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216) Too good to be true?


Ludwik Kowalski (5/5/05)
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ, 07043

One of the most important achievements of the 19th century physics was the discovery that a well defined amount of mechanical work is needed to generate one unit of heat -- not less and not more. Joule demonstrated this in a well known paddle wheel experiment. Water was forced to flow through small holes in the paddles of a rotating wheel and the amount of heat was measured calorimetrically. But, at a recent conference, a Russian scientist, A.I. Koldamasov (1), described an exception from this rule. He claims to have a device in which the heat to work ratio is twenty times larger than what would be allowed according to Joule’s equivalence rule.

His device, named reactor, is similar to Joule’s paddle wheel. But water, free of ions (resistivity 10¹¹ ohm*m), is forced to flow through holes (diameters 1-2 mm) drilled in a plate made from the dielectric material (rather than from a metal). After reviewing basic concepts of thermonuclear physics Koldamasov writes: “On the basis of the above theoretical ideas, a nuclear reactor producing energy of nuclear fusion reactions was designed and tested (see Fig. 1). The reactor operation is stable and well controllable. It gives 20 units of useful power per unit of supplied power. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain power both in the form of heat and directly electric energy, omitting steam water cycle. According to the consumer’s needs, the electric energy can be of both direct and alternating current. [Russian patent reference is given.] . . .

The working fluid is fed by a gear pump under the pressure of 5 to 7 MPa; the channel is 25-30 cm long, and the orifice diameter is 1-2 mm. By changing the electric motor rotation rate, we change the frequency of flow pulsation's and reach the resonance frequency of the orifice, which causes intensive cavitation. Under the action of this cavitation, the plate material emits electrons from the input edge, which are carried away by the flow, and at the output edge a high-density positive charge is formed (see Fig. 6). The charge is annular, its density is practically uniform, and it constitutes a medium temperature plasma ~10000 K with the density ~10⁴ J/cm³. If heavy water possessing the same dielectric properties as the working fluid is added to the outflowing medium, then nuclear fusion reactions arise in the zone of influence of the charge.”

What kind instruments were used to demonstrate occurrence of nuclear reactions? I was not able to find the answer to this question in the Koldamasov’s paper. Here is how this paper ends: “The number of deuterium atoms collisions, and hence the magnitude of the released energy, depends on heavy water concentration in the working fluid. In our experiments we used a mixture with the ratio 1:100 (1 part of heavy water per 100 parts of light water). The continuous operation time was up to 100 hours. The experiments are entirely reproducible.” Who is Koldamasov? Where were his experiments performed? Who are his coworkers? How much of “excess energy” was generated in 100 hours? Not knowing how to answer such questions I turned to the Internet.

The first item that came up, after typing “Koldamasov” indicates that reproducible results were first reported by the author seven years ago. Here is the extract from what was delivered by Google: “Six authors who stated 100% reproducibility of the effects detected are Bazhutov, Kanarev, Karabut, Savvatimova, Notoya, and Koldamasov.”
And here is another earlier reference (2). On Hideo KozimaÕs website:

http://web.pdx.edu/~pdx00210/News/CFRLEngNews/CFRLEN35.htm

I see a list of papers read at the 9th Russian Conference on Cold Nuclear Transmutation of Chemical Elements (September/October, 2001). It contains references (3) and (4). The session at which these papers were presented was chaired by A. B. Karabut, the author of what I described in item 13. The device is said to generate twenty times more electric energy that is needed to run its motor. Why is it not manufactured and used all over? I suspect that the 100% reproducibility claim was found to be highly exaggerated. Somebody probably tried and failed to produce a commercially successful gadget.

References:
1) A.I. Koldamasov at “Russian Conference on Cold Fusion and Ball Lightning,” Sochi, Russia, 2002.

2) A. I. Koldamasov. Nuclear Fusion in Electrical Charge Field. Fundamental problems of natural science and engineering. Volume 1. St.-Petersburg, 2000. 167 pages.”

3) Koldamasov A.I. “Principles of Work of New Type Nuclear Reactor.”

4) Baranov D.S. “Investigation of the Radiation Effects in the Koldamasov Cell.”

ADDENDUM:
While searching on the Internet I found a useful compilation about “who is who” in Russian cold fusion research. The authors are I.V. Goryachev, and Y.N. Bazhutov; the title is “ Organization, current status and main results of Russian research in cold fusion and transmutation of chemical elements.” It shows that the author of the last reference, a Ph.D. physicist, is from the Research Institute of High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. His specialty is listed as experimental “ investigations of the methods of initiating nuclear reactions in deuterated dielectric liquid under the conditions of cavitation.” The name Koldamasov does not appear in the downloaded document: <GoryachevIorganizati.pdf>

Appended on 5/22/05:
1) On 5/13/05, after finding the sentence quoted below (at the website of CNW -- Group Canada NewsWire), I sent an e-mail message to Dr. Yang, the Chairman & Founder of the Hy-En Group of companies:

Dear Dr. Hyunik Yang:
Browsing the Internet (before going to the MIT cold fusion colloquium next Friday) I found this description of your commercial activities:

". . . The three main applications derived from "Cold Fusion" are massive production of low cost hydrogen and heat energy for commercial and industrial applications steam or hot water and electric power. . . ."

Please provide a reference (or references) about the method used to obtain electric power via cold fusion. Thanks in advance,
Ludwik Kowalski

2) The above message was not answered. During the MIT colloquium I heard that Koldamasov died and that his invention is going to be used by a company whose name is iESiUSA (Innovative Energy Syatems Inc.). Materials on the company’s website<WWW.iesiusa.com> do not refer to clod fusion. But they are worth quoting.

a) “Innovative Energy Solution Inc. is a leader in developing reliable next generation, clean energy technologies. iESi owns several patents related to its proprietary hydrogen generation, heat generating and waste heat recovery technologies.”

b) “The new clean energy plant will enable Norwood Foundry to generate six times (12 MW) more electricity than it consumes (2 MW) at its foundry located in Nisku, Alberta, Canada.” That is indeed extraordinary - consuming electric energy at the rate of 2 MW and generating it at the rate of 12 MW, presumably at the same time. This would be a giant perpetual motion machine. Recall that Koldamasov's device had the output/input ratio of twenty, not six. But even a factor of two would be extraordinary.

c) “The revenue to be generated through the joint venture project is expected to exceed $6 million annually. Under the joint venture, iESi is responsible for the implementation of its revolutionary clean energy technologies, while Norwood [the old existing foundry] will finance the project. . . . The plant is slated to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2005. . . .iESi owns several patents related to its proprietary hydrogen generation, heat generating and waste heat recovery technologies. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, iESi also has offices in Canada, Europe and South Korea.” I hope that my retirement savings are not invested in iESi.

d) Innovative Energy Solutions Inc. (iESi) today announced that it raised $3 million in its first round of financing. The investor group consists of more than 300 individuals from Canada, Europe and the United States. iESi will use the investment to accelerate product development, push market penetration and establish manufacturing facilities in Alabama. ‘The success of our initial funding is encouraging to iESi as we focus on executing our business endeavors and growing the company. The first round closed with an oversubscription of 200,000 shares, which demonstrates a substantial interest in our energy generating technologies and what they can do for a fuel-based economy,; said Ron Foster, chairman, iESi. iESi will open its second round of financing on July 29, 2004, by offering 500,000 shares at $4 apiece. Established in 2003, iESi’s mission is to offer clean, viable solutions to traditional energy sources, and reduce the world’s dependence on oil from the Middle East. iESi is organized into three broad divisions to maximize return on its intellectual capital and intellectual property.”

Too good to be true? Yes, I think so. But the company website provides many claims that are worth discussing with students. Physics teachers should take advantage of this. Something is not right in this business of promoting nonexistent technologies. In unit #224 I referred to a colloquium presentation of Robert Rines, the patent counselor at MIT. At one point he asked a question; “what harm can possibly result from granting a patent whose validity cannot be established at sufficiently high level of certainty?” He was referring to patents in the area of cold fusion. Nobody, he said, will be stupid enough to invest in things that are still uncertain. I now tend to disagree. A granted patent gives some kind of legitimacy to unjustified commercial claims. Patents can be viewed as instruments of protection of citizens. Yes, I know that such instruments are not very effective. But they are better than nothing. Citizens should also be economically protected by other legal means.

Addendum (5/25/05):
Here is the content of a document, dated as 5/23/05, that I found on the Internet. It provides background information about promoters of cold fusion technology.

EDMONTON, Alberta, May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative Energy Solutions, Inc. (iESi) today announced the arrival of the Company's co-founder and Chief Technical Officer, Hyunik Yang, Ph.D. and Dr. Nahm Cho in Sherwood Park, Alberta, just southeast of Edmonton. The recent relocation of Dr. Yang and Dr. Cho should expedite the efforts that are already well underway on the Direct Electrical Power, Heat and Hydrogen Generation units and allow the Company's team of scientists to advance the impressive work they accomplished for iESi while in South Korea.

"Much of iESi's proprietary intellectual property is based on the research in the field of quantum energy generation authored by Dr. Yang," said Patrick Cochrane, CEO, iESi. "Drs. Yang and Cho and our team of scientists are continually conducting research to enhance iESi's technological offerings and we look forward to their continued presence in Edmonton."

"Dr. Cho and I are pleased to finally be here in Canada. We're eager about working closely together with our scientific and management teams to implement such a worthy offering that will allow the world to go from dependence on energy providers to energy self-sufficiency," said Dr. Hyunik Yang, Chief Technical Officer, iESi.

As concern grows for the world's natural resources, energy efficiency is gaining worldwide attention. iESi is poised to be the leader in the development of innovative energy solutions through its safe and patented plasma processes which included Direct Electrical Power Generation, low-cost Hydrogen Generation and low-cost Heat Generation, all three of which were developed by Dr. Yang.

In his career, Dr. Yang has also held positions as professor at Hanyang University and as senior research engineer at Hyundai Electronics. Dr. Yang has designed several new inventions in the field of quantum energy and cold fusion. Dr. Yang received his Engineering B.S. from Hanyang University in South Korea, and completed his Engineering M.S., Ph.D. and post-doctoral work at Columbia University in New York. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Automobile Engineers, Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers, Russian Academy of Natural Science, Korean CAD/CAM Society and the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers. Since 1997, Dr. Yang has been listed in the Who's Who in the World, and in the Who's Who in Science and Engineering since 1998.

Dr. Cho also held positions as professor at Hanyang University. Dr. Cho is the author of four patents in South Korea and is an expert in the field of Nuclear Transmutation and Fusion. Dr. Cho received his Precision Mechanical Engineering B.S. and M.S. from Hanyang University in South Korea, and completed his Ph.D at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, Japan Society of Precision Engineers, Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers, Korean Society of Precision Mechanical Engineers, Korean Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Micro Biochip Center.

About iESi
Innovative Energy Solution Inc. (iESi) is a leader in developing next generation clean energy technologies. iESi owns several patents related to hydrogen generating technology, heat generating technology and waste heat recovery. The Company's Corporate Offices are in Las Vegas and iESi also has offices in Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe. For more information please visit: http://www.iesiusa.com