A New Experiment Demonstrating the Occurrence of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions

Abstract

This article discusses the recent findings of the Tohoku group related to low energy nuclear fusion (LENR) or "cold fusion" as it was called earlier. Unlike in electrolysis experiments, the target is solid consisting of nanolayears of Ni and Cu plus Ni in bulk. The experiment involves heating and heat production, which can be almost 20 per cent of the incoming power. The reported initial and final state concentrations of negative Ni, Cu, C, O, and H ions in the target suggest that melting has occurred. The emergence of ions should be understood. O^- ions are detected only in the final state. The mystery is how the oxygen, present in the H₂ pressurized chamber, manages to get to the target. The TGD based model refines the earlier model applying to electrolysis based (ordinary) "cold fusion". The reversal 2H₂+O₂ to 2H₂O of water electrolysis transforms the situation to that appearing in ordinary "cold fusion". If water molecules are created in an excited state near the top of the potential barrier preventing Pollack effect, no catalyst is needed for Pollack effect as in the biological situation (, where gel phase is needed). Pollack effect could occur spontaneously for metal hydrides and its reversal could generate photons inducing the Pollack effect for water, producing oxygen ions. The dark protons generated in the Pollack effect would produce dark nuclei as dark proton strings and these would transform spontaneously to ordinary nuclei giving rise to nuclear transmutations and liberating almost all ordinary nuclear binding energy. If the rate of this process is slow, it does not contribute considerably to the heating. Nuclear gamma rays are replaced with X rays for dark nuclei so that the basic objection against "cold fusion" is overcome. The quantum criticality of the phase transition inducing Pollack effect explains why "cold fusion" experiments are difficult to replicate.