UPDATE October 20 The Believers wins Hugo Gold award for Best Documentary at Chicago Film Festival. [Movie City News]
The first premiere of “The Believers“, a new cold fusion documentary produced by 137 Films occurred last night at the Chicago Film Festival.
From their F-book page, we have a photo of Directors Clayton Brown and Monica Long Ross on the red carpet.
At the time of this writing, the only review post-screening is by Lisa Nesselson from Screen Daily, who noted Cold Fusion Radio’s James Martinez‘ participation:
“The doc begins with James Martinez, a California DJ who broadcasts on internet-based Cold Fusion Now Radio. While enthusiastic, he has nothing of the bug-eyed loony about him when making pronouncements such as “This is the key to liberating the human race.” ”
The review continued fairly neutral, noting “The filmmakers leave viewers to draw their own conclusions, but there’s much here to pique the interest of any layman.”
Containing quotes by Martin and Sheila Fleischmann, Ms. Nesselson concludes with:
“Either there’s some delicate variable or the chemists were mistaken. A man who was a grad student in Fleischmann and Pons’ department at the time says “I will defend them at every turn. What we did was real.” ”
The videos of the lecture from Daejeon ICCF-17 have arrived. I must lay out the ground rules and provisos. I am not allowed to rebroadcast the lectures. I am not allowed to release the password. These are the wishes of the conveners and I have to respect them. They, the Cold Fusion, experimenters and presenters of the lectures are the heroes of this story, not I. I am but a member of the peanut gallery.
I feel that I am at liberty to give my impression of the lectures, however you must understand that my comprehension is very limited. If that is unsatisfactory you only have yourself to blame. You should have been there.
The first lecture I shall write about is that given by Professor Hagelstein. Here is what I understood of his lecture. Professor Hagelstein is a theoretician. He is tasked with creating models explaining the empirical results of the Experimenters. The gold standard of a model is it’s predictive power.
Model 281 did not work and had to buried out in the back yard. However it was intuitively correct. It predicted a coupling of phonon energy and nuclear energy. Takahashi objected to the model on the grounds that it was not reversible. It would not transmit energy in both directions. Professor Hagelstein thought this might be due to losses.
There are two elements in the coupling process: the nucleus and the phonons. The nuclear energy is too large and the phonon energy is too small. What Professor Hagelstein needed was a nuclear energy 100 times smaller, so he turned to Quarks. And then things began to look a lot brighter. How bright? 1.5keV x-ray bright. You see Karabut had been rabbiting on at a previous ICCF meeting that he was obtaining 1.5keV x-rays from his gas discharge experiments.
And then events began to make Professor Hagelstein fall off his chair in amazement and delight. He fell off his chair three times to be exact. I would love to tell you why he fell off his chair but he began to babble mathematics and so I was lost.
However all was not lost because I managed to get something about a lossy spin Boson chopping his energy up into small enough pieces so that they were digestible by the phonons. I have a picture of a carrier wave of a radio signal that might help you visualize the coupling of the two elements. The short signal wave is the energetic nuclear and the longer carrier signal is the low energy of the phonons.
Professor Hagelstein described the process creating the x-rays was as if a little hammer was striking the surface of the mercury repeatedly.
The energy distribution of the collimated x-rays fit professor Hagelstein’s equations beautifully. The more energetic the hammer blows the broader the x-ray, which makes sense to me.
OK. Let’s pull this thing together.
We now have a channel for energy to flow from the nucleus to the matrix and vice versa. So, mass in the Nucleus can be annihilated and the energy transmitted to the “outside world” beyond the Coulomb barrier, and energy can also flow into the nucleus from phonons coupled to the nucleus. This energy is stored as Mass. And we all know what happens if you increase the mass of a nucleus, don’t we. It transmutes.
I am guessing either to another isotope if the mass is large enough to be a neutron, or into another element. Professor Hagelstein said that a geologist told him that there is more aluminum along fault lines and less iron.
Your homework is to figure out why. And that is as good as it gets for now.
As has been pointed out previously, as developments regarding LENR continue to occur at an increasing pace, and from a growing number of individuals and companies, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of relevant news. In the last article, I tried to bring everybody up-to-date with news regarding Defkalion as they transitioned from Greece to Canada. Now I would like to take a closer look at Brillouin Energy Corporation.
For those who have been following the story closely, there is nothing new to report per se. Many are already aware that Brillouin, as reported first here on Cold Fusion Now, has received a patent for their technology from the Chinese government. They have also entered into a formal agreement with SRI International to further develop and scale up their NHB (New Hydrogen Boiler) technology as the next step towards commercialization. BEC has also negotiated with Sunrise Securities of New York, NY, for a “second stage” $20 million conditional investment agreement. If Brillouin meets the conditions set out in the agreement, which includes making a preliminary agreement to retrofit a small (5-10 MW) conventional power plant, the $20 million investment from Sunset Securities will make Brillouin the most robustly capitalized company in the LENR field.
In this article I would like to bring attention to two presentations given by Brillouin in the last few months. The first is a document the company presented at ICCF-17. Most readers of this site were unable to attend the conference in South Korea and may have missed Brillouin’s disclosure of recent experiments done with Michael McKubre of SRI International. Many have heard of this collaboration but have been unable to look at the data. A PDF of this presentation has been available on-line but many are not aware of it or have not had the access or inclination to view it. With the permission of Robert Godes, CTO and president of Brillouin, I have reformatted the PDF to fit on this web site in order to provide access to a greater number of people. Secondly, at the bottom of the page, I have included a slide show presentation released by Brillouin that outlines the technology and gives an overview of their plans for commercialization. This presentation also includes details of their agreement with Sunrise Securities (see slide #14).
I hope readers find this information enlightening and that it will foster a better understanding of the important and careful work being done by BEC. I hope you will refer interested friends and colleagues to this article for that same purpose.
Controlled Electron Capture and the Path Toward Commercialization
Robert Godes[1], Robert George[1], Francis Tanzella[2], and Michael McKubre2 [1] Brillouin Energy Corp., United States, reg@brillouinenergy.com [2] SRI International, United States
Abstract
We have run over 150 experiments using two different cell/calorimeter designs. Excess power has always been seen using Q pulses tuned to the resonance of palladium and nickel hydrides in pressurized vessels. Excess energies of up to 100% have been seen using this excitation method.
Index Terms– Cold Neutrons, Electrolysis, Electron Capture, Excess Heat.
I. BACKGROUND
We started with the hypothesis that metal hydrides stimulated at frequencies related to the lattice phonon resonance would cause protons or deuterons to undergo controlled electron capture. If this hypothesis is true then less hydride material would be needed to produce excess power. Also, this should lead to excess power (1) on demand, (2) from light H2O electrolysis, and (3) from the hydrides of Pd, Ni, or any matrix able to provide the necessary confinement of hydrogen and obtain a Hamiltonian value greater than 782KeV. Also, the excess power effect would be enhanced at high temperatures and pressures.
Brillouin’s lattice stimulation reverses the natural decay of neutrons to protons and Beta particles, catalyzing this endothermic step. Constraining a proton spatially in a lattice causes the lattice energy to be highly uncertain. With the Hamiltonian of the system reaching 782KeV for a proton or 3MeV for a deuteron the system may be capable of capturing an electron, forming an ultra-cold neutron or di-neutron system. The almost stationary ultra-cold neutron(s) occupies a position in the metal lattice where another dissolved hydrogen is most likely to tunnel in less than a nanosecond, forming a deuteron / triton / quadrium by capturing the cold neutron and releasing binding energy.
This would lead to helium through a Beta decay. The expected half-life of the beta decay: if J_(4H)=0−, 1−, 2−, τ1/2 ≥ 10 min; if J_(4H)=0+, 1+, τ1/2 ≥ 0.03 sec[1]. Personal correspondence with Dr. D. R. Tilley confirmed that the result of such a reaction would be β¯ decay to 4He.
Early Pd/H2O electrolysis experiments used a well-mixed, open electrolysis cell in a controlled flowing air enclosure. The temperature probes were verified to +/- 0.1°C at 70°C and +/- 0.3°C at 100°C. We simultaneously ran live and blank (resistive heater) cells, maintaining identical constant input power in both cells. High-voltage, bipolar, narrow pulses were sent through the cathode and separately pulse-width modulated (PWM) electrolysis through the cell (between the anode and cathode). Input power was measured using meters designed to measure power high frequency (HF) PWM systems. NaOH solutions were used for high conductivity. Differential thermometry suggested excess power up to 42% and 9W (Fig. 4[2]).
II. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
Fig. 1 Components of the Brillouin Wet Boiler
Our recent test data were generated autonomously through the use of a fully instrumented pressurized test vessel that permits much greater control over experiments than was possible using the “open container” test cells from Phase One experiments.
A. Reactor Components
The components of the most recent closed-cell Wet Boiler are shown in Fig. 1.
Those components include:
• A 130bar pressure vessel with a band heater
• A 28AWG (.31mm) Ni 270 cathode
• Ni 270 wire mesh anode
• 0.5 liter of 0.15 to .5M NaOH solution
• Thermal transfer oil coolant loop with a heat exchanger. MobilTherm 603
• Platinum resistive temperature detector’s (RTD’s) measuring input and output coolant temperatures.
• Mass Flow meter in the coolant line.
• An catalytic recombiner , used for safety.
• Resistance heater for calorimetric calibration
B. Power Measurements
We performed conservative measurement of the input power into the reaction chamber and the control board. All inputs, including inductive and logic circuits losses, are counted as power applied to the system All power used for stimulation and control of the cell is measured. The power delivered to the band heater is provided by a Chroma 61602 programmable AC source.
A 100 MHz Fluke 196C oscilloscope meter, operating in “AC (rms) + DC” mode, was used to measure the all input cell power applied to the primary control system. Output power is calculated from the heat removed from the inside of the test cell by pumping an organic fluid (MobileTherm 603) through a heat exchanger immersed in the electrolyte inside the cell. The electrolyte is heated by the stimulation of the electrodes. An external heat exchanger extracts heat from the circulating organic fluid. The net heat in and out is carefully measured and the difference is tabulated. The flow rate is measured by a positive displacement flow sensor (Kytola 2950-2-AKTN). 100Ω platinum RTD’s are used to measure the cooling fluid’s inlet and outlet temperatures, placed just before and just after the cooling loop, respectively. Room temperature in the immediate environment of the test cell is also measured using a 100Ω platinum RTD.
Heat also escapes from the test cell via conductive and radiative loses. Heat flows out of the test cell through the top of the test cell, its supporting brackets to a shelf, and through its insulation. This is accounted for in the software, following extensive calibrations of the cell running with out stimulation pulses (Q).
The bias of the measurement scheme is to under-report thermal output. The electrolysis recombination activity in the headspace of the vessel increases the amount of the conduction and radiative losses at the top of the cell as it heats up and conducts more thermal energy through its mechanical supports. These losses become less significant at higher operation rates as the recombination heat layer moves down to the point where the heat exchange can begin to pick up more of that recombination energy.
C. Cell Calibration and Operation
This system recovers 98% of the heat input by the control band heater alone. The circulating oil is not able to remove all of the recombination energy in the test cell. A significant amount of the recombination energy escapes by conduction through the brackets that secure the cell to the shelf that holds it in place. The method chosen to measure these parasitic heat losses is simple and accurate. The test cell has an electric resistance heating unit called the band heater. The band heater uses a known quantity of watts to heat the entire system to a selected temperature: 70, 80 or 100 degrees C. It takes 132 watts from the band heater to heat and hold the vessel to 70 degrees C with the cooling oil circulating in the cooling circuit. Measurements of the circulating oil show that the oil continuously removes 90 watts at this set point. The difference (delta) is 42 watts and this is the amount heat is “lost” from the vessel by thermal conduction and radiated heat. At 80 degrees C, the calculated parasitic loss figure is 45 watts and at 100 degrees C the parasitic loss is 47 watts.
Using this simple technique, at these three set points the amount of heat leaves the system in excess of that removed by the circulating oil is quantified to calibrate the measurements. This information is used in the data shown in the following slides. Table 1 shows the parasitic heat losses at 70, 80 and 100°C.
Table of Calibration Power Loss Terms
The cell/calorimeter is designed to operate at up to 200°C and up to 130bar. The pressurized cell is controlled using LabView® software (National Instruments, Austin, TX, USA) that continuously and automatically collects information about energy flow in and out of the test cell. All experimental data are methodically and systematically archived and recorded to disk. The thermal load due to radiative and conductive losses, in addition to that collected by the heat exchanger, are approximately 400 watts at a vessel temperature of 100°C but can achieve more than 2000 watts at 200°C. The working fluid’s inlet temperature is maintained using a re-circulating chiller (Neslab RTE111).
During operation we have applied up to 800 total watts. The only input to the system is electric power and the only output from the system is heat.
The AC stimulation consists of alternating high voltage positive and negative pulses, approximately 100ns wide, of duty cycles up to 1% or repetition rates of up to 100 KHz
III. RESULTS
Representative results of experiments operated in our pressurized cell/calorimeter are described below. Excess power is defined as the number of watts generated in the cell exceeding that supplied to the cell. The ratio of output to input power is often plotted as percentage.
When the output, for example, is twice that of the input, the amount of excess power is 100%.
The following experiments described herein were designed to measure excess power produced using proprietary electrical stimulation of nickel containing dissolved hydrogen.
A. Experiment 1
Experiment 1 yielded excess power of over 50% for approximately 2 days. Fig. 2 shows the calorimetric results and effect of stimulation frequency soon after 50% excess power was measured in the cell.
Fig. 2. Calorimetric results from experiment 1
The amount of excess power shown on the screen is approximately 59 %. During this time period there was 107 watts in, 170 watts out, yielding 63 watts excess power, with the cell temperature at 76°C and pressure of 84bar. Approximately 32 watts power was applied to the catalyst and is included in the 107W total input power.
B. Experiment 2
Fig. 3 plots the power and temperature recorded during a complete 66-hour Ni/H2O electrolysis experiment.
Fig. 3. Plot of power and temperature versus time for Experiment 1
Excess power of over 50% was recorded for much of this experiment. We repetitively swept Q repetition rate while stepping up Q amplitude and then a third parameter affecting Q shape to examine the effects and interplay among them.
The excess heat produced during this run shown in Figure 3 declined as additional power was applied. The red line plots the percentage of excess power, blue the sum of the electrical inputs, and green the temperature of the test cell. The repetitive spikes in the data are due to the cycling of Q repetition rate and the downward sloping trend indicates the increase in power to a change in the shape of the Q pulses. This slide indicates that the level of the production of excess power does not rely exclusively on input power since increasing input power reduced absolute amount of excess power. The automated test system now has the ability to automatically sequence 4 separate input variables. When the Q pulse shape stepped out of an optimal operating point the red and blue plots crossed.
C. Experiment 3
Fig. 4 plots the calorimetric and temperature data for a subsequent Ni/H2O electrolysis experiment.
Fig. 4. Calorimetric data for Experiment 3
In this experiment we examined the effect of changing specific input parameters. This plot shows a thermal output 50% greater than input for 14 hours. A gradual increase in temperature tracks small incremental increases in both the DC and AC currents. This continued for 12 hours past the end of this plot as seen in Fig. 5., which shows the sharp response of the system to input power while everything else was held constant.
Fig. 5. Calorimetric results from Experiment 3 continued
A jump in excess heat from less than 55% to almost 70% was produced using the settings input during the second half of the experiment on February 15th. Learning from this data, we modified electric inputs to exceed these results.
D. Experiment 4
Fig. 6 plots the calorimetric and temperature data for part of a Ni/H2O electrolysis experiment. While holding total input power constant Q pulse shape was changed, which yielded excess power production in excess of 75% for approximately 11 hours.
Fig. 6. Calorimetric results from Experiment 4
After achieving a thermal steady state, the system performed well for the duration of the test. Subsequently a new set of input parameters were utilized in this experiment, after which the excess power peaked at approximately 85% and was above 80% for more than seven hours.E. Experiment 5
Fig. 7 plots the calorimetric and temperature data for part of a Ni/H2O electrolysis experiment.
Fig. 7. Calorimetric results from Experiment 5
This was the first time the excess power exceeded 100%, meaning the “watts out” were twice the “watts in.” Certain electrical inputs to the cell were changed deliberately in a proprietary manner effecting Q frequency content.
This experiment is important because it shows both our upward discovery trend and because it exceeded the important 100% milestone. These set of representative experiments showed that we have progressed well beyond the results with the open-cell experiments described in the Background section.
F. Experiment 6
Experiment 6 shows the effect of changing the repetition rate of the high voltage stimulation pulses. Figure 8 plots the input and output powers, percent excess power, and the Q pulse repetition rate. Output power is shown in blue, input power is shown in green, and excess is shown in red as a percentage. The proprietary repetition rate of the pulses is plotted without scale in turquoise.
Fig. 8 Effect of Repetition Rate on Excess Power
For five days, excess power from the induced thermal reaction in nickel hydride averaged approximately 20% during times when the wave form at a given repetition rate was applied to the nickel hydride. Total applied power was above 450 watts. When the repetition rate was reduced excess power fell significantly, even though the input power rose. On seven different occasions when total applied power to the system was above 450 watts, and the repetition rate was reduced, excess power dropped from approximately 20% to close essentially 0%. Excess power returned quickly to approximately 20% when the repetition rate was restored to its original value.
This plot demonstrates a cause and effect relationship exists between the frequency of the applied waveform pulses (Q) and the amount of excess power produced in the test cell.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
We have demonstrated that the nickel-light-water system is able to achieve more than 100% excess heat production (“2X”). Recent data shows that excess heat production was in the range of 110% for 2 hours.
We ran over 150 experiments using two different cell/calorimeter designs. Excess heat was always seen[3] in experiments where Q pulses, which have been tuned to the resonance of the hydride conductors (“core”), are present. Using our open cell design it is now possible to get excess heat on demand using light water and hydrided nickel and palladium.
Pulsed power in the cathode is the preferred method to raise the energy of the Brillouin zones confining hydrogen nuclei in the metal lattice[1]. We postulate that conversion of this energy to mass, results in the production of cold to ultra-cold neutrons. The removal of charge from the system by absorption of an electron by a proton makes a current pulse the preferred source of pulsed power because it provides electrons for capture.
In all cases, the application of a suitable Quantum Compression waveform enables active hydrided materials to produce excess power on demand without regard to the grain structure. While it is common for “gross loading” systems to work with some pieces of material and not others from the same batch. We believe that the Quantum Reactor technology caused every centimeter in all 15 meters of Pd wire to immediately produce excess heat while exposed to properly pulsed currents in light water. Quantum Reactor technology also allows for significant modulation of the power out of the cell.
Leveraging the results of the open cell experiments, the proprietary circuitry was attached to hydrided conductors in high-pressure, high-temperature systems for the sealed cell experiments[2].
The data taken from nickel-hydrogen system that was stimulated by our proprietary electronic inputs show that the thermal output is statistically significantly greater than the electrical input. Measurable and repeatable surplus thermal output is found in the nickel-hydrogen system when all other inputs to the cells remain constant. We have shown 100% excess energy and hope to achieve 200%, which would make the technology industrially useful. We also believe that the moderately elevated pressure and temperature environment of the pressurized cell may increase the probability for proton-electron captures, than the conditions at ambient temperature and pressure, because the electrolyte can be heated to over the boiling point of the electrolyte at atmospheric pressure. In addition to elevated temperature and pressure, the dimensions of the metal cathode inside the test cell, is much larger than what was used in the “open container”, first- round experiments.
We conclude that the reaction producing excess power in the nickel hydride is related to and very dependent upon the frequency of the Q pulses applied. We have thus demonstrated that there is a repeatable and measurable relationship between excess heat production from the stimulated nickel hydride in the test cell and the repetition rate of the applied electronic pulses. When the repetition rate is changed from the optimum frequency, excess power production ceases in the nickel hydride lattice. When that repetition rate is restored, significant excess power production resumes.
V. FUTURE WORK
We are looking closely at the experimental data from Experiment 5 and will use it to attempt to break through the next threshold 200% (“3X”) hopefully soon.
We have started to perform experiments in a third cell/calorimeter design in collaboration with SRI International that we believe will lead to more useful heat by operating at higher temperatures. We feel that the first commercial applications expected will be hydronic heating systems that require grid power and produce lower quality heat as well as higher quality heat systems that will be used to re-power existing dirty generation assets.
In addition to Pd and Ni, the Q-pulse reactor system should work with other transition metals that confine hydrogen nuclei sufficiently in a lattice to effect electron capture events.
APPENDIX
A. Controlled Energy Capture Hypothesis
p + ~782KeV + e- » n + νe
(using energy for ultra-cold neutrons)
p + n » d + 2.2MeV
(making ultra-cold deuterons and energy)
d + (up to 3MeV) + e- » 2n + νe
(using energy to make di-neutron system)
d + n » T + 6.3MeV
(making tritum and energy)
2n + d » 4H + (?MeV)
3n + p » 4H + (?MeV)
(making short lived 4H nuclei and energy.)
4H » 4He + β¯+ νe + (17.06 to 20.6)MeV
(making helium and lots of energy)
Europe has been a leader in the arts for centuries, creating 3D perspective and ushering in the Renaissance that gave us modern science.
Europe is also a fertile region for cold fusion science, with almost every country represented by some agency-funded or independent research lab. And now, in 2012, European youth culture and the broader arts community are ramping up creative efforts to spread the meme of cold fusion and new energy science.
Writer/Blogger Daniele Passerini provided Italian scientists with a worldwide platform.The tremendous successes of Italian scientists Andrea A. Rossi, Francesco Celani, and the historic, continuing work of Sergio Focardi, Francesco Piantelli, Vittorio Violante and their numerous talented laboratory partners, have altogether demonstrated publicly both the anomalous heat effect and reproducibility on-demand from cold fusion cells. Thanks to Mats Lewan reporting for NYTeknik and writer/blogger Daniele Passerini of 22Passi, northern Italy has become the center of the universe for E-cat and LENR watchers around the world.
But not long after the U.S. excoriated the pair, virtually kicking them out of the country for announcing a discovery that few could reproduce, the godfathers of cold fusion Drs. Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons operated a laboratory in the south of France, funded by Japanese corporation Toyota.
Today, Dr. Jean-Paul Biberian, who serves as Editor of the Journal of Condensed Matter Nuclear Science, the peer-reviewed periodical serving the cold fusion community, researches cold fusion at the University near Marseille, France [visit].
Dr. Biberian recently presented a review of research in a paper Cold Fusion [.pdf] at the 17th International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF-17) held recently in Daejon South Korea, and collaborated with Dr. Melvin Miles and Dr. Iraj Parchamazad on a paper titled The Possible Role of Oxides in the Fleischmann-Pons Effect [.pdf].
Jean-Paul Biberian from Fusion FroideNow, there is a new documentary about Biberian’s research by filmmaker Jean-Yves Bilien entitled Fusion Froide Transmutations Biologiques et Autres Reflexions Sur La Science. The film is in French and for purchase, but you can watch the trailer for free. (For a Google translated site to English, go here.)
Views of Biberian in his scientific element with close-up shots of his cold fusion experimental cells, as well as the gorgeous natural landscape occupied by explorers for millennia are worth watching, even if you don’t speak French – and you just might be able to catch a few of the scientific phrases more recognizable to students of new energy.
Bilien is a filmmaker with a number of documentaries to his credit, specializing in breakthrough science. Filming Dr. Biberian appears to be his first production featuring cold fusion, and it is very professionally done; makes me wanna do better myself!
An earlier documentary on Biberian’s work by Master-Pro-documentaire bears a similar style to Jean-Yves Bilien, with slow-panning camera work and close-ups of cold fusion cells, yet also includes early French TV news broadcasts of the 1989 discovery. Watch the 30-minute L’ aventure de la Fusion Froide in French here.
Biberian has also collaborated with the broader arts community. This photo shows him working with members of the troupe who performed Fusion Froide from an arts festival several years ago.
But the arts aren’t just for scientists.
“We are the primitives of a new era.”
—Aldo TambelliniThe Cell Grew 1961
The upcoming Global Breakthrough Energy Movement Conference in Hilversum, Holland November 9, 10, 11 has attracted a number of speakers from the leading edge of alternative science, technology, and social sciences including Cold Fusion Radio’s James Martinez.
The GlobalBEM YouTube Channel houses submitted video statements from a few of the scheduled speakers describing the landscape of new energy research, making their vision a world unto itself.
The conference is being organized by a collective of creatives: artists, musicians, technologists, all engaged in what Wyndham Lewis, the original Vorticist of Great Britain, recognized as the truly modern art – beyond the conventional manipulation of color and sound: the manipulation of whole environments.
Follow the art, and feel the future. The “Distant Early Warning” has been sounded.
Just listen to GlobalBEM conference speaker Fernando Vosso:
“Economics of Cold Fusion LENR Power” is a daunting subject for a series of articles, so complex. The savings an Ecat can bring to a homes’ budget was simple enough. I did that before I ordered one. It seemed logical to next take a look at a couple of the largest budgets in the United States of America.
An outline for a series of articles took shape.
1) The energy demands of humanity are inexorable.
Definition of INEXORABLE : not to be persuaded, moved, or stopped : relentless. Example of inexorable: ‘The inexorable rise of the free energy movement.’
2) The Department of Energy is burdened ensuring an ability to meet our day-to-day energy demands.
3) The Department of Defense is burdened ensuring an ability to ‘Energize the Warfighter’. (pdf)
Energy for the Warfighter “Operational energy equates exactly to operational capability.” – General John Allen, Commander, International Security Assistance Force/United States Forces-Afghanistan (link)
4) The DOE and the DOD are inextricably intertwined.
Definition of INEXTRICABLE : forming a maze or tangle from which it is impossible to get free : incapable of being disentangled or untied : not capable of being solved. Example of inextricable: ‘There is an inextricable link between dirty energy and poor health.’
Definition of INTERTWINE : to unite by twining one with another : to twine about one another; also : to become mutually involved.
5) All nuclear weapons deployed by the Department of Defense are on loan from the Department of Energy, which has federal responsibility for the design, testing and production of all nuclear weapons.
The Department of Energy (DOE) budget provided a good starting place, simple and concise, with programs made superfulous with the advent of nearly free and unlimited energy of cold fusion LENR power. (article)
U. S. of A. Department of Defense
The US Department of Defense (DOD) budget proves to be more complex. Do to the importance of national energy needs being met, the existing geopolitics of energy market investment and expectations, vulnerability of production and supply, as well as the military prerogatives of energy operational security, DOD expenses related to energy comprise a large portion of their budget. The nearly free and unlimited energy of LENR will change that.
The Defense Intelligence Agency of the U.S. Federal government states, “Because (cold) nuclear fusion releases 10 million times more energy per unit mass than does liquid transportation fuel, the military potential of such high-energy-density power sources is enormous” and “LENR power sources could produce the greatest transformation of the battlefield for U.S. forces since the transition from horsepower to gasoline power.” (pdf)
Environmental Defense Fund Reception (Energy, Security, and the Environment) As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C., Wednesday, May 02, 2012
“As Secretary of Defense, I am honored that the Environmental Defense Fund would honor the Department of Defense. The U.S. military has a long and a very proud record when it comes to helping conserve our nation’s natural heritage.
Our mission at the Department is to secure this nation against threats to our homeland and to our people. In the 21st Century, the reality is that there are environmental threats which constitute threats to our national security. For example, the area of climate change has a dramatic impact on national security: rising sea levels, to severe droughts, to the melting of the polar caps, to more frequent and devastating natural disasters all raise demand for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
I was pointing out the other day that with the polar cap melting, we now have problems with regard to who claims the area in the polar region. And very frankly, one of the things I hope we get a chance to work on is to finally get the United States of America to approve the Law of the Seas treaty, which has been hanging out there for so long. We are the only industrialized nation that has not approved that treaty. It’s time that we did that.
The quest for energy is another area that continues to shape and reshape the strategic environment – from the destabilizing consequences of resource competition to the efforts of potential adversaries to block the free flow of energy.
Let me assure you that DoD is helping to lead this nation when it comes to preserving our environment and building a more sustainable and secure energy future. I know you’ll have the opportunity tonight to hear from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on the Navy’s innovative efforts on clean energy and the environment. Through these and other visionary initiatives, I believe we are making the country more secure and protecting our national resources.
And in many ways it’s the mission we have at the Department of Defense, which is to give our children a better life. That mission, working with you, working with this group, working with so many others, is that we have to develop a partnership that forges a better, cleaner, and safer world for the future, in order to ensure that our children have that better life.” (link)
Not so far in the near distant future…
“The world has completed converting to the clean, nearly free and unlimited, energy of the nuclear reactive environment of cold fusion. The race to conversion occurred at a breakneck speed never before seen in the adoption of a new technology. Fueled by both environmental and economic imperatives, this rapid conversion has changed the landscape of national and international economics.
The Department of Defense reflects this change. The 2040 DOD budget has changed considerably with the advent of low cost LENR power. The savings in energy costs, ($17.9 billion) are minor compared to the savings (in both money and casualties) from eliminated fuel supply lines, fuel depots, and a decrease in operational demands for protecting oil shipments ($50 billion).” -US News 2040
Now
We take look at the 2013 Department of Defense Budget and changes that may take place, by 2040, after the worlds’ conversion to LENR power. The DOD budget has fuel and energy expenses that will be reduced by utilizing the technology of cold fusion.
Fiscal Year 2013 Operational Energy Budget Certification Report “Last year, the Department consumed 116.8 million barrels (mbbls) of fuel at a cost of $17.2B ($3.51/gallon). For FY 2013, the Department budgeted approximately $16.3B for 104 mbbls of fuel and approximately $1.6B for operational energy initiatives.”(pdf)
“According to Deputy Secretary of Energy Poneman, that translates, with every $10 rise in the price of a barrel of oil, to more than $1.3 billion in additional costs the Department of Defense shells out for energy. Deputy Secretary Poneman also pointed out that a gallon of fuel can cost $40 or more in theater.” (link)
One of the greatest logistical problems facing today’s military is energy. It is a military prerogative to protect oil shipping lanes and secure military energy resources and supply lines throughout the world. This is costly and incurs loss of life.
According to a Wall Street Journal (piece) published on June 27, the Brookings Institute reports that the U.S. spends $50 billion a year protecting oil shipments. 89% of all oil is tranported by sea.
Remarks at the U.S.A.F. and U.S. Army Energy Forum As Delivered by Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn, III, Crystal City, Virginia, Tuesday, July 19, 2011, “Our forces in Afghanistan and Iraq have a long logistical tail. A majority of convoys in Afghanistan are used for fuel. We haul these supplies on roads laced with IEDs and prone to ambush. More than 3,000 troops and contractors have been killed or wounded protecting those convoys. Advances in energy technology may allow us to reduce our vulnerabilities to this type of asymmetric attack.” (link)
“Resupply casualties have been significant in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to CALL, they have historically accounted for about 10-12% of total Army casualties – the majority related to fuel and water transport.“(report)
DOD Office for Operational Energy Plans and Programs
Statement by: Ms. Sharon Burke ‘Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs’ -Submitted to the ‘Subcommittee on Readiness – House Armed Services Committee’, United States House of Representatives, March 29th, 2012
INTRODUCTION
Chairman Forbes, Representative Bordallo, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee: thank you for the opportunity to discuss the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 budget request for the Department of Defense (DoD) programs to support the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs (OEPP).
For FY13, DoD anticipates spending over $16 billion on energy for military operations, which will provide more than 4 billion gallons of fuel for military operations and exercises. DoD will also invest $1.4 billion on initiatives to improve operational energy security, about 90% of which are aimed at reducing DoD’s demand for operational energy.
President Obama initiated the OEPP in June 2010, both to reflect his commitment to national and energy security and to honor the intent of Congress in calling for the establishment of an operational energy office at DoD. By statute, the purpose of the office is to transform the way DoD uses energy through guidance, policy, oversight, and coordination, as well as to serve as the primary advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on operational energy.
The mission of OEPP is to improve military effectiveness while lowering risks and costs to warfighters. In its first two years of operation, OEPP has achieved considerable progress by:
· Promoting institutional change within DoD.
· Supporting current operations with energy innovations.
· Building operational energy considerations into the future force.
For FY13, the office will continue to focus on these priorities. In doing so, OEPP has the opportunity to help transform DoD’s energy use from a vulnerability to a strategic advantage. By reducing the Armed Forces’ reliance on fuel, we aim to improve warfighting capabilities, such as range, endurance, signature, and loiter time. We aim to reduce the risk to fielded forces as they move fuel through contested territory. In the process, we believe we will lower costs for the taxpayer, promote good stewardship of natural resources, and contribute to national energy goals.
THE DEFENSE ENERGY CHALLENGE
DoD is the single largest consumer of energy in the nation, accounting for approximately 1% of national demand. In FY11, that added up to a $20 billion bill, with 75% (approximately $15 billion) going to support military operations. Indeed, a steady and reliable supply of energy is essential to every military capability and every mission, and for today’s U.S. forces, that means a steady and reliable supply of petroleum fuels. Petroleum is the fuel of choice for military operations because of its high energy density, fungibility, and global availability. At the same time, DoD’s high demand for petroleum, given its volume, weight, and geostrategic constraints, is raising costs and risks for U.S. forces.
Until the FY 2009 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which called on DoD to establish the OEPP, “operational energy” was not a commonly used term at DoD. The Act defined operational energy as the energy required to train, move, and sustain military operations.
The 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review and FY 2011 NDAA augmented this definition, noting that defense energy security means having “assured access to reliable supplies of energy and the ability to protect and deliver sufficient energy to meet operational needs.”
While the term “operational energy” may be new to U.S. armed forces, the concept is not new. From the extraordinary WWII-era Red Hill fuel storage facility in Hawaii to today’s Northern Distribution Network in Central Asia, energy security has long been a priority for American military operations. Today’s conflicts have brought new challenges to military energy security given our distributed operations and increased energy demand – mostly for liquid fuel, but also for batteries.
Today, U.S. forces in Afghanistan are consuming about 1.8 million gallons of fuel every day, which is conveyed over poor and sometimes contested roads. The Army and Marine Corps have documented thousands of casualties related to fuel movements in Afghanistan and Iraq, with U.S. Transportation Command tracking a thousand attacks on logistics convoys in Afghanistan alone last year. U.S. forces are fully capable of protecting these supply lines, but the opportunity cost in lives, resources, and diverted combat force at the tactical level is higher than it should be.
Going forward, the 2012 Department of Defense Strategic Guidance calls for a military force that is “agile, flexible, and ready for the full range of contingencies,” one that is prepared and postured for a complex, global security environment. This will require new and diverse capabilities and with the current trends in major acquisitions–a large and growing supply of fuel. In an era of precision weapons, asymmetric threats, and area denial strategies, the volume of that energy requirement will continue to impose tactical, operational, and strategic challenges.
At the same time, there will be geostrategic challenges for DoD’s energy supplies, particularly when it comes to petroleum. Worldwide demand for petroleum continues to rise, even as supplies are concentrating into fewer nations. As long as the United States depends on oil, the price we all pay at the pump will be driven by a volatile global market. For DoD, that means unpredictable fuel bills that crowd out other investment – every dollar hike in the price of oil per barrel raises our bill by $130 million.
More to the point, DoD must take into account the destabilizing effects of global energy wealth and poverty, the resource competition resulting from rising demand in growing economies, and with 89% of oil exports moving by sea, the need to secure the global commons. The President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future seeks to change that calculus by taking steps to stabilize today’s energy economy while investing in the innovation that will allow us to displace the primacy of oil in our national and military energy security.
CONCLUSION
In June of 2011, General Petraeus released a memo to U.S. Forces in Afghanistan calling for better management of operational energy, which he called the “lifeblood” of warfighting capabilities.
In December of 2011, General Allen renewed General Petraeus’s call for action, equating operational energy to operational capability in a follow-up memo. General Allen’s memo highlighted the nature of the challenge, noting: “Operational Energy in the battlespace is about improving combat effectiveness. It’s about increasing our forces’ endurance, being more lethal, and reducing the number of men and women risking their lives moving fuel.
OEPP is committed to achieving the vision of these leaders. We have made good progress this past year and have aggressive goals for the way ahead. Ultimately, our intention is to successfully integrate operational energy considerations into existing policies, plans, programs and processes. This type of large-scale institutional change will require considerable time, effort, and persistence, so I deeply appreciate the Congress’s continued support for the mission and the Office of Operational Energy Plans and Programs.” (pdf)
Annual Aviation Inventory and Funding Plan
Fiscal Years (FY) 2013-2042 Report date March 2012
Air Refueling Inventories & Funding FY 2013-2022 (This will be phased out with LENR – $9 Billion)
2012 Air Refueling Aviation Inventory
Air Force – 438 Aircraft (KC-10, KC-135, KC-46)
Navy – 78 Aircraft (KC-130)
The chart (on page 19) depicts air refueling aviation inventory and funding projections over FY2013 – 2022 broken out by military department. In aggregate, the Air Refueling inventory will increase by one percent over the FY2013 – 2022 period.
(ed. note: $9 billion is allocated over a period of 9 yearsin order to maintain this fleet level.)
Details on Air Force and DoN Air Refueling aviation plans are outlined in the following paragraphs.
Department of the Air Force. As the DoD places greater emphasis on operations in other theaters like the Asia-Pacific, Air Force refueling aircraft continue their vital, daily role of extending the range and persistence of almost all other aircraft of the Joint force. The Air Force remains committed to fully funding the acquisition of the new KC-46 tanker, while also resourcing critical modernization programs for the legacy KC-10 and KC-135 fleets, assuring crucial air refueling capacity and capability for decades to come. The aerial refueling fleet is sized to meet the Combatant Commander requirements and revised demands of the strategic guidance. The Air Force will retire 20 KC-135 aircraft over the FYDP. As the Air Force’s fleet of tanker aircraft ages, new tankers will be needed to provide in-flight refueling support.
The Air Force has begun recapitalizing the tanker fleet with fully funded plans to develop and procure 83 KC-46A tankers by 2022. The KC-46A fleet will reach its planned size of 179 aircraft in 2029; later tanker procurement will be the result of a future contract award. The KC-46A will be able to refuel aircraft in flight and can be air refueled by other aircraft to allow continuous overhead fuel management across the battlespace. Additionally, the capability to transfer fuel to either receptacle or probe-equipped receivers without reconfiguration will enhance the capability and flexibility of the tanker fleet.
Department of the Navy. The Marine Corps will continue procuring the KC-130J in the near term, expanding its inventory of this aircraft, which has proven its combat effectiveness and reliability in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Capable of employment in intratheater lift, assault support, persistent ISR, and aerial refueling missions, the KC-130J will replace aging KC-130T models. The Navy will incorporate carrier based organic tanking capability requirements into future aircraft studies, and will consider multiple options for future carrier-based tanker assets. (pdf)
Military Sealift Command – Combat Logistics Force
Fifteen fleet replenishment oilers, the largest subset of Combat Logistics Force ships, provide fuel to deployed Navy ships at sea, as well as to their assigned aircraft. Oilers and the ships they refuel sail side by side as fuel hoses are extended across guide wires. Underway replenishment of fuel dramatically extends the time a Navy battle group can remain at sea. MSC has an annual operating budget of approximately $3 billion. (link)
(Up to $1.5 billion of the operating budget for Combat Logistics Force may be eliminated by LENR power.)
An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2013 Shipbuilding Plan
Combat Logistics and Support Ships (Oilers) In its 2013 plan, the Navy envisions buying 46 logistics and support ships in the next three decades—19 fewer than in the 2012 plan, or a decrease of about 30 percent. Those planned purchases include 1 joint high-speed vessel in 2013, 10 replacement JHSVs in the 2030s, and 17 new oilers (See page 5) over the 30-year period (the latter provide fuel and a few other supplies to ships at sea). Oilers cost .5 to .7 billion dollars per ship. (page 17- table 3) (pdf)
($11.9 billionin shipbuilding expenses eliminated by LENR power.)
So I’m riding my bike down Main Street in Santa Monica, and a fellow pedals up along side and starts a conversation, right there in the bike lane. He wanted to compliment me on my bungy-corded box strapped to the back rack that transports my load.
Seeing my Cold Fusion Now sticker deftly placed street-facing on the frame, and the new T-shirt I’m wearing (available SOON!), he remarks, “Wow, you’re really into this…”
You have no idea, I think to myself. “I do clean energy advocacy for cold fusion.”
At once, the young man (who identified himself as “d’Artagnan”, a science-fiction screenwriter) proceeded to tell me that cold fusion wasn’t real, and was shown years ago, to be a mistake.
Some hero!
Taking a deep breath, (and watching for the red light coming up), I told him that if his knowledge of the situation stopped in 1989, then he’s missed the last two-decades of development, and could use an update.
I rattled off a few facts that contradicted the myth he was stifled by.
What did I say?
Essentially, I listed a few well-known companies, agencies, and universities, actively engaged in serious research on cold fusion, also called low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR), lattice-assisted nuclear reactions (LANR), and quantum fusion.
NASA is testing technology based on a LENR theory at Langley Research Center, and testing experimental cells at the Glenn Research Center.
National Instruments, a billion-dollar multinational corporation that manufactures science equipment and laboratory software, featured LENR at their recent NIWeek, and has set up a lab testing cold fusion cells in Austin, Texas.
University of Missouri has set up an Institute of Nuclear Renaissance with a $5.5 million grant to study LENR.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne runs a LENR research laboratory under Dr. George Miley studying both excess heat and transmutations. Purdue University has LENR theorist Dr. Yeong Kim; University of LaVerne has researcher Dr. Iraj Parchamazad; Portland State University has Dr. John Dash; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology has Dr. Peter Hagelstein, all actively pursuing research experimentally or theoretically.
SRI International, a world-renowned science lab based in Menlo Park, California operated under Dr. Michael McKubre, has been experimenting for over two-decades, amassing a huge database of results.
Brillouin Energy Corporation, an independent new energy lab under the direction of Robert Godes in Berkeley, California, recently received private venture capital funding, and is now working with SRI International testing a new gas-loaded boiler design.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) have funded cold fusion/LENR research.
The Naval Research Lab continues to research the phenomenon; the Army Research Lab has conducted workshops.
Corporations Toyota and Mitsubishi partner with their government and have fully-funded labs experimenting with both theory and cells, and are now dramatically increasing their support due to the recent technological advances.
Researchers in Italy, India, France, Germany, Ukraine, China, Russia, Greece, and Canada, are among nations around the world racing to develop this science into a usable technology.
Well, of course I didn’t get through all of them before this man’s protestations continued, and I took a left turn, and he took a right.
In addition, this list is not exhaustive.
There are more recognizable entities engaged in clean energy research from cold fusion, and some who do not want to be recognized.
Some have been pursuing research for twenty-three years, while newer groups are flocking in as development nears commercial potential.
Why would these heavyweights carry on research and development if it wasn’t real? The stakes are so very high.
If you’re talking to a non-believer, someone who has faith in their own twenty-three-year-old knowledge, then this is a good list to start off with when attempting to update their dusty synapses.
And if that doesn’t work, pedal on; there are many without prejudice, and who are willing shed any out-dated notions with new information.
The open-minded are our kin, and it’s those we gather to demand peace and freedom with a clean energy economy, for a technological human future, on a green planet, for all the inhabitants of Earth.
From their F-book page, we have a photo of Directors Clayton Brown and Monica Long Ross on the red carpet. 
