48clusters

48) High Density Charge Clusters

Ludwik Kowalski (March 25, 2003)
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ

One paragraph was removed from the initial draft at the request Hal Fox. The content of that paragraph, he wrote, might interfere with a current patent application.

During my research trip to Salt Lake City I learned about the idea of high density charge clusters. Kenneth Shoulders has several US patents devoted to technology of charged clusters. He discovered them experimentally (in early 1980’s) by observing tiny holes produced by electric sparks on surfaces of several materials. The observations were made by using a scanning electron microscope. Shoulders claims (1,2) that under certain conditions roughly 10¹¹ electrons can cluster in a region whose size is very small (one micron or so) and move as a single particle-like unit. That unit, called charge cluster (CC), has the same q/m ratio as a single electron. Accelerated across a potential difference of only 10 volts, for example, the CC would acquire the kinetic energy of 10 eV per electron, or 1,000,000 MeV per cluster. The speed acquired would be 1.87*10⁶ m/s. A small number of protons, for example, one per million electrons, can be trapped in a cluster. These protons would have the same velocity as CCs. In other words, the kinetic energy of each proton would be 18,351 eV. This is 1835 times more than a single proton can possibly acquire from the same difference of potential.

But electrons separated by very small distances repel each others. How can a CC remain stable? This is a theoretical question; I do not know how to answer it. But I did read a paper (3) devoted to this difficult question. The authors claim that CCs are toroidal and that electrons move rapidly with respect to the center of mass. The magnetic field generates forces which overcome the repulsion. It is hard for me to accept this explanation; I know that it would not work for two beams of electrons traveling along parallel paths in the same direction with the same speed. Why not? Because the attractive magnetic force (per unit length) is always smaller than the repulsive force dues to electrostatic forces.

According to a recently published book (4) Shoulders described the idea of CC to Richard Feynman. The great scientist rejected the idea at first. But then he wrote (5): “when you were in my office I could not see how 10¹⁰ or 10¹¹ electrons could be kept as a ball in a vacuum without ions. So I was skeptical and didn’t let you tell me about them. I must apologize for it has come to my attention that it is indeed possible . . . Now that I understand how it might work, I should be glad to discuss it again anytime you wish.” Jin and Fox (1) refer to several theoretical papers devoted to CCs (6,7,8).

References:
1) See, for example, U.S. Patent Patent 5,054,046, issued October 1, 1991.
2) Kenneth Shoulders, “EV, A tale of Discovery”, 1987, published and available
from the author, P.O. Box 243, Bogeta, CA, 94922-0243
3) Shang-Xian Jin and Hal Fox, “Characteristic of High-Density Charge Clusters: A
Theoretical Model. Journal of New Energy, vol 1, #4, Winter 1996, pages 5 to 20.
4) Keith Tuff “The Scientist, the Madman, the Thief and their Light Bulbs.” Pocket
Books, London, 2003 (ISBM-07434-4976-2)
5) R. Feynman’s personal letter to Shoulders (quoted on page 223 by K. Tuff).
6) G.A. Mesyats, “Ecton Processes at the Cathode in a vacuum Discharge,”
Proceedings of the XVIIth International Symposium on Discharges and Electrical
Insulation in Vacuum, Berkeley, CA, pp 721-731, July 21-26, 1996
7) R. W. Ziolkowski and M. K. Tippet, “Collective Effects in an Electron Plasma
Systems Catalyzed by a Localized Electromagnetic Wave,” Phys. Rev. A,
vol 43, #6, pp 3066-3072, 15 March, 1991.
8) P. Beckmann, “Electron Clusters, Galilean Electrodynamics, Sept./Oct. vol 1,
#5, pp 55-58, 1990.

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