Chapter 12 Physical Foundation of the TNCF Model

12.18　 Prospect of TNCF Theory – Solid State - Nuclear Physics –

The TNCF model is so successful to explain complex phenomenon of the cold fusion including its characteristic irreproducibility and various events from the excess heat to nuclear transmutation. Though the bases of the model have not completely verified by the conventional physics, there are speculations on the possible mechanisms to make the trapped neutron quasi-stable in solid feasible to take parts in the cold fusion phenomenon as discussed in this Chapter. Fundamental ideas of these speculations are the neutron band, the neutron affinity of lattice nuclei and neutron condensation to form neutron drop as explained above in Sections 12.4, 12.7 – 12.9.

These concepts introduced in the TNCF model to explain the cold fusion phenomenon are related with various phases of solid state physics and nuclear physics. Though these branches of physics have long history and tradition, there remain unexplored regions in them, especially in the interdisciplinary region and in the chaotic phenomenon rooted fundamentally in the many-body system with nonlinear interaction.

As was several times pointed out in the preceding chapters, it is the best point of view to consider the cold fusion phenomenon as a probe for the physics of a system where are both the electrostatic and the nuclear interactions between particles. In the physics explored until now, the two interactions are effective only for separate phenomena and the effects did not mix together except in the Mössbauer effect. In the cold fusion phenomenon, however, one effect of the nuclear physics are controlled by conditions of the solid state physics and the effect causes a next nuclear effect governed by conditions determined by solid state physics. It should be noticed here that the term solid state physics in this context include chemical processes\index{chemical process} in forming surface layers on the electrode and physical processes\index{physical process} in forming metal hydrides, too. Also included are effects of lattice structure on the nuclear reactions in the material, though this points are only touched faintly in this book.

One important feature of the TNCF model should be surveyed here. In Section 11.1, we assumed the interaction of the trapped neutron with a nucleus as expressed by Eqs. (11.19) and (11.20) for in the surface layer and for in volume, respectively.

This idea is based on the classical image of the trapped neutron as a Boltzmann gas with a thermal energy of (3/2)kT at a temperature T K. While, on the other hand, we have pointed out in Sections 12.4 ̴ 12.6 that the existence of the quasi-stable trapped neutrons is based on the quantum nature of the thermal neutron in crystals.

This co-existence of the classical and the quantum-mechanical natures in a model might be thought, at first sight, as a decisive contradiction in the model to devaluate it.

It is, however, the wonder of the microscopic object described by Quantum Mechanics, different from the classical object, that the duality of wave and particle natures play one in a situation and another in the other depending on the interaction in them.

The trapped neutron is described by a Bloch wave in its quasi-stable coherent state interacting with lattice nuclei. The local coherence at crystal boundary and in surface layers discussed in Section 12.8 is also a result of this wave nature. When it interacts with a nucleus to react (fuse) it, however, the particle nature of the neutron in the duality appears which could be approximated by a classical particle.

The quantitative relations (11.19) and (11.20) should be altered by a quantum mechanical treatment of the interaction of the trapped neutron with a lattice nucleus and the values n_n determined by them should suffer some changes. The decay time shortening and the threshold energy decrease for fission noticed in Section 12.7 might be manifestations of this interaction.