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World: r3wp

[Tech News] Interesting technology

Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6103x2]
I guess at a few million that would ;-)
production for units is 2011, with first shipments by year's end.... 
I mean... this is major.  its not "future" tech...

 its possibly the biggest energy revolution of the century, and it 
 went totally under the radar.
Henrik
26-Apr-2011
[6105]
I would install it tomorrow, if I could.
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6106]
here's an interesting interview with Dr. Edmund Storms (pretty big 
name in the field) on Rossi


http://coldfusionnow.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/edmund-storms-on-the-rossi-device-there-will-be-a-stampede/
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6107]
me too, I'd install a unit for myself and my neighbor. with a closed, 
permanent loop for heating and cooling.
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6108x3]
so far, his intent is to get it into industrial applications since 
licensing for that is a lot less prohibitive than for domestic use
but once the secret sause is out, I can't see how you won't be able 
to make this for yourself
sauce, I meant
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6111x2]
also, the current machine is prohibitively "under performing" because 
by his own account... they have no clue what (rather why) its actually 
working.  so they are using extremely safe levels of operation which 
have a zero chance of becoming dangerous.   

they are still trying to provide the theory behind the discovery.


the current demonstrations provide a ratio of output of about 6-7 
times output energy wrt input.   I've read that they did tests up 
to 400:1, at which point explosions always occur... but by his own 
account, they will be able to significantly improve the "reactor" 
in the next years, when they start understanding it more.


operationally safe levels could be a lot higher today, given a different 
environment in which they build the reactor so I expect tha commercial 
products will double output within a very short period of time.
for now, getting the refined nickel dust will probably be the problem 
for "DIY" applications.  its extremely toxic, so its probably not 
commonlly available.
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6113x3]
the sad thing is the Pons-Fleischman debacle hadn't happened (poor 
guys basically cut their careers short as a result), the filed could 
have been at this stage in the early 90's - with proper funding for 
research
meanwhile - we've kept on crapping on the planet, and even now, with 
the stuff happening in Japan, plans are underway in different parts 
of the world to move ahead with new nuclear fission reactors
above: filed -> field
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6116x3]
the world is just waiting for a way to make energy without the requirement 
of special geographical resources.   this might very well be it. 
  nickel is a pretty abundant resource and there are mines all over 
the world.
plus, this system requires very little of the actual ore to work 
for months  (1kg/6 months) for the system they demoed.
and well, I hope there will never be a shortage of hydrogen  ;-)
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6119x2]
I'm pretty sure that once the process is understood, other materials 
will be usable - at least that's what others seem to imply
I wonder what global upheaval this will lead to as economies adjust 
to account for this. Tremendous changes ahead - 2012? :-)
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6121x3]
if, within a decade, it has be proven that the device is as safe 
as traditional oil furnaces are (we all accept that we have a bomb 
in our houses... so I don't see this as being any more dangerous).


I'd say that we are talking about a shift in the need for huge powerplants, 
in the long run.  if, I can use a kg of nickel for a few hundred 
bucks, to heat/cool my house and its water for a few years... why 
would I even consider using electricity/oil/gaz instead?
if everyone can basically cut his major energy costs by 90%, that 
means a sizeable reduction in grid energy requirements.
and reduced dependency on fossil fuels as well.
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6124]
my fear is that the "nuclear" aspect of this process, especially 
at this time, will cause alarmists who don't know the difference 
between fission and fusion to oppose it
Geomol
26-Apr-2011
[6125x2]
Isn't there some radiation in all nuclear processes?
That's why they put lead around it and measure radiation doing presentations.
Henrik
26-Apr-2011
[6127]
It seems there is some issue with the amount of led shielding required. 
Normally, much more would be required than is used in the tests.
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6128x2]
yes, there is radiation, but not to a degree that a small amount 
of shielding can't be effective at stopping it
some peope had, rightly, questioned the process being nuclear since 
there was no significant gamma radiation during the demo. Rossi explained 
somewhere that getting a radiation signature would give away the 
secret of the catalyst, so he made sure to cover up as much as possible
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6130]
and I suspect the fact that there are gamma spikes at the start end 
end of the process are clues as to how it works too  ;-)
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6131x2]
a CRT has significant radiation, but it is allowed in the home
anyhow, compared to pretty much any other energy source, on the merits 
of overall negative impact, the relatively small amount of gamma 
radiation, which can be shielded, should not stop the process from 
being considered
Geomol
26-Apr-2011
[6133]
But you'll hear the alarmists. :-)
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6134]
wrt public acceptance isn't going to be hard.   the system instantly 
shuts off if you remove the input current, so that a simple fuse 
in the system makes it highly safe, in fact much safer than any conventional 
fossil fuel furnace in case of appliance failure..  


my own furnace had a back-fire explosion two months ago...  this 
litterally ripped off and blew the whole piping leading to the chimney 
right into the opposing wall.
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6135x2]
I guess there is a question of home-brew, poorly shielded impementations 
that could get out of hand if the intent is to go for the biggest 
output
but I don't think it'll be possible to stop that once this is widespread 
- there will likely be accidents
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6137]
the real danger IMHO will be in the handling of the nickel dust. 
 so I'd bet a normalized "consumer-safe" rod will likely be built 
at some point.
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6138x2]
people will be doing this in their basement, though - just like people 
like to tinker with anything, they'll do so here, even if it's not 
safe
because as soon as you impose too many middlemen in the process, 
you're driving up the cost, so people will want to avoid paying anyone 
they don't absolutely need to
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6140]
I'll just wait for a blueprint in popular mechanics, before I build 
mine  ;-)
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6141]
your neighbour might not want to wait
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6142]
do you know how far will the gamma rays travel in such an installation, 
assuming its in the basement?
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6143x2]
maybe future homes will require shielding from the start
no clue, I suppose it comes down to how intense the reaction is
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6145]
I can just see it... re-introduction of led paint  to make homes 
*safer*   ;-)
Henrik
26-Apr-2011
[6146]
the power will really be, when we can print this with a reprap 3D 
printer :-)
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6147x2]
or this one, pretty impressive home built printer. I'm guessing it 
has 600-1000- dpi resolution.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/04/homebrew-liquid-resin-3d-printer-gets-resolution-boost.html
AdrianS
26-Apr-2011
[6149x2]
speaking of Popular Mechanics above, they had a pretty negative article 
when this process was announced
wow, that's nice output!
Maxim
26-Apr-2011
[6151x2]
North America is convinced that anything related to "fusion" is fake 
or star-trek futuresque.  


the "Pons-Fleischman debacle", was such big news that they completely 
discredited this research in the public, so anything related to this 
field has been regarded as skeptic material ever since.   talking 
about functional cold fusion is almost on par with talking about 
UFOs.
current common sense in N-A would be:  "if its not fire or hot wires... 
its obviously dangerous or else its fake"