Status of our test cells

We have had requests to clarify exactly where we are in our progress.  To summarize, we have assembled and tested the first two units and tested them to 7 Bar of pressure and 400C with Helium.  The number two unit is being prepared for shipment to our team members in France.  Because it will be so far away we are taking extra precautions to make sure it will work and collect data properly, and in the case it doesn't, that we can service the computer remotely.  We are also adding the pressure relief valve and the gas manifold that we have done without till now because we were using it with our existing lab infrastructure.  Additionally, we have to make sure we get the international shipment paperwork done properly.  It all takes time, and usually more time than you think the first time.

The premise of the experiment we are planning is simple.  We calibrate the cell by running a range of precisely measured levels of electrical power through the two wires wrapped around the core of the cell.  For each power level we measure the temperatures in the cell.  Then, we replace one of the standard wires with the active "Celani wire", load hydrogen into the it, and proceed to raise the temperature and pressure to the same conditions as the calibration.  If the wire is creating extra heat, the cell will appear significantly hotter with the active wire than it was with the standard wire at a given electrical power level.

 Our next step is to calibrate the test cell in every likely combination and pressure of Argon and Hydrogen that we might want to run at after we load the cell with the active wire.  Once the wire is loaded with Hydrogen we will not want to have to take it back out of the cell atmosphere if we don't absolutely have to.  Celani recently reported that unloading the hydrogen from his active wire seemed to damage its performance.

The previous Helium calibrations were useful tests to tell us the range the device is capable of and get a rough performance curve, and to work the bugs out before loading hydrogen.  Those data won't be what we use for the next stages of the experiment, though.

Once Cell#2 arrives in Europe, Mathieu and Nic will run the same calibration cycles and we will compare results.

Only after the full calibration is complete will we load the active wire into the cell.  It will be very intersting to see how that wire handles being coiled onto the supports and fastened to the terminals.

I hope to post a step by step plan for this dual, initial replication phase of the project prominently on the site somewhere and shade the steps that are done and provide links to the results from each stage.  Please be patient because all these steps take time.  If there are any web developers out there keen to get involved, we'd be interested in hearing from you.