Cold fusion device

Abstract

To provide a cold fusion device which offers a practical output level.SOLUTION: A cathode electrode is irradiated with radiation during electrolysis of water to promote nuclear fusion reactions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cold nuclear fusion device that accelerates the nuclear fusion reaction by irradiating a cathode electrode with radiation of 0.78 MeV or more during the electrolysis of water. [Background technology]

[0002] Cold fusion was reported by Professors Fleischmann and Pons in 1989. According to Non-Patent Document 1, the electrolysis of heavy water using a Pd cathode generates excess heat that cannot be obtained by normal electrolysis, and in some cases the Pd cathode melts (Pd melting point 1555°C), and gamma rays are also detected, suggesting a nuclear fusion reaction. However, poor reproducibility led to negative opinions, making it a difficult phenomenon to evaluate. Since then, as a result of research by many researchers, the existence of cold fusion has been recognized, but its principles have not yet been clearly defined, and research is still being carried out by trial and error.

[0003] Researchers at NASA's Glenn Research Center (Non-Patent Document 2) have achieved nuclear fusion using an electron accelerator, hydrogen, and metals. Specifically, electrons accelerated by an accelerator are irradiated onto tungsten to generate gamma rays. They succeeded in nuclear fusion by irradiating the gamma rays onto Ti or Er that has absorbed deuterium. They explain that the gamma rays break down heavy water into protons and neutrons, resulting in the production of helium and the conversion of metal elements. They claim that this phenomenon is not cold fusion but a new method of nuclear fusion, and they have named it LCF (Lattice Confinement Fusion). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] J. Electroanal. Chem., Vol. 261, No. 301 (1989). [Non-Patent Document 2] Phys.Rev.C, Volume 101, Section 44610 (2020). [Non-Patent Document 3] Chemistry and Education, Vol. 49, No. 688 (2001). Non-Patent 4 Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, JAERI-M, 89-132 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The first thing that needs to be clarified is the principle of cold fusion. The theory that the probability of collisions between atomic nuclei and protons (including deuterons) increases dramatically due to the Coulomb shielding effect, which is assumed by many people, was rejected in the early 1990s, and the involvement of voids and impurities was suspected. However, considering the inelastic scattering collision cross section, the involvement of neutrons is more likely, and although some researchers point this out, it does not seem to have become mainstream.

[0006] The inventor supports the involvement of neutrons, and first, atomic nuclei are excited by external energy such as cosmic rays. Experimental evidence shows that gamma rays are difficult to produce in cold nuclear fusion, so the excitation energy of excited atoms in solids is internally converted and used to generate heat or neutrons by fusing nearby hydrogen nuclei with electrons. Neutrons can also be generated by fusing directly excited hydrogen nuclei with electrons. Due to the experimental evidence that neutrons are difficult to detect, the generated neutrons also fuse with other nuclei with a high probability to become excited nuclei, and nuclear fusion, heat generation by internal conversion, and neutron generation proceed in a chain reaction. The energy generated by one neutron is extremely small, even if it is said to be 10,000 times that of a chemical reaction, and it is only after the above chain reaction has progressed that it can be observed as a heat generation phenomenon. Then, when the hydrogen, which is the neutron source, disappears, the cold nuclear fusion reaction and heat generation stop.

[0007] Considering the above, the method from NASA's Glenn Research Center in Non-Patent Document 2 can be said to be a method that uses the principles of cold fusion.

[0008] Also, the paper on the discovery of cold fusion in Non-Patent Document 1 also has evidence of the involvement of neutrons. The gamma rays measured there had a peak of 2.2 MeV, which corresponds to the energy generated when a proton and a neutron combine to become a deuteron, and indicates the presence of a large number of neutrons and protons due to the progress of nuclear fission of deuterium. It is clear that if there are a large number of neutrons, the nuclear fusion reaction caused by neutrons will progress due to the size of their inelastic collision cross section. Simply put, neutrons that have no electric charge can easily fuse with atomic nuclei. Also, according to Non-Patent Document 3, the inventor estimates that the date of the experiment in Non-Patent Document 1 was between March 6, 1989, when the University of Utah and Brigham Young University promised to simultaneously submit a paper on cold fusion to Nature magazine on March 24, and March 11, the date of submission of Non-Patent Document 1, which was the best period in history for cold fusion. That is, a huge solar flare of X15.0 occurred on March 6, and a coronal mass ejection occurred on March 9, which resulted in a serious geomagnetic storm on the Earth on March 13, causing a major blackout in Quebec, Canada. The inventor believes that under these circumstances, when a large amount of radiation was pouring down on the Earth, a cold nuclear fusion reaction occurred strong enough to melt the Pd cathode.

[0009] If the timing of the experiment by Professor Fleischmann and Professor Pons was as expected by the inventor, it is natural that the reproducibility in the subsequent follow-up tests was poor. Since the follow-up tests by others were conducted after some time had passed, there was no way that a large amount of radiation was pouring in from the sun as mentioned above, and cold fusion with an abnormal output was not obtained, and as a result, Professor Fleischmann and his colleagues were called frauds. This discovery was made at a miraculous time in history, and if they had lost this opportunity, there is no way to know when the cold fusion phenomenon would have attracted attention, so the inventor believes that their discovery should be praised as a miraculous achievement. Here, we would also like to emphasize that cosmic rays, especially cosmic rays from the sun, were an important factor in cold fusion. From the above reasoning, the inventor believes that the nuclear fusion reaction that melted the Pd electrode reported by Professor Fleischmann and his colleagues in Non-Patent Document 1 was true, even though it may be hard to believe.

[0010] From the above, we believe that Non-Patent Document 2 is nothing more than an artificial supply of radiation, which is an important factor in cold fusion, as in Non-Patent Document 1. In addition, Non-Patent Document 2 does not seem to have produced a fusion reaction output that would be valuable as a promising heat source, but this is thought to be because, as a result of their fusion reaction with hydrides, the temperature did not reach a temperature high enough to reach the melting point because deuterium was lost at high temperatures and the output dropped rapidly. On the other hand, Professor Fleischmann and Professor Pons believe that by using palladium, whose hydrogen solid solution concentration remains high over a wide temperature range, as the cathode electrode and by constantly supplying deuterium into the cathode electrode by electrolysis, they were able to produce a fusion reaction output high enough to melt the cathode electrode.

[0011] Immediately after the discovery of cold fusion in Non-Patent Document 1, some pointed out cosmic rays as the cause of cold fusion, but as Non-Patent Document 4 shows, only muons were considered as cosmic rays, so the cosmic ray origin theory was ultimately rejected. At the time, muon-mediated fusion was the leading candidate for cold fusion, so muons were the first to be considered as cosmic rays, and other cosmic rays such as gamma rays were discarded from consideration when examining various hypotheses, which is thought to be the reason why the principle of cold fusion could not be identified. In fact, Professor Jones, who competed with Professor Fleischmann and others to discover cold fusion, went to the trouble of conducting cold fusion experiments deep underground at Kamiokande, where cosmic rays are blocked, and reported that no neutrons were generated at all, so the relationship between cold fusion and cosmic rays was not taken into consideration at the time.

[0012] Considering the above, it is possible that there are stars where cold nuclear fusion is commonplace depending on the state of environmental radiation, and Jupiter is a concrete example. More than twice the heat generated inside Jupiter is the heat generated by radiation from the sun, and conventional wisdom has been that nuclear fusion does not occur, so various absurd theories have been used to explain the heat generated. However, it seems that nuclear fusion is possible even at low temperatures with radiation and hydrogen, so it is likely that space astronomy will be revised in the future. Also, even in magnetic confinement nuclear fusion, if light hydrogen is used, nuclear fusion can be expected through the generation of neutrons by the fusion of protons and electrons, so it is possible that the conditions for nuclear fusion can be greatly relaxed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] In the electrolysis of water, the amount of hydrogen converted into neutrons by applying external radiation, i.e. high-energy particles, to the cathode electrode is important for increasing the power output of cold fusion. Generally, there is water between the radiation source and the cathode electrode, so gamma rays and neutrons are the most easily produced and penetrating radiation, but neutrons are difficult to handle, so gamma rays are the most suitable. + +e - The energy required for →n is 0.78 MeV. The energy required to break down deuterium into protons and neutrons, as described in Non-Patent Document 2, is approximately 2.2 MeV. Furthermore, it is expected that deuterium will be converted into two free neutrons by gamma rays of 3 MeV or more, and it is expected that the output of cold fusion will be improved by a more chain-like fusion reaction.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. A cathode electrode 1 and an anode electrode 2 are arranged in an electrolysis tank 3 filled with water or an electrolyte 4, and electrolysis is performed using an electrolysis power supply 19. At this time, the cathode electrode 1 is irradiated with radiation 7 from a radiation generator 6. As mentioned above, gamma rays are preferred as the radiation. An example of the gamma ray generator 6 is a device that irradiates a metal target such as W with high-energy electrons from an accelerator to emit gamma rays, as described in Non-Patent Document 2. However, this device is huge and not suitable for practical use, so it is more appropriate to use a radioactive material as the radiation source. In this case, a device that emits gamma rays with 1.25 MeV and a half-life of 5.27 years is used. 60 Co and its nuclear transformation products 60 A radioactive material such as Ni would be ideal, and a shutter would be used to control the gamma rays on and off. 60 Co radiation sources are convenient because they are used for medical purposes and are easy to obtain. Another easily available gamma ray source is radium 226. Although its 0.83 MeV gamma ray and half-life of 1600 years are desirable, they are hazardous to health and safety because they are released as radon 222 as a nuclear transmutation product.

[0015] The embodiment shown in Figure 2 allows radiation 7 to reach the cathode electrode 1 without loss, without passing through the water or electrolyte 4. The irradiation efficiency is maximized by making the cathode electrode 1 hollow and irradiating the cathode electrode 1 with radiation 7 emitted from the radiation generator 6 from the hollow side. It is also preferable to provide an on / off control mechanism by providing a shutter 8 between the cathode electrode 1 and the radiation generator 6. The embodiment shown in Figure 2 also makes it possible to use a radioactive material for the β-ray source. In this case, it is preferable to use a β-ray source that is easily available commercially. - Isotopes with a radiation source energy of 0.78 MeV or more and a half-life of more than one year include cesium-134 (2.059 MeV, 2.07 years), cesium-137 (1.174 MeV, 30.1 years), and ruthenium-106 (1.98-3.54 MeV, 374 days). - In the case of rays, i.e., high-energy electrons, it is necessary to evacuate the hollow space to prevent energy loss when the electrons reach the cathode electrode 1, and therefore they are more difficult to handle than gamma rays.

[0016] The material of the cathode electrode 1 is preferably palladium or a metal mainly composed of palladium. Palladium is unique as a hydrogen storage metal, being able to store hydrogen at high concentrations while maintaining its crystal structure, and being able to maintain a high concentration of dissolved hydrogen from low temperatures to its melting point. Therefore, its stable and high hydrogen supply capacity from the initial stage of the fusion reaction to steady-state operation enables a high-power fusion reaction. Effect of the Invention

[0017] By irradiating the cathode electrode with radiation during water electrolysis, the nuclear fusion reaction is promoted, providing a reproducible, high-output room temperature nuclear fusion device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the cold fusion promotion mechanism according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment in which the cathode electrode and the radiation source in FIG. 1 are integrated together. [Diagram 3]FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the cold fusion device of FIG. 1 is applied to a boiler. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Figure 3 shows an embodiment in which the cold fusion device shown in Figure 1 is applied to a boiler. The electrolytic cell 3 has a sealed structure, and is connected to a water or electrolyte supply line 16, a hydrogen and water vapor outlet line 17 at the top of the electrolytic cell on the cathode electrode side, and an anode side generated gas and water vapor outlet line 18 at the top of the electrolytic cell on the anode electrode side. The inside of the furnace outer wall 13 is evacuated by a vacuum pump 12, and the heat generated in the electrolytic cell 3 is prevented from leaking to the outside by vacuum insulation. The steam coming out of the steam outlet lines 17 and 18 is used to rotate a power generating turbine to generate electricity, etc. After use, the steam is cooled, and the hydrogen or the anode side product gas is recovered or discarded. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 1. Cathode electrode 2 Anode electrode 3. Electrolysis tank 4 Water or electrolyte 6. Radiation Generator 7. Radiation 8. Shutter 12 Vacuum Pump 13 Furnace outer wall 16 Water or electrolyte supply line 17 Hydrogen and steam extraction line 18 Anode side product gas and vapor withdrawal line 19 Power supply for electrolysis

Claims

1. A cold fusion device characterized by irradiating a cathode electrode with radiation during the electrolysis of water.

2. 2. The cold fusion device according to claim 1, wherein the energy of said radiation is 0.78 MeV or more.

3. 2. The cold nuclear fusion device according to claim 1, wherein said radiation is gamma rays.

4. 4. The cold nuclear fusion device according to claim 3, wherein said gamma rays are emitted from cobalt 60, radium 226 and their nuclear transmutations.

5. 2. A cold nuclear fusion device according to claim 1, wherein said cathode electrode has a hollow structure and radiation is irradiated from the hollow side.

6. 6. The cold nuclear fusion device according to claim 5, wherein radiation from cobalt-60, radium-226, cesium-134, cesium-137, ruthenium-106 and their nuclear transmutations is used.

7. 2. The cold nuclear fusion device according to claim 1, wherein the material of said cathode electrode is palladium or a metal containing palladium as a main component.

8. A boiler system equipped with the cold fusion device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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