SECOND LOW-ENERGY NUCLEAR REACTION CONFERENCE
By Hal Fox
The quote from Dr. Bockris (see box) is an excellent introduction to this summary report on the Second Conference on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR), held September 13-14, 1996 at College Station, Texas in the Holiday Inn.
Boxed Text:
"Twelve papers gave evidence that nuclear reactions take place in solid lattices in the cold. If this condition obtains still further confirmation, I suggest it constitutes a discovery of magnitude comparable with that of atomic disintegration with high energy neutrons (Rutherford, 1919), and nuclear fission by neutron bombardment (Hahn and Meitner, 1939). It [the reported discoveries] opens a new area of great potential. It has the potential radically to change the ideas of nuclear stability." - Dr. John P'Malley Bockris; World-famous electrochemist, Sept. 17, 1996.
End of Boxed Text.
About fifty scientists, engineers, and interested business leaders attended the Second Conference on Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions. This important conference was held at the Holiday Inn, College Station, Texas on September 13-14, 1996. The conference was not held on the campus of Texas A&M because 12 out of 12 members of the Department of Chemistry voted no to the request by Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, John O'M. Bockris to hold the meeting on campus. The vote was an example of a democratic process. The choice was an example of pathological skepticism.
Papers presented in all conferences range in importance, however, this conference must be considered as being of special importance because the issue of low-energy transmutation was directly addressed with reports of several new sets of experimental data from prestigious scientists. Here are some examples:
George Miley presented "Nuclear Reactions in Palladium-Hydrogen System." This paper is especially important because it is the first paper to explore the nuclear reactions occurring in the thin-film layers of nickel-palladium-nickel coated on small beads. This work was supported by CETI (Clean Energy Technologies, Inc.).
Mitchell Swartz presented an excellent paper discussing the cold fusion work using light water and nickel cells. Swartz made an excellent point about not using data from the noise level when making claims for excess heat. Swartz also indicated that all of his data is conservative because he does not subtract for the power consumed in electrolyzing the water. Swartz reported three to six times as much energy out as input into the cells. It appears that Swartz has accomplished some of the most effective work with the nickel-light water cold fusion. Swartz has not observed elemental changes.
Kenneth Shoulders presented an excellent paper on the possible effects of high-density charge clusters in promoting nuclear reactions in metal lattices. Shoulders has examined a variety of cathodes used in cold fusion work and has found evidence for numerous metal lattice damage sites caused not just by the strike of a high-density charge cluster (EVs) but apparently from nuclear effects caused by the highly-energetic EVs. To Shoulders, with his familiarity with EVs, the nuclear results are clearly evident. Shoulders has labeled such high-density charge clusters as NEVs or nuclear electrum validums. He suggests that the primary cause of nuclear reactions in cold fusion occurs by creating a brittle metal by hydrogen loading, causing cracks which produce EVs, and the energetic EVs cause nuclear reactions. Ken presented SIMs analysis of typical EV-reaction spots to show that the palladium had been transmuted into other elements. The concepts presented by Shoulders were not readily appreciated, as shown by a vote of two out of about fifty who thought that this process was an explanation of heat production in cold fusion cells. We believe that the number of believers will increase as they further examine their cathodes. However, no one is saying that this is the only source of excess heat in cold fusion reactions.
The first-ever paper on the Neal-Gleeson Process was presented. This was not a scientific paper in the sense that a full disclosure of the process was not made. However, it was announced that third-party verification was being planned for the near future. From the preliminary data (taken from over 100 experiments) it was suggested that radioactivity could be reduced fifty percent or more in a one-pass operation taking only one to four hours. The paper strongly suggests that if replicated by noted scientists this process has great potential for ameliorating radioactive slurries, such as the 66 million gallons stored in over 170 tanks at the Hanford Site, Washington. (Note: The inventors are Rod Neal and Stan Gleeson who have been previously referred to as "the Cincinnati Group".)
John Dash (Portland State University) presented a paper extending his successes with heavy water and palladium to include the use of titanium electrodes. With each successful experiment that produces excess heat, there are shown to be low-energy nuclear reactions involved. His procedures are sufficiently reproducible that he brings in quality high-school students each summer to get them involved in this new technology of cold fusion. John Dash has offered to share his procedures with anyone who is interested.
T. Mizuno (Hokkaido Univ.); Z. Minevski (Lynntech); Russ George (E-Quest Sciences); Guang Lin (Texas A&M); R. Monti & E. Bauer (Burns Development); G. Rabzi (Ukrainian Int'l Academy of Original Ideas); Thomas Claytor (LANL); and T. Ohmori (Univ. of Hokkaido) all presented additional data on transmutation in their papers.
In summary: Drs. Bockris and Lin of Texas A&M University should be congratulated for a successful and important conference. All authors were asked to provide copies of their papers immediately after the conference so that these important papers can be published in the Proceedings immediately. We have already received 13 of the 21 papers presented. These papers will be published as Volume 1, Number 3, of the Journal of New Energy.
We are pleased to announce that articles published in the Journal of New Energy will be abstracted in Chemical Abstracts, Engineering Index Monthly, and Metal Abstracts. Scientists, engineers, and students world-wide will have access to the excellent papers given at this important conference. The same staff that publish this newsletter also publish the Journal of New Energy. The same policy of rapid communication is a constant goal of this organization. If you are a scientist, you will want to subscribe to this new journal. We will summarize and/or abstract important articles for the readers of NEN so don't let your subscription lapse.
www.padrak.com/ine/NEN_4_6_1.html
Oct. 23, 1996.