And here are 36+3 more questions – with Rossi's answers

2011-03-18 12:46  

The time was not enough when the Italian engineer Andrea Rossi met Ny Teknik's readers in a live chat about his 'energy catalyzer' last week. Therefore, we sent him another 36 of the readers' questions – and here are the answers.

(Swedish version here. Italian translation here).

(Updated on May 4, 2011: Three more questions from our readers added at the end).

The interest Ny Teknik's readers showed to ask questions to engineer Rossi was huge. Last Friday we published all questions that were answered directly during the live chat, along with a video with further questions.

We have now gone through all the questions submitted before and during the chat again, and with these 36 new questions we have selected, we believe that we have covered almost all issues.

If you are still missing any answer, please send an email to Mats Lewan.

Here are Rossi's answers to the 36 questions:

Mats Johnson: When and how will the workings of the machine be made public for scientific examination?

Rossi: We will deliver our 1 MW plant within October. It will be paid from the Customer if guarantees will have been respected. Besides, we will continue the test of the modules with the University of Bologna, as a R&D. But at this point the examination will be made by the Customers.

Carl-Axel: Can you run a demonstration at KTH?

Rossi: We are thinking about this.

Göran Ericsson: Would you agree to subject your reactor to truly independent scrutiny, for example presenting a sealed unit (to protect your invention on the inside)  with open water and hydrogen input/output connections to an team of physicists and engineers to freely measure all relevant physical parameters over a long period of time?

Rossi: We are doing this already with the University of Bologna

Guest: Who is Prof. George Kelly (University of New Hampshire, USA) is on your board of advisors? (The university doesn’t seem to know him).

Rossi: I do not know him well. I met him ten years ago when I made a test of a Seebeck Effect apparatus in the UNH. Anybody can enter in the Board Of Advisers of the Journal Of Nuclear Physics (Rossis egen websajt, reds anm) so far he wants to make for free (the Journal pays nobody, is based only upon voluntary free work)a peer reviewing. Everybody is free to enter and to go out when he wants. It is necessary to be a University Professor in Scientific matter. Prof. Kelly is specialized in Environmental Engineering, as I remember.

Peter Ekström: In the fusion of a proton with Ni-58 a substantial activity of Cu-59 is formed. Cu-59 decays with a half-life of 82 seconds by beta+ decay. In the Focardi and Rossi article it is stated that: "No radioactivity has been found also in the Nickel residual from the process". Considering the very high activity of Cu-59 that is produced, it is surprising that no activity is detected. Even ten half-lives after the end of a run the activity should be of the order of 1013 Bq, which is not only easily measurable (with a detector far away from the source) but also deadly for everybody present in the room! (Could you explain?)

Rossi: No radioactivity has been found in the residual metals, it is true, but the day after the stop of the operation. In any case you are right, if 59-Cu is formed from 58-Ni we should have the couples of 511 keV at 180° and we never found them, while we found keV in the range of 100-300 keV. I think no 59Cu is produced, I suppose only stable Cu is produced from the transmutation of the isotopes 62Ni and 64Ni. I desume this from what we find after the operations. Your observation is correct.

Paul Hangård: Are we talking about The Widom-Larsen Theory in your experiment? (According to the theory the nuclear process is not fusion or fission, but nuclear synthesis.  The protons in the hydrogen isotope are changed to neutrons by the weak nuclear force. These neutrons are captured by an atomic nucleus via the strong nuclear force since there is no Coulomb barrier).

Rossi: No, I have a completely different theory, which is taking form out of the empirical experience I am lining every day with the 'E-Cats'. As soon as I will be sure of it, I will write it, for now I need more experience.

In fact, the theory you mentioned did not since generate a working apparatus.

Paul Hangård: I believe that you use nickel in form of nano pulver. Is that correct and what is the diameter of the nickel particles?

Rossi: Nickel powders are in the range between the limits you mentioned and microns

Per: Have you studied any other potential reactions besides Ni-H?

Rossi: Yes, we tried many combinations, but Ni-H is the best solution

Dante & Carl: Would it be possible to use E-Cat as a primary energy source of a city inhibiting 150,000 persons?

Rossi: Let me begin with the 1 MW plant in Athens, then we will grow up. Let me study and overcome all the troubles I will have with this first plant.

Arvid Kongstad: How well does this technology scale? Are power plants supplying entire cities feasible within the foreseeable future?

Rossi: The first brick will be the plant we will start in October in Athens, then, brick by brick, we will make up a development.

Sven: How do you regulate the heat that is produced?

Rossi: Modulating the parameters of insertion of hydrogen we regulate the power of the E-Cat.

Ola: Will the machine be made self sufficient eg, will it be possible to use output electricity it creates as the input electricity it needs? That would be very useful it areas with no power lines.

Rossi: No, because in case of emergency we need external power. It could be coupled with a Diesel generator in the remote situations you mentioned.

Göran Ericsson: What is the relation between you and Giuseppe Levi? How long has Dr Levi been working with you on these issues? Dr Levi was posted as an 'Advisor on your home page 'Journal of Nuclear Physics' until end of January 2011 then removed. Why was Dr Levi removed as an 'Advisor'?

Rossi: I got to know Prof. Giuseppe Levi in November 2010, when we organized the test of Bologna. I inserted then him in the Board Of Advisers of the Journal Of Nuclear Physics to ask him to make some peer reviewing of papers we had to decide of to publish, but later he said he had not time, so he never did the advisor and his name after few days has been taken off. By the way: the advisors work only on voluntary base, no payments are done at any title; the Journal Of Nuclear Physics publishes for free all the papers peer reviewed, no money is paid to the Authors, no money is paid to the Journal, no advertising is published on the journal, no contribution of any kind is given to the journal. We all give our work to the Journal for free, and all the live expenses ( very modest sincerely) are paid by me.

Peter Linder: Ok, it is dangerous as an amateur-replication. But is it in the reach for an advanced amateur? Is it possible to obtain the materials?

Rossi: If you are an amateur, I suggest you not to try. It is very dangerous. Do not ask me again if you can: for professional liabilities I have the duty to say you: do not try to replicate this experiment, because it is very dangerous if you are not an expert professional of the field.

Ben: What is the limiting factor for coming to large scale production? (Raw materials, certification, safety issues, capital or something else)?

Rossi: Capital: I want not money from anybody until the plants have started up to demonstrate they maintain the guarantees. I want all the risks on me. This of course makes the beginning slow, but I want not to put on risk the money which is not mine.

Ozcar: What is the latest status regarding the patent? You wrote that it was approved and waiting for registration. Is that correct?

Rossi: No, it is not correct. My patent is still in the status of 'Patent Pending'. I never wrote what you say, I always said that my attorneys are working hard on it, and I have repeated that my patent is not yet granted some hundreds of times. Unfortunately, this is an issue that does not depend on me, I have to be patient.

Guest: Dear Rossi, we know that there's a "secret" patent about the catalysts. What's the filing date of the catalyst patent?

Rossi: It is secret. It is still in the phase pre-publication, so I have order from my Attorney not to give any info.

Dr Fast: When considering your device as a part of a rankine cycle, what temperatures are achievable?

Rossi: up to 500-550 °C

Bertil Karlsson: Is the reaction pulsating or continuous?

Rossi: Substantially continuous

Johnny: Dear Mr Rossi. Why did you choose to go out public at this point in time, since you plan to demonstrate a 1MW plant within a few months?

Rossi: very good question, I would have preferred not to go public before the 1 MW operation. But my friend Focardi was getting mad at exiting now, so I did. Friendship has a price.

Nick: How should a consumed E-cat be handled at scrap yard? What is the expected life time of E-cat?

Rossi: The E-Cat, after 15, 20 years of expected life is just a piece of steel, lead, ceramic, boron, with residual nickel powder inside. All recyclable. No radioactive waste left, of course.

Akre: Are there any precious metals the E-Cat?

Rossi: No

Jonas L: Will your company supply with the nickel powder that is needed or will there be many different suppliers ?

Rossi: We will supply, because the Ni has to be treated in a proprietary way.

Karl Ådahl: Owning the power plant by your company and feed it and sell energy is as one can imagine one of many possible business models using your E-Catalyzer. Turning into smaller scale mass implementations like feeding a household with heat/cooling and all imagined electrical energy needed and even for charging electrical battery cars. I imagine your business model could be somewhat complex and limit the speed of exploration of your invention. Do you have other business model in mind for this type of applications?  For example to license the technology?

Rossi: Yes

Gunnar Bertilsson: Have you secured the invention, for example if someone wants to destroy it?

Rossi: Yes

Guest: Why is this reaction not observed in Nickel Hydrogen batteries?

Rossi: Because in the batteries you have not the proper Ni, the proper amount, temperature and pressure of Hydrogen and for many other factors.

Thomas Vilhar: Dear Sir, Do you get any alfa-radiation?

Rossi: Yes

Mats Johnson: How much of the nickel is left in the charge after 6 months? How much copper?

Rossi: 90% is recyclable as a fuel, the difference goes as scrap Ni back to the supplier

L.Eliasson: Can a used charge be refined and reused?

Rossi: yes, for the 90%

Krister: Is the system safe, could for instance some external electromagnetic source disturbe the process, stop it, or even worse, make it run amok?

Rossi: External e.m. effects have not the energy necessary to go through the shielding (lead plus boron, plus the coolant water).

Anders Åberg: Have you noticed any self control of the reaction like for instance reduction of reaction rate with increasing temperature?

Rossi: Yes, we noted this effect more than a time

GC: You don't seem to have much sense of global urgency. The world's worst problem is really not children with cancer! Do you ever read the papers? We're approaching a severe energy crisis and breakdown of the global economy! It's happening right now!

Rossi: I work 16 hours per day, more than this I cannot. I am human. And children with cancer are anyway a priority, versus the tank of your car to be filled up. Unless you ride a horse.  To give the money to heal children is not a brake to the development of this work, is a stimulus. For me, as well, I am sure, as for all the persons of good sense.

Mats Carlsson: Hi, How many kilograms of lead is used in one energy catalyst chamber, reg. gamma protection ?

Rossi: About 50 kg

Per Kylemark: This should be the biggest news ever! Any ideas as to why the media coverage has been so limited in international press?

Rossi: Because this technology is promising, but not yet diffused. We must make plants and make them work. This is the only thing that counts. All the rest will follow.

Karl-Henrik Malmqvist: When Edison invented  the commercial light bulb he tested over 6000 vegetable growths for the most suitable filament material. How many mixtures/versions of the catalytical materials have you tested until the present one?

Rossi: Tens of thousands of combinations.

Karl-Henrik Malmqvist: In the reactor there might be a flow of electrons. Is it possible to directly take care of that flow for electrical generation, or is the number of moving electrons too small?

Rossi: It is too small; it is not worth to take care of it.

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Further questions from our readers, added afterwards:

Michel Zoghby: Would you be able to ask Mr. Rossi who are the people he is collaborating with at CERN?

Rossi: The people connected with CERN having worked or tested the E-cat are so far Prof. Sergio Focardi and Prof. Mauro Villa.

Franco Bonino: Ing. Rossi, do you think that the energy produced by E-cat may also be useful to revolutionize the propulsion systems for spacecraft allowing to overcome the limits of chemical propulsion?

Rossi: No, not in the middle term. A research is scheduled with a major aircraft manufacturer on this issue, but we are very far from a practical application.

Mario Behling: Dear Andrea Rossi, as this discovery could change the fundamentals of politics and society in the world, why do you choose to pursue an 'old world approach' of patenting your apparatus rather than making it freely available such as people do, who contribute in the free software community, open content community (like Wikipedia) etc.?

Rossi: The way you suggested is nice to think but non realistic, and we are working only to arrive to realistic results. If a technology is not proprietary nobody invests in it, and a generic dispersion of knowledge would not lead to the concentration of resources necessary to arrive to real results. Without the incentive of industrial profits things do not work. The history of communism has teached this to all of us.

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Mats Lewan


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