an applied voltage. One might find, for example, that the HC of a particular cell is say 25 C/watt. This means that for a watt of input power, the temperature of the liquid contents of the cell should rise 25 C above ambient. In this regard, keeping the ambient temperature stable is important; this is a source of possible error in the experiment. The heat input to the cell that would ordinarily be expected from electrolysis (the so-called "joule heating") is given by the expression: (V - 1.48)I where V is the voltage applied to the cell, and I is the current passing though. The "I x 1.48" quantity here is the power lost by electrolytic production of oxygen and hydrogen. Because the cell is open to the atmosphere, this "power" in the form of potentially recoverable chemical energy simply escapes the cell. If, for example, the current is 80 mA and the applied voltage is 2.25 volts, the joule heat input to the cell would be 61.6 mW. Page 3 [An example used by Professor Farrell]. If the HC were 25 C/watt, the expected _temperature rise_ of the cell due to the 61.6 mW input power would be 25 x 0.0616 = 1.54 C. If the temperature is observed to rise any more than 1.54 C, an unknown excess power source may exist in the cell. If, for example, the temperature were observed to rise 3.08 C, rather than only 1.54C, this would represent 100% more heat than 61.6 mW coming from the cell, that is, 133.2 mW. Excess powers on the order of 100 to 300%, calculated in this manner, are said to be readily achievable. As Professor Farrell has said, "We have never NOT gotten the effect." [With these general conditions.] Caveat: This has been a tutorial for beginners by someone who has not done the experiment himself, but who has talked to the people who have. You should be able to go off on your own now and find bigger and better ways to do this. You might begin by trying pulsed power input, which supposedly increases the output. If you are a cold fusion skeptic, you should really relish this experiment! It offers an easily reproducible effect. If you can find a _trivial_ explanation for the excess power, think how famous you'll be! More likely, you'll become a "Believer" -- or at least a very frustrated skeptic -- so watch out! 1. Mills, Randell L. and Steven P. Kneizys, "Excess Heat Production by the Electrolysis of an Aqueous Potassium Carbonate Electrolyte and the Implications for Cold Fusion," Fusion Technology, Vol.20, August 1991, pp.65-81. 2. Noninski, V.C., "Excess Heat During the Electrolysis of a Light Water Solution of K[2]CO[3] With a Nickel Cathode," Fusion Technology, accepted for publication in the March 1992 issue. -------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have comments or other information relating to such topics as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page. Thank you for your consideration, interest and support. Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet -------------------------------------------------------------------- If we can be of service, you may contact Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 4