CATALYTIC FUSION OF DEUTERIUM 30APR98
EarthTech's replication of the experiment by Dr. L. C. Case
At ICCF-7, Dr. Les Case presented tantalizing data from a simple experiment in which standard Pd hydrogenation catalyst is exposed to D2 gas at elevated temperatures. According to Dr. Case, the right catalyst at the right temperature and gas pressure will make significant excess heat for weeks on end.
Fortunately Dr. Case is eager to have his experiment replicated by other labs and has been completely open about the necessary protocol.
Also fortunately, we happen to have on hand nearly all the necessary equipment to perform this experiment.
Our chamber is depicted in the drawing to the left. It is made from a 2.75" CONFLAT nipple and has a volume of about 120 cm3. The chamber is entirely made of metal (no elastomer seals) and can operate satisfactorily at temperatures up to 300° C.
Three temperature probes protrude into the chamber from the bottom bulkhead. These probes are K thermocouples in thin-walled SS304 thermal wells.
A series of flexible fiberglass-sheathed heaters were wrapped around the exterior of the chamber as shown.
The chamber is filled with approximately 100cc of catalyst material.
This photo shows the chamber just after the heaters were applied. Note that the interconnections have not been made yet. Due to the high operating temperature of the chamber (~200° C), we wrapped the chamber with a layer of fiberglass insulation first and made the necessary solder connections outside the insulation, in an area that will be cooled substantially by the heat exchanger associated with the water-flow calorimetry.
This out-of-focus shot shows the completed chamber wrapped with foil-faced fiberglass insulation and hanging from the gas/vacuum manifold. On the table just to the left is the heat exchanger that will surround the chamber during operation of the calorimeter.
Parts of the calorimeter system are visible on the far left (pump, reservoir, temperature bath, etc).
Our Balzer's 330 l/s turbo pump can be seen in the lower right corner.
This photo shows the entire system ready to run. The heat exchanger is in place and has been wrapped with the same cotton insulation that has proven quite effective in previous experiments. Also the inlet and outlet water temperature probes have been wrapped with the same insulation. On the far right is a bottle of hydrogen. Just to the left of the regulator on this bottle is a Clarke-Hess 2330 that is measuring the heater input power. The thing near the top of the photo which looks like a corny-dog wrapped in aluminum foil is an REB Research hydrogen purifier.
This document is just intended to describe the experimental setup. Future documents will discuss the experimental procedure. Questions and comments are welcome.