Additions to the US Lab [UPDATE#1 - V1.3 Cells Installed]

We've made a conscious effort to reform our blogging approach, bringing new posts and updates on our progress more often. Think of it as a resolution for the new season, which up here in Minnesota isn't showing any signs of change-we're still bound up in an icy pseudo-arctic. Expect a new post around every 2-3 days. Hold us to that! 

Things are definitely slower around the shop as we await software updates that allow us to monitor the analog output from a new vacuum transducer for V 1.3's dynamic vacuum. We need the software to handle logarithms to give us a nice linear correlation. 

That doesn't mean we have been sitting on our bums! Numerous alterations have been carried out in the LENR lab to make room for the V 1.3 cells and their protocol. After much cleaning, organizing, and remodeling we are well set to expand our experimental reach. It's a very exciting time even if it doesn't involve a data stream, and we promise we'll keep you better informed so you can be excited too!

On the V 1.3 front, Malachi and I (Wes) will be plenty busy the rest of this and next week as we lose Ryan to some well-earned time off.

We have the control and active reactors assembled with oxide-coated isotan wire, planning to get them commissioned sometime next week. The V 1.0 massive air flow calorimeter gave its power supply to the cause, and will be remembered as the daring, unreliable, cat coffin that it was. A tear shed for those lost. 

We'll be engineering 3 of the  1/4" calorimeter mini cells as well, examining its consistency from trial to trial with a heat source attached. So far the calibration has been tight as a drum, but we'll see. . .

We also look forward to the return of our beloved machinist as we can flood him with requests to tool new additions to the concentric tube calorimeter. So not all is lost in the desire for accurate temperature measurements; we're just getting started! Until the next post, here are some tantalizing pictures too keep you going. 

We're going back to horizontal orientation, but with a twist. More to follow in the installation blog.

Thermally-tough fiberglass wire insulation promises safer passthrough isolation. 

Shameless plug: I have other projects like this one, but with more room for imagination. Check the collaborate page to get an eye-full as I begin revamping nanopowder experiments on the reef.

Update #1 - Version 1.3 Cells are Installed in the US Lab!

Inch by Inch we approach the commissioning of our newest experiment protocol, the long anticipated version 1.3 cells. It's a thorough process, further refining every aspect of the previous versions. Likewise we've experienced that the new additions to the US lab add their own flavor of maintenance, and the taste is an acquired one. . .

My little headache of the week has been the new pressure transducer. Several blunders in product orders and connectivity issues (controller interface to sensor) delayed our ability to integrate it into the vacuum line, not to mention the software update required to handle logarithmic scale output (Thanks Scott!). And when the time came to plumb the vacuum line, the transducer reported 30 Torr below atmospheric pressure! Device manuals and grumbles led us to a relatively short fix, and we finally have a working loadlock transducer!

Foregoing Wayne's return, we forged boldly ahead to fabricate mounting brackets for the V-shaped rail placed in the experiment hood. However our original material choice proved adequately flimsy and unsupportive of the new cells, making handling and further installation a near impossibility. 

Though the triangle is the strongest shape in nature, we found the new, thicker supports a little tougher to bend in such short lengths, and settled on the twist along its length to add further rigidity to our mounting brackets.

It looks pretty cool, too. True: we're all about the straight and narrow, no-nonsense scientific exploration here at Quantumheat, but a little aesthetic flair never hurt anybody. 

So currently we've got the cells installed and NEARLY plumbed in totally to the vacuum and H2 supply cross. Really, all the connections have been swaged in, and they do look pretty impressive.

However the line is LEAKING right now and cannot pull a vacuum below 90 mTorr. How frustrating! We checked for leaks with negative pressure by squirting ethanol on the joints, but this method had little success. Next we charged the line with a few dozen PSI of H2 and sniffed around with the combustible gas detector. It gave us plenty of false positives as it picked up the evaporating ethanol dripping off the entire assembly. Wiping it off and giving it a moment to dry allowed me to sneak away and drop this little update on you! 

C'est la vie! We will undoubtedly find and fix that pesky leak in the coming afternoon and draw a tight vacuum in the cells. All that remains is sensor installation. . .along with verification tests, troubleshooting, offgasing, power supply assembly, and of course EU coordination to run these dueling tests in parallel with a live data stream. Thanks for reading!