Hydrogen -- The fuel of the future
This is a popular refrain these days. However, this time it is not just fuel cell scientists trying to convince of this but an electrical engineer with a Harvard medical degree who has stirred up a heated controversy amongst physicists (link from Soumya).
Dr. Randy Mills is claiming that he can release energy from hydrogen by moving the electron closer to the nucleus (to a more stable orbital). According to quantum mechanics, the ground state (the lowest orbital) is when "n" is equal to 1. In order to explain his theory, Mills has reverted to classical theory to explain the fractional value of "n".
To commercialize this technology, Mills has started Blacklight Power and has somehow convinced investors to put in over 25 million and has set up a 50,000 square foot R&D lab in NJ. Not very suprisingly, their main focus is power generation applications.
So, what should we make of all this? I am not sure if it is possible to have a lower ground state since quantum mechanics left me kind of fuzzy. However, after some googling, my guess is that Mills must have some compelling evidence since he has been able to convince some people. This still does not rule out the possibility that there is some sort of misunderstanding or misidentification of the phenomenon. I am ruling out a deliberate scam because if that was the case, Mills would have taken the money and ran years ago.
Frankly speaking, the propaganda on the website seems too good too be true. The process of hydrino formation is supposed to generate heat (and no other harmful radiation). This energy is supposed to be signficantly higher that the energy needed for electrolysis of water (the fuel) and maintenance of the plasma for this process, which is a tall order.
So, this is either an amazing new step forward for mankind or a great blunder. You decide . . .
Dr. Randy Mills is claiming that he can release energy from hydrogen by moving the electron closer to the nucleus (to a more stable orbital). According to quantum mechanics, the ground state (the lowest orbital) is when "n" is equal to 1. In order to explain his theory, Mills has reverted to classical theory to explain the fractional value of "n".
To commercialize this technology, Mills has started Blacklight Power and has somehow convinced investors to put in over 25 million and has set up a 50,000 square foot R&D lab in NJ. Not very suprisingly, their main focus is power generation applications.
So, what should we make of all this? I am not sure if it is possible to have a lower ground state since quantum mechanics left me kind of fuzzy. However, after some googling, my guess is that Mills must have some compelling evidence since he has been able to convince some people. This still does not rule out the possibility that there is some sort of misunderstanding or misidentification of the phenomenon. I am ruling out a deliberate scam because if that was the case, Mills would have taken the money and ran years ago.
Frankly speaking, the propaganda on the website seems too good too be true. The process of hydrino formation is supposed to generate heat (and no other harmful radiation). This energy is supposed to be signficantly higher that the energy needed for electrolysis of water (the fuel) and maintenance of the plasma for this process, which is a tall order.
So, this is either an amazing new step forward for mankind or a great blunder. You decide . . .
posted by Bdeshini at 6:53 PM
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