Atomic Motor - Cold Fusion of Energy & Culture

Cold Fusion Rides On with New Believers

2011-03-28T09:40:00.011-05:00

22nd Anniversary

Photo Credit Gizmodo, courtesy of Yoshiaki Arata,et al (Osaka University)

Here's a new blog called 'Cold Fusion Now' that I'm following, and I highly recommend it if you are an Atomic Motor reader. There is also apparently a new documentary being produced by 137 Films and based on the video preview, I think you will enjoy watching it when it is released. I'm also enjoying reading the latest news on the Rossi e-cat device.

After trying very hard as a blogger myself for several years to help bring visibility to this field, its very good to see others doing the same using blogging to exercise their rights of free speech for a science topic they believe in.

Thought for the week: If Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin were around today, what would they do to help with science, collaboration and education?

Hope you have a great week. Think Big !

Hold Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand

2010-01-28T21:09:00.022-06:00

Touch the Future

Photo Copyright Apple, Inc.

Yesterday the world saw yet another revolutionary product quietly enter the market from Apple, Inc. If you were like me you were among the few who really got the big picture of this announcement before the rest of the world catches on. Their new iPad appears to be a cross between an iPhone, a book reader (look out Nook) and a decent sized (yet thin) internet surf board. The folks at Apple are simply amazing ! Seeing the news about the new Apple iPad energized me enough that I actually emerged from hibernation to blog once more and share an educational opinion or two.

Let me explain why I crave this new gadget. Not only is it an eye saving mobile/3G device like non other, but looking at this device inspires me to imagine what the future of education will be like as devices like this emerge onto the mainstream market, where both children and adults will become hyperconnected to various educational media streams and content providers, while being comfortable in how we view that content.

My son loves his new smart phone with a smaller screen size, but to a cold fusion loving dad like me who likes larger fonts and screen area for easy 3G web surfing, email navigating, Wi-Fi hot spots, Facebook, Twitter and the insanely profitable apps market out there, it seems like an ideal mobile device to build more mind share upon in almost unlimited ways. Is there room for improvement in this device? Sure. One area would also be the material science of touchscreen devices themselves as a possible improvement using quantum tunneling technology.

Say what?

We're all familiar with inductive/capacitive touch screen technology in today's smart phones, but have we really stopped to consider the possibilities of using quantum tunneling composites (QTC) which are also emerging onto the flexible touchscreen market thanks to millions of mobile devices that could use pressure sensitive polymer touchscreens? Imagine those nano composite possibilities for a moment.

As was cleverly stated yesterday at the iPad unveiling: "Hold the web in the palm of your hand." This reminded me of an insightful quote by William Blake in his Auguries of Innocence, which speaks to me not only of the future of media, but of the potential of nano-science and quantum physics this century to provide us with new wonders in our daily lives that we can actually touch..

To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour
- William Blake

I simply can't wait to buy this awesomely rad device !

[ Disclaimer: can you tell I'm in an excited quantum mechanical state?]

Atomic Links
Pressure Sensitive Touch Screens in Near Future - Tom's Hardware
Next Industrial Revolution: Atoms are the New Bits - Wired
Flexible Sheets Capture Energy From Movement - MIT Technology Review
Quantum Simulation of Electrons Using an Ion - Basque Research
A or B Film Review: Downstream - World Run on Cold Fusion?

Simple Things That Matter

2009-08-16T14:04:00.038-05:00

Gaining Back Lost Time with Healthy Weight Loss

Photo : courtesy of Health.com (IStockPhoto)

[Updated] Sometimes solutions to very difficult problems stare you in the face, but the signal compared to noise is too small to see. The good Lord often answers prayers and provides miracles with simple things to help sometimes. Case and point - dealing with the nuclear waste issue that a cold fusion loving dad often thinks about. Things like cleaning up the planet and helping mother earth with second atomic age child rearing. Afterall, cleaning up from the good life of the Woodstock generation (ed note: see reader comments below) can be quite messy (there's reality for you).

I was excited recently when I read this report from some Italian researchers who have managed to demonstrate that radioactive Thorium's (Th 228) half-life could be accelerated by a factor of 10,000 !! (one possible explanation) by simply cavitating a thorium solution in water. Sounds like an impossibly simple solution and a possible miracle, huh? Well, according to their results published in a Physics Letters A paper they appear to have done just that.

Ok, so what are the possible applications for this technology approach you might ask? Doing a quick cursory search on the internet there was a recent IEEE article that appears to show a possible application of the above research by pumping ground water from contaminated acquifers where the water at the tap was 'pure' - a data point to consider for more research Perhaps even geothermal and water recycling efforts could benefit. Large pumping applications (multiple pumps) are not uncommon in such uses, and in fact the city of New Orleans has yet to build their large pumping stations as Hurricane season is already upon us ( a plug for all their hard efforts to protect their citizens). Another direct application would obviously be a cleaner nuclear industry someday. Looking for such synergies is part of increasing the signal to noise ratio to help apply new ideas.

If the Italian reports are confirmed (I'm hopeful) and their experimental data presented in a more formal paper, this area of study certainly would need a closer look and more research emphasis. This blogger will certainly vote his taxpayer dollars to help such breakthroughs.

Humor: If you feel squeemish about things like this, I have an old friend named NORM (don't want to just pick on the ladies) who has a wasteline like mine that keeps growing every year if not managed. He's worked in many industries - poor fellow. And, even though he tries to eat more veggies, watch his medical, fat, oil, coal and cholesterol levels - he still needs to be more green. He says he's just human, but sometimes I really do wonder ;)

[ Note : the above article was derived entirely from public information resources ]

Helium - Advice from a Chemistry Guru

2009-07-30T20:42:00.021-05:00

Finding Your Voice

Have you ever felt you just couldn't raise your voice loud enough and that no one was listening? Yah, me too. As believer in fusion energy, believe me - I've been there. I've even felt at times that I've lost my voice. Then one day, I saw a gentleman sitting in a rocking chair talking to a young child holding a Balloon - giving her advice that could ring down through the ages. In that moment I suddenly realized the tremendous wisdom in his words.

It's been a somber week. What made this friday extra special for a shy nerd like me, was a pool party invite and a surprise coffee mug I just got in the mail today. I snapped a digital photo of it above. I really have to thank the American Chemical Society (ACS ) outreach team for such a thoughtful gift to all ACS members :-) Maybe it's just my wild chemistry imagination again, but words can't describe what it felt like when I read the back side of the cup, particularly since Helium (element symbol: He) was first discovered by Sir William Ramsay, in 1895 !

Liquid Metal Assisted Fusion

2009-06-23T23:43:00.011-05:00

Who Says You Can't Be a Quantum Mechanic ?

General Fusion's Latest Reactor Concept

Popular Science has a new article about General Fusion's pneumatically assisted plasma fusion reactor concept. Their device design reduces input energy needs by relying on a mechanical piston based compression concept using a liquid metal, which also helps to shield the core. Some of their earlier designs and lab photos can be found here.

I can already see some excited college students adding a few mechanical engineering courses next semester :-)

Atomic Links
NEMS Probe Resonates With Quantum Researchers - R&D Magazine
Can Pressure Waves Speed Up Nuclear Decay ? - MIT TR

[Disclaimer: At least one macroscopic quantum mechanical tool was used to write this post ]

20 years of Hope: 60 Minutes Episode Tries to Illuminate

2009-05-03T16:45:00.033-05:00

Educational Materials, One Step at a Time

From "CBS 60 Minutes Video - Aired April 19th, 2009"

[Update] I thought I would post a blog about the 60 minutes video piece that aired on April 19th regarding cold fusion. It was refreshing to see an interview by major US television show attempt to gently educate the public on some of the recent history of this field and shine a light of hope, instead of curse the darkness as some might prefer to do for whatever reason. As a blogger these past five years expressing my freedom of speech about a few links I see on the web, and magazine stories I read from across several industries (like multi-discipline engineers do these days), I try to help as I can. How many of you have done google searches on subjects that might impact this field like I have? I have both personally agreed, or disagreed with articles as I have stated in my disclaimer and about SAFETY First (Sometimes a Few Experimenters TEll You - First).

I'm essentially a peon ( and perhaps a bit of a boron ) in this field. I'm not a skilled writer, but I try. I have no self interests or investments riding on this field and anything I do have( including many hours) given away long ago to help pay it forward. I do try to help the best I can in my free time, because what we do with science and technology impacts not only this generation, but the next (and the next). If we fail to even try to manage science and completely close our eyes, or worse - fail to follow a societal code of ethics ( The IEEE code of ethics is one I admire, whether you are an IEEE member or not), what does that imply for our collective future in the strange internet connected world we all live in? Please forgive me, but if you see a spoof every now and then, I do try to label them as such ..(spoof) !!

We must all try our best to "manage what we measure." Comments, criticisms or otherwise, I think 60 minutes exhibited a good effort in that regard with their reporting on this subject. To those of you I admire, my best to your efforts and experiments. :-)

The JukeBox
Rejecting Nobel Class Articles & Resisting Nobel Class Discoveries - Universidad de Alcalá
Green House of the Future - WSJ (Energy)
The Resurrection of Cold Fusion - EDN

Freedom to Blog - Free Speech

2009-04-04T07:20:00.021-05:00

Johnathan Chan

Update: There comes a time in ones life when you realize how the cards are stacked against you and some will try anything to stop you from exercising your rights. I mean, getting older certainly isn't fun, so you weigh the risks vs rewards going forward. Adding to that, when you see that some people refuse to play fair and you start to realize that you can't take on the entire US government, then it's time to use free speech for what it was intended for by our founding fathers.

What has this got to do with cold fusion science you may ask? That's what I asked myself recently when I stumbled upon something interesting in relation to a job situation I'm going through (and possible unemployment when my security clearance expires). Hopefully not. Perhaps I'll have some information soon that might explain in more detail and you can ask yourself the same questions like I did.

At least that's the way I decide when and what I should blog about. When deep down you think it helps the greater good ....Blog ! Hope you'll tune in. It just might be really interesting.

Making Science Interesting

2008-12-23T14:17:00.010-06:00

Keeps the Lab Running

Illustration Copyright (c) New Scientist - Dec 2008

If you have a few moments during your 12 days of Christmas, you might like a new article by Michael Brooks, author of the book "13 Things that Don't Make Sense" in the December 2008 issue of the New Scientist (article is free to read). He essentially makes the case that has been echoed continually in this blog: scientists and technologists must find new ways to make science interesting to the general public who ultimately pays the bills to fund science in its various forms. As Brooks states :

Most lay people find it hard to accept that their taxes are used for research in which no one but the scientists involved can judge or even appreciate progress and merit. Of course, many or perhaps most scientists would find it unthinkable to let the public choose the research agenda. But that suggests people are not qualified to judge how their money should be spent."

I tend to differ with Brooks' on his last comment. Letting the public increasingly decide the larger course of science funding, when 90% of the voting public doesn't even realize what science is anymore when they don't bother to stay educated on various subjects. Without such education, I"m afraid people will tend to vote for "science by virtual reality" instead of "science by reality." "Eye candy" as the saying goes, is hard to beat when compared to the discipline and patience of many years in a well funded lab that real science often takes to see science issues through to completion. Though it has its merits in many technology areas and serves as a means to educate, "science by virtual reality" can be deceptively easy trap to fall into if not careful to make sure that nature also agrees.

I've often wondered why it is that major media outlets can't mix more science content into their broadcasts and media publications to counter this trend. Even a few seconds worth. Afterall, is it too much to use a science buzzword when describing an antic of a hollywood movie star or to slip in a famous pertinent science quotation into a made for cable movie or TV show for adults or children to think about? I do see positive trends, but is it too politically incorrect to drop a short criticism of a special effect when the physics behind it seems totally implausible? I think if many writers, producers and critics made that effort, many movies and TV shows the public are drawn to for special effects might also paradoxically educate voters on science and funding issues along with it. Who knows? Maybe unanticipated debates might even be started where none existed before.

I'll also toss out this criticism to payed science journals, who all too often keep great articles on breakthroughs "off-line" and non accessible to a broader reading audience. Is it too much to ask to re-evaluate how you go about providing the right mix of 'on-line' and 'payed" content if a science story has significance that the general public should care much more about? I'de much prefer to see 20% of a story abstracted on-line rather than only 5% in some instances. That 20% might help better educate media professionals and writers who can't afford a full subscription price, while helping to educate public opinion on important issues.

Overall, I'm glad to see Brooks raising awareness on this subject of better science visibility.

The JukeBox
All Eyes Are on IEEE: - IEEE (The Institute)
Toshiba to Build New Battery Factory - SF Gate
Beatles Violinist Cries For Help - Bloomberg

Polywell Fusion, EMC2 and Membership in AAAS

2008-12-16T23:23:00.024-06:00

Sparking Curiosity is What it Really Takes

Polywell Photo from EMC2 web site

For those with curiosity in science, there's an interesting follow-up over on MSNBC to a story done back in June on the late Dr. Robert Bussard's Polywell fusion approach, which seems quite promising.

After reading this article, I think that Dr. Bussard would have probably agreed with the following statement. "If you can't say anything nice Dr. Nebel, don't say anything at all." Well-put? Suggestion: Isn't it about time that cold fusion (nuclear condensed matter) scientists who have worked long hard hours and made many sacrifices for family and our nation and who have brought forward many interesting results over the last twenty years, finally deserve some mutual respect from DoE and the open science community that values free thinking and creative ideas?

As the article states:

Nebel is well aware of the naysayers. In fact, that's one reason why he's being so circumspect about the results of the WB-7 experiment. When I mentioned that he'd probably like to avoid the kind of controversy and embarrassment that came in the wake of 1989's notorious cold-fusion claims, Nebel laughed and added, "That's well-put."

Here's something to think about from James Orwell. "Whoever controls the past controls the future. The stories we tell about the past influence how we go about deciding the future"

The MSNBC article has an interesting link to a 2007 Google Lecture Series video by newly designated DoE Secretary Steven Chu. In this video he gives a lecture on climate change and makes some positive statements on alternative fusion approaches like the Bussard design. Sure, I was interested in hearing all of this science. Great stuff. But these days it's not science that matters in many instances, but how to gain interest and respect from the general public to new ideas that excite their imaginations. Because of this, what I found most interesting in this video of all things was Chu's introductory remarks about being swapped with Larry Page in a speaking appearance at an AAAS meeting and that some people might be "surprised". I found that very enlightening.

Good thinking Mr. Page. That might be one way to get a lot more networking and software engineers (who probably think they rule the world) interested in the physical sciences once again !!! A big issue I see going forward with any fusion approach. Skilled alternative energy engineers will have to come from somewhere...right?

[Disclaimer: Without quoting exact statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to some extent I feel we've now created a top heavy society where software engineers perhaps out number physical scientists 10 to 1 compared to past decades. In the past, there was no career called "software developer" until the PC took off and educational institutions across the US compensated and turned out many more software trained individuals. Now that PCs and software are increasingly made overseas and are becoming commodities, perhaps it's time to rethink educational skills and create incentives that invest in skills and jobs needed to build the energy industries of the future ]

Atomic Links
Amazing Breakthrough: Superconductivity with the Flip of a Switch - Nature
Fusion We Can Believe In? - MSNBC
Low-Tech Way to Make Graphene in the Lab (Video) - MIT Technology Review
Poll Results: What are Main Barriers to Innovative Ideas - Zpryme News
Rusi Taleyarkhan (Bubble Fusion) Video Interview - NET
ICCF-14 Paper :Self-Polarization of Fusion Diodes (pdf) - LENR.org

New DoE Chief is a Condensed Matter Laureate

2008-12-11T08:04:00.010-06:00

Steven Chu - a Condensed Matter / Bio-Physicist

I was happy to see that President elect Obama has recently selected as his new DoE chief, a condensed matter experimental physicist with lab experience. Dr. Steven Chu was honored with a Nobel in the cooling of trapped atoms in 1997, something by all accounts if you keep abreast of current trends has helped many breakthroughs in the last few years in several areas of physics.

The world of DoE certainly needs a science head that knows the experimental condensed matter world with it's broad impact on the future. His biology background is also a definite strength in my opinion given the huge role DoE plays in the genomics area along with many nanotechnology initiatives.

The Atomic Motor certainly wishes him all the best and will miss the hard work the current DoE Secretary Bodman has done for our nation in very tough and challenging times.

The Future: Have You Googled it Yet ??

2008-11-20T21:33:00.023-06:00

A Century of Changes

My grandfather, who lived to be a ripe old of age of ninety six never saw the internet or the PC come of age. If he were alive today, he would have celebrated his 120th birthday on November 1st. I can't help but wonder what his vision of the future was like when he was a child and what inspired children of his generation who didn't have video games or television to distract them from keeping up with science earthquakes beneath their feet.

Just the other day I ran across an ad campaign from two fierce competitors in the computer industry that I greatly admire, and in fact a lot of what we call the internet was made possible by bold ideas from these two great competitive companies. Even in competition, I can see that they still have that American spirit of adventure and creativity going on.

Here's AMD's new ad campaign called: "The Future is Fusion"

Here's Intel's ad campaign on the Atom Processor (8MB file)

Clever indeed, but nonetheless interesting to ponder. Do they see something that maybe the average couch potato doesn't see yet ?

During his lifetime, my grandfather saw the invention of the telephone, electric power to the home, automobile, airplane, radio, television, atomic power, spacecraft landing on the moon and the beginning of the computer age in the long century that he lived. New ideas became defined, redefined and reshaped and eventually changed many lives. Whew ..what a century that was !! In the past hundred years, new ideas came from places we couldn't even imagine and changed the technology landscape and everyday lives of millions of people worldwide.

Really now, has all this creativity suddenly gone away overnight? Or, is it just taking a generational break? Maybe a new synthesis is slowly emerging that many just don't see yet.

We now live in an internet enabled society, one that my grandfather only dreamed of that morphs and connects us in new ways with every passing year. The world of "unconnectedness" of the past is gone forever." As one bright person once said, "the future is already here, we just haven't noticed it yet." Or maybe the modern way of saying that statement should be "we just haven't Googled it yet".

Bit by bit, even though at this moment many seem to feel despair, in the long run America with it's mix of cultures from far and wide is still is the THE BEST incubator for new ideas anywhere on earth.

No doubt about it.

Atomic Links
'Enlightened' Atoms Stage Nano-Riot - Science Daily
Cold Fusion: And the Heat Goes On - Daily News Tribune
Einstein's E=MC2 Proven Thanks to Quarks - Discovery Channel
Isotopic Quantum Scattering and Unconventional Superconductivity - Nature
A Clearer Picture of Cancer - MIT Technology Review

The Oil Pump
Failure of Carmakers in US Will Not be Allowed - Times Online

The Atomizer
Mars Glaciers are Spotted - LA Times

The JukeBox
Does Extreme Stress Signal an Economic Snapback? - Barrons
Mobile Phone Chargers Are Energy Vampires - Network World
The Arts: Cold Fusion From Canada - The Villager

X-Prize for Energy $25K Video Contest

2008-09-24T20:33:00.017-05:00

Green Ideas Being Accepted

(Feedburner email link click here)

Want a few dollars for college expenses or your favorite hobby? Have a knack for making a good video?

The X-Prize Foundation is now accepting YouTube video entries for your wildest energy related ideas. As Niels Bohr once famously said, "Your idea is crazy, but it is not crazy enough."

On September 10th the X-Prize Foundation announced a $25,000 What's Your Crazy Green Idea? contest. The X-Prize is an organization of creative geniuses that awarded the $10 Million Ansari X-Prize for SpaceShipOne - a prize named in honor of pioneer Anousheh Ansari who later catapulted into space from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in 2006.

Who knows? You may ultimately save mankind from a fate worse than tangling with a carbon age Maxwell's Demon.

Atomic Links
Nanotechnology Could Provide Energy Breakthroughs - Nanowerk
Help a Hybrid: A Metal Hydride Mobile Air Conditioning System (PDF)
Photons Caught in the Act - Science News
Ultrasmooth Mirror Could Herald Birth of New Microscope - Nature

The ToolBox
Bill Nye the Science Guy - Video

The JukeBox
Toyota Picks a Green Power Train Choice - LA Times
Physicist is New MacArthur Fellow : Quantum Computing - IEEE Spectrum

Atomic Comics: Science Idol Cartoon Finalists

2008-09-20T15:02:00.024-05:00

Science in the New Century: A Paradox

The above cartoon by Paul Malden was a finalist in the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) 2008 Science Idol Cartoon Contest . For many other hilarious finalist entries and the 2008 Grand Champion Click Here.

Atomic Links
Holly's Cloud Chamber : See Thousands of Cosmic Rays Hit Your Body (Video)
Star Power: Why Fusion Proves Elusive - Wired
12 Yr Old Boy Invents Solar Energy Panel Enhancer - Asian Week

The ToolBox
Adaptable Design: A No Electricity Hot Tub - Make Blog
Robo Games Ready to Invade Austin - Wired
Working with Argentium Sterling Silver (PDF)

The Oil Pump
BP Statistical Review of World Energy (PDF)

The JukeBox
Catch Up TV - U2 Blog
O'Reilly: Stop Throwing Sheep, Do Something Worthy - CNET News
Impossible? Extreme Unicyclist to Ride Down Himalaya's - Gizmodo

Despite Ike's Wrath, a Texas Flag Waves

2008-09-14T01:29:00.011-05:00

Never Underestimate People and Creativity

Robert Shumake brings a sign of hope to Galveston seawall

[Update] You would think that in areas the size of Houston or Galveston with millions of residents, that city officials would have ways of taking water and rapidly making it potable to help those in the future who might find themselves (God forbid) in the same predicament as residents of the Texas coast. In fact, the Houston mayor cautioned residents when water pressure dropped after Hurricane Ike passed through town Saturday. Some residents of Texas and Louisana now have no water(or electricity).

Could the standing water outside their homes and yards be put to use?. After reading my blog post, a reader sent me an email informing me that mobile canteen vans have been used for years by the Salvation Army and they do include fresh drinking water. But still, even these canteen vans have their limitations on the number of people they can serve and their inability to access some damaged areas.

New water purifying devices do exist and with the help of more nanotechnology R&D awareness and agencies like FEMA adopting new technology initiatives at the Federal level, perhaps the costs of these types of devices would drop significantly as they are more widely adopted by metropolitan areas for such emergency uses. Perhaps there will be a day when such a device might even float, or be self powered and low cost. It could be affordable to most Americans as an emergency device for such flood conditions, until utilities are restored.

Who knows? If adopted on an even wider scale, and with a reasonable power source like Solar (as sunny skies reappear after a storm), perhaps costs could drop significantly enough that these devices could then almost be given away to the poor villages of the world when ravaged by major hurricanes to help rebuild their lives after such disasters. Technological ideas often only evolve when each person lends a hand to make them integrated into their lives in new ways. A favorite Nobel Laureate chemist that many admired was famous for saying in his lectures: "Science is People ! - Dr. Alan MacDiarmid"

Atomic Links
Physics for Future Presidents: The Podcasts - Times.UK
$20B Large Hadron Collider Best and Worse Case Scenario - Wired
New Experimental Evidence for Deuteron Clustering - LENR.org
Seeing Inside Pyramids with Cosmic Rays - Achaeology

The JukeBox
National Academy of Sciences: Global Warming Largest in 1300 Years - Seatle Times
Pipe Lamp Exudes Hardware Class - Make Blog

Spotless Solar Month is a First Since 1913

2008-09-02T20:51:00.026-05:00

Sun Shows No Spots For One Month

Spotless Solar Image Courtesy of SOHO Obeservatory"

An old friend of mine pointed out an interesting story on Michael Asher's blog over at DailyTech. Solar sunspot activity data has been kept now for almost 400 years, and other than one month in 1913, the sun has never had a month like this past August where "not a single visible sunspot" was seen (see above photo). Highly unusual.

The following chart shows the historical data collected over the past two centuries.

This story continues here...

Does Beta and Alpha Decay Rate of Nuclides Vary With Earth Sun Distance? Maybe So !

Speaking of periodic fluctuations and things solar related (cold fusion scientists here's another miracle to ponder) an interesting paper popped up on the arXiv.org pre-print paper server (see pdf) last week by Jere H. Jenkins, et al of Indiana's Purdue University and Wabash College of an analysis of US Brookhaven National Lab and a German National Lab data ...and get this ..the beta and alpha decay rates of some nuclides may not only vary with solar activity, but also with the distance from earth to sun during earth's annual orbit about the sun. Figure 1 of their paper is quite amazing for the implied correlation of 6 x10^ -18 that this could have been from purely random data sets.

Shocking if confirmed, simply because these decay rates are typically treated as constants of nature. Given the importance of the possible implications if true (cold fusion scientists are not the only ones excited I imagine), theorists might also have a field day combing through other data sets and past conclusions. since this applies to both beta and alpha particles. Others will surely try to replicate this effort, particularly if the half lives of other nuclides show similar trends as their data and conclusions appear to imply.

Why is this type of work important a non-scientist may ask? This is getting into speculative territory, but better understanding of the theoretical basis for natural radioactive decay and improving upon those theories may allow us to someday amplify or even accelerate this process for the good. Imagine nuclear waste that could be "accelerated" to becoming harmless much quicker someday. Impossible? Afterall, humankind watched the flapping of bird wings for many centuries and wondered why and how until two smart brothers came along and showed us all how to apply their careful aerodynamics studies into teaching us all how to fly...

Who ever said modern atomic physics is boring is surely fast asleep. Brookhaven and Indiana scientists rock !

Atomic Links
Bubble Fusion Discoverer Says His Science is Vindicated - Nature (India)
Quick Charge Hybrid Does Equivalent of 225 MPG - Telegraph(UK)
World's Most Powerful Magnet - IEEE Spectrum
Cold Fusion 8 Software Now Free for Educational Purposes -TechTools Blog

Alarming Science
Latest Extinction Rate is the Greatest Ever - Wired

The Oil Pump
Energy's Most Dangerous Game - Forbes
Oil: To Drill or Not to Drill - Bulletin of Atomic Scientists
The Oil Bubble Bursts - Live Mint

Massively Parallel Quantum Tunneling

2008-08-18T21:26:00.012-05:00

Computer Uses Ultra-Low Power Design

From "Email Viewers Click here for Google TechTalk Video Lecture"

As an electrical engineer, I also like to follow developments in computers and quantum computing. Here's a new computing approach posted on the Development-Cycle web site. The above video is a new Google TechTalk video lecture (see above) of an interesting shared memory computing approach by the famed Dr. Karmarkar. His design approach reduces energy requirements in large scale Peta-flop computing systems, while seemingly exploiting a massive multi-threading capability via an electromagnetic cavity machine design with field emission devices. This ultra-low power design also has the added advantage of using quantum mechanics where it is needed the most, while keeping the rest of the computer design fairly standard in about a square meter of silicon CMOS.

It's ideas like this that excite me about the future of the applied quantum computing, where when you least expect it - new approaches seem to come out of nowhere that will surely help to change the future of computing.

Atomic Links
Amateur Scientists Get a Reaction from Fusion - Wall Street Journal

American Chemical Society(ACS) Publishes LENR Sourcebook - NET
Book Review: The Most Baffling Mysteries of Our Time - Discover

The Oil Pump
Busting Myths About Cheap Unlimited Oil - Salon.com
The End of Aviation - New Republic
Cold Fusion and Big Oil - NowPublic

Atomic JukeBox
Little Cup of Helium, Big Science(pdf) - Physics Today
Nanomaterial Turns Radiation Directly into Electricity - New Scientist

Bill Gates Surprises Energy Debate (Spoof )

2008-08-10T13:30:00.007-05:00

'Raises Awareness' on Science, Research & Education

[Image (c) Microsoft, 2008] Guitar hero Gates tries raising a water bottle for non-believers

[Wash DC] The Fourteenth International Conference on Cold Fusion (ICCF-14) which gets underway this week had surprising last minute guests drop in Sunday morning for a kickoff debate, involving a member of the media in the DC area, Llewellyn King debating the newly retired Bill Gates.

Did I read that correctly? Bill Gates as a science debate panelist?

Gates opened the debate by saying : "Well, first, I want to clarify: I’m not a fake Steve Jobs, nor a real electrochemist". After briefly discussing cold fusion's past public perceptions and some promising areas for future research, King and Gates then had a lengthy discussions with other panelists about the current energy situation, solar and wind energy, fossil fuel dependence and America's growing shortage of skilled scientists and engineers. "In fields such as chemistry, physics, engineering and specialized software skills, government and industry will need well trained people for future job growth," he said.

"America has such broad capabilities to bring scientists together. I think software and the web can help do that in new ways."

"One thing I'd also like to see more in the future are technology conferences that mix things up, where scientists in one field meet and debate engineers and specialists in another. We don't see enough of that sort of interesting interaction that stimulates new ideas with the public. It would help tremendously to see each others' points of view in a number of technology areas, capture the public's imagination and stimulate cross disciplinary ideas and help investors like myself weigh decisions," Gates said.

Foreign visa concerns were also prominent during the almost two hour debate because of a controversy in the weeks before the conference with some visiting condensed matter scientists. King mentioned that five foreign researchers who would be presenting papers could not get visas to attend this years' cold fusion conference, which caused some last minute scheduling snafus.

"When I ran a run a multi-billion dollar corporation I couldn't get H1-B visa's for many visiting software developers, so do you seriously think that several foreign scientists visiting this conference could cut through all that red tape in time to attend?," said Gates. "It would be like me me trying to levitate this bottle of water with my hand," as he gestured to King.

Gates also impressed upon members of the media to give more attention to improving the teaching of math and science. "This knowledge is essential to many of tomorrow's jobs", he said. "This is a hot issue and the media should help embrace it. The Britney route to inspiring tomorrows youth should sprinkle in a bit of science and math with all that partying we hear about. My fatherly advice is do some studying and set a good example," he said. "The Britney Industrial Complex needs innovation too."

A recent federal government study found almost forty percent of high school seniors failed to perform at the basic level on a national math test. Science skills issues were even more of a concern. "Half of 12th-graders didn't show basic science skills," Gates said.

The panelists fielded many audience questions afterwards.

From this blogger perspective it was a William F Buckley, Jr. style of debate on science and technology issues of the day. Perhaps the following quote from the Breakthrough Institute said it best recently :

'We need to invent totally new energy systems that we haven't even thought of yet.'
- Michael Shellenberger

The ICCF-14 cold fusion conference runs through friday August 15th, where members of the media, the public and science community are invited to attend.

Atomic Links
How Quantum Physics Could Power the Future - FoxNews
Physicist's Quantum-Uncollapse Hypothesis Verified - PHYSORG.com
Naval Researchers Organize Cold Fusion Confab - Wired Blog
First Solar: Quest for the $1 Watt - IEEE Spectrum
Teacher Shortage Could Provide Problems in the Future - AP
AMD Fusion Details Leaked - Tech Web Daily
Nickel-Based Super Alloy Resists Hydrogen Embrittlement - NASA Tech Briefs

The Oil Pump
Has the Oil Bubble Finally Burst? - Houston Chronicle
Pickens Profile You Haven't Read - Newsweek
Analysis: Fresh Energy Problems for New President - Washington Post

The JukeBox
Jukebox Hero Plays Your Mood- Design News
Magnetic Nanomaterials - EngineeringTV
DoE Statistics - US Electric Grid
Researchers Mash Google Earth with Electrical Grid - Network World
Big Oil Industry Turning to Nanotech - Small Times

[Disclaimer: Rumors the Gates Foundation is interested in nanotechnology, cold fusion and other energy alternatives may in fact be correct. Gates is known to admire scientists who tackle very difficult science problems. The above debate was purely a figment of my imagination. Or was it? ]

The Day The Pump Stood Still : June 19, 2008

2008-06-17T22:09:00.017-05:00

Public Service Announcement

As a Texan and believer in the potential of alternative energy sources like cold fusion, solar and wind power (hard to believe there's a lone blogger like me in Texas huh?), I'm sure I'm not alone worldwide when I say I cringe at the thought of another day filling my gas tank.

Thursday's 3rd annual campaign to "Dump the Pump" sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) seemed like a natural way to tell big oil speculators to %$#$^#@ $I&*^% *%#@ @!%@ %$#@ !!!!!! (interpret as you wish)

I'm also trying to be polite, but please don't also forget to vote your conscience this November (and your wallet).

Atomic Links
QC Breakthrough? A Room Temperature Qbit from Diamond - Science

The JukeBox
The Last Car You Would Ever Buy - Literally - MIT Technology Review (Blog)
Gas Prices Hit Stratosphere in England - Mail On-line
How Speculators Are Causing the Cost of Living to Skyrocket - Spiegel On-line

Patent Office Slashes Process to Six Months

2008-05-28T22:51:00.018-05:00

Press Release Takes 33 Years to Issue(Spoof)

Have a new idea for an energy related patent ? Dusty cold fusion patent never issued? Looks like the U.S. Patent Office wants to help. This news item from 1975 was spotted on Mother Earth News by a Motor reader. They must have fixed a bottleneck and this press release was finally issued.

IF YOU'RE AN INVENTOR TINKERING WITH ENERGY-RELATED IDEAS, you'll be glad to know that the U.S. Government Patent Office will give your application "top priority" status. Isaac Fleischmann, Director of Information for the Office, says that-while the normal processing time for patent reviews is 21 months-the waiting period for "inventions in all aspects of the energy field" has been slashed to 6 months. If you'd like more information, write the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Office of Information Services, Washington, D.C. 20231.

Public Service Advertisement: Subscribe to the Alchemist at ChemWeb.com

Could This Device be a Real Mr. Fusion?

2008-05-22T21:56:00.044-05:00

Japanese Use Nanotechnology to Enhance Cold Fusion

Arata Solid State Fusion Device in Japanese Laboratory

(click illustrations above to enlarge)

[Updated] As a nuclear engineer with a strong interest in nanotechnology for many years, there aren't many cold fusion devices that I've seen and read about over the years that excite me as much as the potential of Dr. Yoshiaki Arata's solid state fusion reactor which uses Palladium nanoparticles to help initiate his cold fusion reaction process, which creates He4, the gas found in children's balloons from Deuterium gas (a readily available hydrogen isotope). What is also released in the process is heat energy from fusion. No small accomplishment as any physicist would tell you, because this process should be impossible according to the known laws of nuclear physics and chemistry.

What is also significant besides excess heat generated [ awaiting confirmation according to latest news update], is that if his process could somehow be scaled up in large volumes, perhaps ...just perhaps it may be a way to replace Helium supplies someday, which according to the latest reports is becoming a scarce non-renewable resource, often times released to the atmosphere as natural gas is collected along with fossil fuels. The US strategic Helium reserves are also known to be a finite supply, and despite this are now being sold off to meet supply needs of the scientific and commercial sectors.

If any cold fusion fans have read Dr. Arata's earlier important papers on this device, first published in 2006 in a very reputable Italian journal found here, then you would probably agree that an announcement like this is significant from the standpoint that it shows for the first time his actual prototype laboratory device and that he is now demonstrating it in public as also reported here in an interview by New Energy Times.

The Atomic Motor would like to send out an atomic guitar hero award to Dr. Arata and other fellow scientists who diligently keep trying and making significant progress against all odds in keeping the clean energy cold fusion spirit alive.

This latest story was first reported here at the LENR.org community web site:

Prof. Y. Arata Plans Demonstration at Osaka University

May 14, 2008

Osaka National University Prof. emeritus Yoshiaki Arata has announced a lecture and demonstration of his latest cold fusion reactor, on May 22, 2008, starting at 1:30 p.m. (subject to change). A photo of the reactor is shown below. The lecture will be on the 1st floor of Arata Hall on the university campus, and the demonstration will be later, on the 3rd floor. (Note that Arata Hall is named after Prof. Arata, who is one Japan's leading scientists, with honors including a building named after him at the university, and an award from the Japanese Emperor in 2006.)

Contact. A. Kobayashi, Tel 06-6879-8694

Atomic Links
[New] Update on Arata Demo- Physics World Blog
Italian Newspaper Features Arata Reactor - ILSOLE24ORE.COM ( Translate Italian URL Here )
Inconvenient Truths: Rethink What it Means to Be Green - Wired
Teen Finds Way to Decompose Trash Bags in Three Months - Tree Hugger
Stopping the Exodus of Women in Science - Harvard Business Review
Silicon Nanowire Solar Cell - Make: Blog
Italy Opts for New Nuclear Power Program - Red Orbit
Burning Our Way Towards Fusion - Popular Science

[As Albert Einstein once said "To me it is enough to wonder at the secrets" ]

Advertisement : [ Be a Space Pioneer and help shape US Space policy. Join the National Space Society, and receive Ad Astra Magazine ]

Atomic Comics - 'Proof' We Need Cold Fusion

2008-04-13T01:22:00.027-05:00

Earth day is coming soon. What better way to help mother Earth than to pledge new ways to clean up the environment, give the American taxpayers and consumers a break (to fix their aching backs) and allocate funds to reduce our middle east oil dependence and finally bring our troops home ...right?

For an interesting perspective on this, I'm living here in Texas, a state that once had oil fields that many claimed were dry simply because the cost of recovery from these old fields was not economical at the old oil prices of $10/barrel. So, you'de think that with the higher oil revenues that towns out in west Texas and eastern New Mexico would now show new signs of life (and wealth) again with this great price boom in oil. Right?

Well, on my last visit to New Mexico a couple months back as I drove through west Texas, all the small oil towns had their nearby fields filled with rigs pumping oil again it seemed, now that electricity costs could be paid to turn on old wells and even drill new wells in lower producing fields. Many that had been left for dry or left idle for years were now pumping again. With the price of oil way up, you'de think these towns would be coming back to life. Even with billions in tax breaks to this industry. Right?

Stark contrasts still existed. Most small towns still looked like they did years ago ago. I could hardly see any signs that higher oil prices have helped them at all so far in this boom cycle. So ask yourself this. Who are the higher oil prices really helping these last few years? Speculators on wall street? Wealthy foreign sheiks who invest, but we're afraid to offend? I really do wonder because it appears to me that the American taxpayers, US soldiers, small Texas towns, bankrupt airlines (who can't afford higher aviation fuel costs), and alternative energy industries who could sure use those oil tax breaks are getting the short end of the deal on this oil boom.

Atomic Links
Pushing the Envelope : Q&A With Wayne Pfeiffer - Dr. Dobb's Portal
Water is the Next Oil - MIT Technology Review
Oil Prices Not Tied to Supply & Demand - Washington Post
There is No Gas Shortage - Business Week

The FuseBox
Architects of a Low-Energy Future - Nature
Radon: A Radioactive Gas, But Do You Want It In Your Home? - Rio Rancho Observer

Atomaders - Space Invaders For Cold Fusion Kids

2008-04-01T00:02:00.007-05:00

Atomaders is Simply Fun

Here's a nice fun game for that next generation of cold fusion scientists sprouting at your house. Atomaders by KraiSoft Entertainment is reminiscent of Space Invaders arcade game that I loved years ago. Available as a free trial download from USA Today Games, I think your kids (or even the big ones at home) will love it like mine did today. It kept them up a little late tonight for school tomorrow, but it was worth the hydrogen bonding time with the kids when Dad came up for oxygen from a crazy H2O filled day.

Atomic Links
An iPod Battery That Plays 24 Hours of Video (Finally!) - Boys And Their Toys
World's Smallest Optical Controlled NOT Gate - Science
Bench Testing US Modular's 'Cold Fusion' DDR2-800 RAM - The Tech Lounge
EPA Moves to Put Data Centers on Energy Diet - Computer World
Energy Camp Data Point (Not Cold Fusion But it Sure is Cool )- TechWebTV

Atomic Comics - Strong Winds From the East

2008-03-29T18:22:00.027-05:00

Atomic Links
MIT Tests Unique Fusion Approach- PYSORG.COM
Water on Fire Makes Scientists Burn - ACS C&EN
World's Smallest Diamond Ring is For Quantum Computing - AIP
Water Under Pressure - Nature

Fusion Links
Awkward Peek into My Personal Life - Happy Are We Blog
Fusion Fest 2008 - Fox 28

[Good luck Sparky.. may you have many more safe and educational adventures! ]

Clean Purified Water - Just Add Power

2008-03-22T12:07:00.055-05:00

New Invention Purifies Any Contaminated Water Source

(click image to see video)

Dean Kamen just unveiled his latest invention on the Colbert Report as reported on Gizmodo. This modern day Edison's rumored device was shown for the first time. When available at lower cost someday it will enable any water source to provide clean fresh drinking water for millions of people in areas where fresh water is hard to find. If anyone is familiar with this issue, clean water is also a primary concern for many worldwide who look for new ways to desalinate and purify water to grow crops in arid areas near the sea. His device may help solve that issue, but on a smaller scale. In the near term, there may be uses for any number of communities who might need something similar, but on a slightly larger scale perhaps.

Can I have a cheap cold fusion reactor with that? Talk about a guitar hero !

Atomic Links
Cheap, Efficient Thermoelectrics - MIT Technology Review
A Place and A Time for Everything - Courant

21st Century Electric Guitar

2008-03-21T17:53:00.030-05:00

It appears several magazines realized Arthur C Clarke was in ill health this spring including this recent January IEEE interview. Another nice article dedicated to Arthur (a true friend to cold fusion) can also be found in the March issue of Nuts & Volts Magazine(free spark plug) about an intriguing guitar that uses LEDs to display chord patterns while learning to play. Seeing this article brought back a fond memory.

It reminded me of a true incident years ago in college when a guitar playing lab partner named K.C. and I built a lab project for a nuclear engineering class using simple op amps, discrete components, a simple Z80 microprocessor and assembly language. We'd play guitar at his house on the weekends(his girlfriend tolerated it all) and we somehow dreamed up this idea to try and detect acoustic harmonics on each guitar string and display simple guitar chords (C,F,G,D,E, etc). It turned out to be more complicated than we first thought because of all kinds of side harmonics and noise. Our display was going to be a series of LEDs strapped to the guitar neck. Doc Hilberry and our lab professor sure got a kick out of this team project as I recall, because we were next going to instrument our school's training reactor (we didn't tell him about that part until he found out) with the A/D input stage we built. For extra credit, it looked like it would be great for measuring certain signals from the reactor control console in our lab to provide a digital output display. In those days the control console had analog needle type gauges. Simple huh? Somewhere along the way he took us aside, tightened up his bolo tie, and the words "you can't do that to a working reactor" and "NRC" came up. Unbridled optimism had met government regulation.

Today's powerful microprocessors, low power LEDs and software now fortunately make such guitar playing technology possible. This sweet guitar by Optek Music Systems comes with software for a laptop which is great for mobility.

From this cold fusion energy blogger who likes guitar to you Sir Arthur. May you also guide us all in 'staying between the lines' of NRC (and EPA) guidelines, while we play chord progressions toward the future.

The JukeBox