Hi Robin, I posted this in 2022. You can find the original post by searching Vortex for steel wool. This was a response to some vaguely promised prize for 2 million bucks from a government agency. The reason for the relatively low pressure hydrogen was so the ampules would self-seal from melting the glass. I have little doubt that the method would work better with higher pressure hydrogen. Sorry about the funny indentation from copying and pasting.
I've been planning to post this discovery for years, but have just been putting it off. This method has worked for me, but was done clear back in 1992 and 1993. No doubt you're asking that Strangelovian question, "Zo vy didn't you tell ze vorld, eh?" The other question would be, "Why didn't you patent this and become a billionaire?" The answer to these questions is simple. I've made three really game changing disruptive discoveries/inventions at different times in my life and had my head handed to me each time. I'm so demoralized by these events, I just didn't want to go through it again. Because of that, I've stuck to businesses that don't really attract much attention and don't need large investment capital. What I'm saying is, I'm going to tell you what I did and what the results were with no expectation of any kind. Of course, if those government officials want to mail me that $2 million dollar check, I won't turn it down. Fat chance of that happening. Materials and equipment: Tungsten wire treated with oxalic acid.Sulfamate nickel plating setup.Copper wire.Steel wool.6mm ID 1mm wall borosilcate tubing.Hydrogen tank (regular welding supply hydrogen)High vacuum setup.High vacuum evaporation chamber.Oxygen-propane torch.Ordinary hardware store propane torch. Fine grade steel wool was first cleaned in an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution aprox. 150g/L. Then rinsed in distilled water and finally in acetone. Air dried with a heat gun and placed in the vacuum chamber. My vacuum chamber uses an unusually long (approx. 200mm) tungsten filament for my own purposes. This particular filament was treated with an oxalic acid solution and rinsed with distilled water to promote the adhesion of electroplated nickel. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide is normally used for this purpose, but I have found the oxalic acid works better for me. A regular sulfamate nickel setup was used to deposit a layer of nickel on the tungsten. After the electrodeposition was finished it was removed from the setup, rinsed with distilled water and air dried with a heat gun. The filament was next spiral wrapped with various amounts of copper wire which had been stripped from telephone cable. I thought of electrodeposition of the copper as well, but I wanted to observe the copper being evaporated before the nickel. The filament was installed in the evaporation chamber along with the steel wool. The steel wool was located horizontally from the filament at about 500mm. I realize that all of this is not "scientific" because I didn't weigh the nickel or the copper and increased the current at a rate determined by how the copper wire looked as it was evaporated before the nickel. The copper melting into the nickel just as the nickel began to evaporate was observed as the point to increase the filament current, all highly subjective. Obviously, the result will be a graduated layer deposited on the steel wool starting with nearly all copper and finishing with nearly all nickel. The large surface area of the steel wool and the likely thermal distortion of it will produce all sorts of thicknesses and orientations of the cupronickel alloy. The chamber was slowly brought up to atmospheric pressure and the steel wool inserted into a prepared borosilicate tube. The glass tube was about 300mm in length, sealed at one end in the manner of a test tube bottom. The coated steel wool occupied about 100mm at the sealed end of the tube. Heavy high vacuum grade rubber tubing was connected to the glass tube with attached tee, valves and gauges to allow for admission of the hydrogen. After allowing the vacuum pumps to create about 10^-6 torr. The sealed end of the tube was then heated with a propane torch to just below the softening point of the borosilicate. As an experienced, but not very good, glassblower it's easy to recognize this temperature from the color of the glass and the flame. Again, not very scientific. After allowing the glass tube to cool down, hydrogen was admitted to a pressure of between 1/2 and 3/4 atmospheric pressure. At a place about 100mm from the sealed end of the tube the flame from an oxygen-propane torch was applied until the tube collapsed and sealed off the steel wool with its cupronickel coating. The longer end of the tubing was pulled away and the newly formed seal was heated to round off the sharp point. I likely made around a hundred of these tubes in rather rapid succession. Most of them did nothing. But something like a third of them became warm or hot for long periods of time, weeks and months. One of them became "sparkly" for a few minutes. None of them became hot enough to boil water. I have little doubt that a setup similar to this, but with the ability to allow a higher hydrogen pressure would produce more heat. I gave up these experiments for both the above stated reason and because I had to pay much more attention to my business on account of massive foreign IP theft and unreasonable trade regulation changes. Well, there you have it. I assume the usual things will happen: I will be declared a fool and a fraud. Someone else will say they did it first, and so on. Nevertheless, someone may find this information useful and allow the world to have limitless access to inexpensive energy. On Tuesday, November 4th, 2025 at 11:25 AM, Robin <[email protected]> wrote: > In reply to MSF's message of Tue, 04 Nov 2025 17:55:49 +0000: > Hi Michael, > > > I'm afraid I don't remember. Would you be so kind as either repost your > result, or send it to me directly? > [snip] > > > As you may have read my post from some time back, I already had fun with > > it, except with cupro-nickel gradient alloy. > > > > MSF > > > > On Saturday, November 1st, 2025 at 11:26 PM, Robin > > [email protected] wrote: > > > > > Hi, > > > > > > I think it's time I release this. I sent the concept to Mills years ago, > > > and AFAIK he has done nothing with it. So now > > > everyone else gets to have fun with it. :) > > > > > > Title: Resonant Metal Nanostructures for Hydrogen-Related Anomalous > > > Effects > > > > > > Concept Summary: > > > We propose that metallic surfaces patterned with nanoscale pit arrays, > > > particularly nickel thin films on inexpensive > > > iron substrates, can be engineered or induced to form structures with > > > characteristic dimensions resonant with the photon > > > wavelength corresponding to hydrogen?s ionization energy (13.6 eV, ~91 > > > nm) and its higher harmonics (2nd: ~46 nm, 3rd: > > > ~30 nm, 4th: ~23 nm). These resonant structures may strongly couple to > > > hydrogenic electronic states, potentially > > > enhancing anomalous energy release or nuclear signatures. > > > > > > Rationale: > > > - 13.6 eV is the fundamental ionization energy of hydrogen, setting a > > > natural resonance scale. > > > - Nanostructures with periodicities matching ~91 nm and its harmonics can > > > act as plasmonic/metamaterial resonators, > > > concentrating fields at these energies. > > > - Transition metals such as Ni (with Fe as a cheap substrate) are > > > conductive, hydrogen-absorbing, and scalable, unlike > > > palladium. > > > - Hydrogen spillover catalysts (TiO2, WOx, MoOx) can be added in small > > > fractions to promote hydrogen activation and > > > migration. > > > > > > Approaches to Structuring: > > > - Directed methods: Block-copolymer directed self-assembly (DSA), anodic > > > aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, or > > > lithographic masks to etch pits with precise, tunable pitches. > > > - Emergent methods: Ion-beam sputtering instabilities, anodization of > > > Ti/Al, or alloy dealloying/spinodal > > > decomposition to produce quasi-regular nanoscale domains without masks. > > > > > > Proposed Materials System: > > > - Nickel thin film (20?200 nm) deposited on iron substrate. > > > - Optional adhesion layer (Cr/Ti, a few nm). > > > - Sparse spillover promoter islands (TiO2, WOx, MoOx) at 1?5% coverage. > > > > > > Experimental Tests: > > > - Structural: SEM, AFM, TEM, SAXS to confirm pit periodicity at target > > > scales. > > > - Spectral: EELS, EUV reflectometry, PEEM to detect resonances near 13.6 > > > eV and harmonics. > > > - Functional: Hydrogen loading/unloading cycles; monitor for excess heat, > > > isotope shifts, or anomalous emissions > > > correlated with resonant structures. > > > > > > Impact: > > > If confirmed, this approach provides a low-cost, scalable pathway to > > > probe LENR-like phenomena using abundant metals and > > > established nanofabrication or self-patterning methods. It reframes the > > > problem from ?mysterious anomalies? to a > > > testable resonance-driven materials science question. > > > > > > Next Steps: > > > - Fabricate Ni/Fe samples with ~46 nm pits (2nd harmonic). > > > - Characterize resonances and hydrogen interactions. > > > - Compare with control samples lacking resonant structures. > > > Regards, > > > > > > Robin van Spaandonk > > > > > > http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/ELE.html > > Regards, > > Robin van Spaandonk > > http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/ELE.html
