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Low-energy nuclear power has 'promise'
By Jim Strothman
InTech News (ISA)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Although experimentation on low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) has excited scientists and news organizations since 1989, the "promise" that it would one day provide inexpensive and long-lasting energy to run home appliances, for example, remains the same-a promise, not a reality.

However, if David J. Nagel, Ph.D. is successful in his pursuit of $10 million annually in U.S. government funding over a five-year period, the new form of nuclear energy could possibly move from the "science" category to "products," he told several hundred ISA EXPO 2008 attendees Wednesday.

Nagel, a high-energy expert on low-energy nuclear possibilities, delivered the day's keynote address, which also served as the 13th annual Rimbach Lecture. The lecture series honors Richard Rimbach, considered the "founder of ISA."

Nagel is a research professor in applications of micro- and nano-technologies in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Science at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Before that, he did considerable research for the U.S. Navy, among other laboratories.

'Hot fusion' funded

"Nuclear energy is the release and use of 'binding' energy" that holds a nucleus together, but splits when impacted by a slow neutron, he explained. During the past half-century, the U.S. Department of Energy has invested $10 billion in what is known as "hot fusion," a high-energy technology that also produces radioactive waste.

Nagel said he does not believe hot fusion will ever find its way into the U.S. energy grid. Alternatively, he and several hundred other researchers in at least 15 countries are focused on LENR, first discovered in 1989 by two researchers, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons.

"The 'low' in LENR equals 'reaction initiation energy,' " Nagel explained. When first announced at the University of Utah, a press conference was held and Time, Newsweek, and Business Week magazine all wrote cover stories on what was labeled safe "fusion in a bottle."

Nagel said holding a press conference as "a big mistake" because much was still unknown, and "the idea that it is simple is wrong." Critics eventually cast doubts and, "funding today is dysfunctional," the LENR expert said.

Potential applications

To develop the "promise"-which includes LENR technologies having a wide-range of possibilities, from replacing batteries to providing clean water-"the need for instrumentation is urgent. There has not been (instruments) we need to pursue this experimentally," he said.

Even so, "there has been a lot going on" in the scientific world, Nagel said. "Over 1,000 papers have been written. How many are worth reading? A few hundred."

What excites scientists, and already proven many times, is low-energy nuclear reactions provide what is known as "heat after death," a continual flow of energy long after the reaction occurs.

"It's as if you drive from New York to Washington, D.C. You turn the car off at Baltimore, and you'll still get to Washington," he said. "We don't understand why (excess energy is available). We just know it is."

With LENR, "nuclear reactions are occurring at modest temperatures-the experimental evidence is amazing. And there's no noticeable nuclear waste," Nagel said. "So you can drive something (like a home appliance) and not make a mess."

Seeking U.S. funds

"I've been trying to sell the U.S. government to invest $10 million annually for five years" on instrumentation, materials, and theory, the LENR expert said. LENR "is now at the 'science' level-not yet the 'business' or 'products' levels. Some cold-fusion start-up companies have been started, but a few have gone belly-up.

Among corporate giants, Amoco, GE, and IBM have shown "early interest" in LENR.

"If LENR does go commercial, production of clean water may be a dominant application," Nagel predicted. Of approximately 200 countries in the world, at least 20 are not in control of their water. LENR can be used to purify river water, "and that will be very popular," he said.

In response to questions from an ISA EXPO attendee, Nagel said he would welcome support from ISA or individuals on "selling" the U.S. government for funding.

For those interested in learning more about LENR technology, he recommended two sites: lenr.org and newenergytimes.com.

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