Electron Quasi-particle Catalysis of Nuclear Reactions

Abstract

Our model applies solid state, nuclear, and quantum mechanics principles to the molecular chemistry process. We show how most of our predicted transmutation products are consistent with experimental data from a wide variety of LENR experiments, and how they can be triggered. Chemical physics recently discovered a new type of chemical reaction that concentrated most of the energy of reactants into electrons that were originally trapped between reactants. The reaction leaves the reaction product molecule relatively cool. Considering the rules of solid state physics, we apply the pattern of these chemical reactions to nuclear reactions, referred to as “Lattice Enabled Nuclear Reactions” (LENR, also called “Low Energy Nuclear Reactions”). The predicted nuclear energy release also concentrates the energy in electrons, energized inside the nuclear product. The nuclear products are predicted to be “cold”, implying non-radioactive, ground state. In some cases the excitation energy of the compound nucleus is sufficient to fracture it into more isotopes that were not originally present. The total attraction energy (coulomb plus nuclear) can overcome the quantum kinetic energy repulsion of the squeezed electron quasi-particles (Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) when the effective electron mass exceeds a threshold value. Our model is consistent with cold nuclear fusion reactions catalyzed by muons in isotopes of hydrogen (Alvarez, UC Berkeley, 1956). We identify mechanisms to create transient, sufficiently elevated effective mass electron quasi-particles. According to our model some of these reactions should produce highly energetic neutral helium or helium-3, but they are difficult to measure. Our model predicts no “cold fusion” of deuterium plus deuterium into helium, even though it predicts copious, energetic helium emission. We will describe the model principles and compare its predictions with data from various reactions. Our model also predicts that certain LENR reactions should transmute radioactive fission products into normal elements, neutralizing the radioactivity. Other possible applications include process heat, hydrogen production, direct generation of electricity, and space propulsion.