CETI Patterson Power Cell

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The CETI Patterson Power Cell is a power cell invented by James Patterson which some have claimed to be generating more energy than it uses. It is one of several cold fusion cells which have been the subject of some media interest but no independent, objective testing.

The cell comprised of a non-conductive housing filled with thousands of small plastic beads coated with thin film layers of nickel and palladium, as well as a solution of a conductive salt in water through which an electric current is run.[1] Its proponents claim that the device uses about 1.4 watts and yet is capable of generating hundreds or thousands of times this amount of power which is released as heat after a brief "warm-up" period.[2] This supposedly happens as hydrogen or deuterium nuclei fuse together to produce heat through some form of cold fusion, although Patterson himself avoids the term.[3] However, the byproducts of nuclear fusion have not been detected from this device, e.g. a tritium nucleus and a proton or an ³He nucleus and a neutron, leading a vast majority of experts to conclude that no such fusion is taking place.[4]

It is further claimed that if radioactive isotopes such as uranium are present, the cell somehow enables the hydrogen nuclei to fuse with these isotopes, transforming them into stable elements and thus 'neutralizing' the radioactivity.[3] This claim has not been verified and, to date, this effect has only been achieved through intense neutron bombardment in a nuclear reactor or large scale high energy particle accelerator.

Proponents often point to the fact that Patterson holds the only patents pertaining to a cold fusion device ever granted in the US as evidence for the validity of their claims; however, the patents for the device do not make any claims pertaining to cold fusion, but rather for a "System for Electrolysis."[1] Thus, while the cell may successfully perform electrolysis, the patent does not support any allegations regarding its use as a power source.

On February 7, 1996, ABC News shows Good Morning America and Nightline featured stories about the Patterson Power Cell. Good Morning America followed up the story one year later, on June 11, 1997 [1].

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[edit] References

  1. ^ a b US patent 5494559 "System for electrolysis"
  2. ^ Manning, Jean. "'Cold Fusion' Breakthrough" Atlantis Rising. 1996. 6:37,56. Retrieved December 10, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Park, Robert. Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. p115-118. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
  4. ^ Voss, David. "Whatever happened to cold fusion?" Physicsworld.com, March 1, 1999. Retrieved December 5, 2007.

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