[math-fun] Scientific American: Fleischmann-Pons reconsidered
FYI -- The only reason for posting this is that it comes from a high quality source. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, then are dreamt of in your philosophy" -- Shakespeare. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/its-not-cold-fusion-but-its-... It's Not Cold Fusion... But It's Something An experiment that earned Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann widespread ridicule in 1989 wasn't necessarily bogus By Steven B. Krivit, Michael J. Ravnitzky on December 7, 2016 ... Data show that changes to atomic nuclei, including observed *** shifts in the abundance of isotopes, can occur without high-energy accelerators or nuclear reactors. *** For a century, this has been considered impossible. In hindsight, glimpses of the new phenomena were visible 27 years ago. ... The Widom-Larsen theory has nothing to do with fusion; the key steps are based on weak interactions and are consistent with existing physics. The theory explains how nuclear reactions can occur at or near room temperature through the creation of ultra-low-momentum neutrons and subsequent neutron-capture processes. Such neutrons, according to the theory, have a very large DeBroglie wavelength and therefore have a huge capture cross section, explaining why so few neutrons are detected. ... Reports also show that LENRs [low energy nuclear reactions] can produce local surface temperatures of 4,000-5,000K and boil metals (palladium, nickel and tungsten) in small numbers of scattered microscopic sites on the surfaces of laboratory devices. ... For nearly three decades, researchers in the field have not observed the emission of dangerous radiation. Heavy shielding has not been necessary.
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Henry Baker