This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TenOfAllTrades (talk | contribs) at 15:06, 16 March 2011 (→Evaluation of the device: better link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:06, 16 March 2011 by TenOfAllTrades (talk | contribs) (→Evaluation of the device: better link)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Energy Catalyzer" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The "Energy Catalyzer" is an apparatus built by Mr. Andréa Rossi and professor emeritus in physicist Sergio Focardi. It is claimed by the two that the device works like a reactor and transforms energy stored in the reactor fuel into heat by means of nuclear fusion of hydrogen and nickel.
January 2011 Demonstration
The apparatus was demonstrated in an industrial hangar outside Bologna to invited journalists and scientists on January 14, 2011. During the demonstration, which lasted for about one hour, the reactor was "ignited" with electrical current passing through a resistance. It was claimed that the electrical effect fed to the apparatus initially was about 1 kW (reduced to about 400 watts after a few minutes), and that it produced heat energy with an approximate effect of 12 kW which was used to evaporate water. The water temperature was raised from 20°C to about 101 °C and the output was claimed to be dry steam. A power gain factor of about 30 is claimed.
The intensity of the radiation emitted from the part of the apparatus where the alleged fusion process is taking place was measured both before and after ignition. No significant difference in activity was detected when the apparatus was in an idle and "working" mode. This result conflicts with current theoretical and experimental knowledge of nuclear fusion processes and interaction between radiation and matter, according to which excess radiation would be generated, allowed to escape the apparatus, and subsequently detected. No gamma ray spectroscopy was performed due to restrictions from Rossi and Focardi.
Giuseppe Levi, a nuclear physicist from INFN, helped organize the demonstration. He confirmed that the reactor produced about 12 kW and also stated that the energy was not likely to be of chemical origin since there was no measurable hydrogen consumption.
Evaluation of the device
The mechanism by which the Energy Catalyzer generates excess energy – if it does so – is not known. Rossi and Focardi claim in a patent application that this is a fusion process involving nickel and hydrogen, forming copper. This fusion reaction should generate substantial amounts of gamma radiation both directly and as the result of electron-positron annihilation, however none was detected during a public demonstration of their device in January 2011.
Rossi and Focardi have been unable to publish their work in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, instead presenting their work in a self-published blog titled the Journal of Nuclear Physics.
Their patent application received an unfavorable preliminary report on patentability , citing serious deficiencies in both the description of the device and in the evidence provided to support its feasibility.
Notes
- "personal web site of Andréa Rossi", http://ingandrearossi.net
{{citation}}: External link in|work= - "A new energy source from nuclear fusion" (PDF), Journal of Nuclear Physics, 2010-03-22
- January 15th Focardi and Rossi press conference, 2011-01-14
- ^ "Report on heat production during preliminary tests on the Rossi "Ni-H" reactor" (PDF), esowatch.com, 2011-01-14
- ^ "On the gamma radiation measurements on the Rossi system" (PDF), Journal of Nuclear Physics, 2011-01-26