3 ms·

I'm curious about your reasoning why it shouldn't work - I haven't had a deep look into the claims of Rossi but I understand why it's unlikely to be a nuclear r

by wnkrshm 12y ago

I'm curious about your reasoning why it shouldn't work - I haven't had a deep look into the claims of Rossi but I understand why it's unlikely to be a nuclear reaction. It shouldn't work as is. If the effect is chemical, deuterium is a perfect substitute for hydrogen. But if it is a nuclear effect (extremely unlikely) and it does work - there are mechanisms involved that aren't explained by current particle physics, how can you be sure that 2H won't show any effect?

spdustin 12y ago
Deuterium is most certainly not a perfect substitute for ordinary hydrogen (or protium). At the chemical level, deuterium (D, since I can't figure out how to to superscripts) is fundamentally different from hydrogen (H). Chemical bonds involving D are stronger, IIRC due to increased the energy requirements to activate the transition state. I also recall from chemistry that water made with D (D2O, or heavy water) can be toxic to all but the most basic of single called life forms (prokaryotes). It's okay for humans to ingest large quantities of it in a short period, but replacing body water with heavy water would lead to cell death.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  Replacing more than 25% of your body's water with deuterium is very bad for you, however Mikhail Shchepinov has been drinking it for years on the theory that the stronger bonds might reduce some of the chemical reactions associated with aging. http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/March/22030703.asp http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/March/22030703.a...
- dnautics 12y ago
  Yep deuterium is a smidge more chemically stable than hydrogen, but iirc the difference is about 10% so if it's chemical burning that's going on the machine should still run. If it's nuclear than it should suck energy much less effectively since the specific Ni+H reaction that is claimed should not happen at all.
gus_massa 12y ago
They claim that it's a nuclear reaction. So if they are right and you build a version that replace the H with D, "it shouldn't work". If you build it with D and it's works it means it's only a chemical reaction, or measurement error, or ... D is not a perfect substitute for H, but it's good enough, so the exact amount of energy may change a little.

by wnkrshm 12y ago

spdustin 12y ago

Deuterium is most certainly not a perfect substitute for ordinary hydrogen (or protium). At the chemical level, deuterium (D, since I can't figure out how to to superscripts) is fundamentally different from hydrogen (H). Chemical bonds involving D are stronger, IIRC due to increased the energy requirements to activate the transition state. I also recall from chemistry that water made with D (D2O, or heavy water) can be toxic to all but the most basic of single called life forms (prokaryotes). It's okay for humans to ingest large quantities of it in a short period, but replacing body water with heavy water would lead to cell death.

lotsofmangos 12y ago
Replacing more than 25% of your body's water with deuterium is very bad for you, however Mikhail Shchepinov has been drinking it for years on the theory that the stronger bonds might reduce some of the chemical reactions associated with aging. http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/March/22030703.asp http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/March/22030703.a...
dnautics 12y ago
Yep deuterium is a smidge more chemically stable than hydrogen, but iirc the difference is about 10% so if it's chemical burning that's going on the machine should still run. If it's nuclear than it should suck energy much less effectively since the specific Ni+H reaction that is claimed should not happen at all.

gus_massa 12y ago

They claim that it's a nuclear reaction. So if they are right and you build a version that replace the H with D, "it shouldn't work". If you build it with D and it's works it means it's only a chemical reaction, or measurement error, or ... D is not a perfect substitute for H, but it's good enough, so the exact amount of energy may change a little.