Peter Gluck wrote:
THe ratio HAS to be made much higher. The story has started from 200:1 according to Focardi.
The ratio has been made infinite in some cases. Rossi has run the cells with no power input. As I am sure you know he says this is dangerous. Assuming that is true, it still means that the input power is for control purposes. It is not amplified in any sense. There is no fixed ratio between input power and output power. Increasing the ratio may take a lot of engineering work, but it is clear from experiments already done that this ratio can be increased, up to any number you want.
A small ratio, such as 1:5 (input:output) would not be suitable for small scale electric power generation, but it would be fine for process steam or hot water.
Presumably, whatever makes it dangerous (instability, I suppose) can be addressed and the control power can be reduced to a minimal level of a few percent; i.e. 1:50. I expect that would be less than generator overhead such as pumps, or friction at the bearings.
A cold fusion generator will probably be run at low efficiency and low temperatures, to reduce wear and tear on the equipment. This is how uranium fission reactors are run, with only ~33% efficiency. Carnot efficiency could easily be improved but the equipment cost would exceed the cost of fuel, so that is not justified. With cold fusion the fuel cost is zero, so I expect they will be roughly 33% efficient. Small, household ones will probably be ~25% efficient. The waste heat will be used for co-generation (combined heat and power).
- Jed
