Hydrino theory

Hydrino theory was developed by physician Randell L. Mills as a new model of the hydrogen atom that posits the existence of orbital states for the electron of a hydrogen atom with enhanced binding energy compared to the conventional ground state of hydrogen.cited by cite journal |last= Rathke|year= 2005|month= May|title= A critical analysis of the hydrino model|journal= New Journal of Physics|volume= 2005|issue= 7|pages= 127|id= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03 |doi= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03 ] Mills proposed that the electron in a hydrogen atom can reach an orbital state below the ground state of conventional quantum theory via a non-radiative transfer of an integral number of Hartrees to a suitable catalyst, thus releasing large amounts of energy and converting the "ground-state" hydrogen into a lower-energy hydrogen atom called a hydrino. Most physicists agree that the existence of hydrino states with the properties Mills attributes to them is incompatible with quantum mechanics. Moreover, no hydrino states have ever been agreed by independent sources to have been observed to exist.

Mills asserts that his theory, which he terms "Classical Quantum Mechanics", unifies Maxwell's Equations, Newton's Laws, and Einstein's General and Special Relativity, and that it is founded on the principle that physical laws hold over all scales—from that of subatomic particles to that of the cosmos—thus overturning conventional quantum field theory. [http://www.blacklightpower.com/theory/bookdownload.shtml http://www.blacklightpower.com/theory/bookdownload.shtml] ] Mills first put forth his proposition of the hydrino in 1991 to explain the disputed reports of cold fusion experimentalists of excess heat in certain electrolytic cells.

Andreas Rathke of the European Space Agency has pointed out that the existence of a hydrino is unlikely in the environment proposed by Mills.cite journal |last= Rathke|year= 2005|month= May|title= A critical analysis of the hydrino model|journal= New Journal of Physics|volume= 2005|issue= 7|pages= 127|id= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03 |quote= "a state of the hydrogen atom that is less energetic than the ground state cannot be ruled out completely under some exotic conditions at our current level of understanding. Such conditions are however not likely to be fulfilled in the relatively low-energy, low electromagnetic field environment of the plasmas studied by Mills et al." and "standard quantum mechanics cannot encompass hydrino states, with the properties currently attributed to them" |doi= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03 |quote= "a state of the hydrogen atom that is less energetic than the ground state cannot be ruled out completely under some exotic conditions at our current level of understanding. Such conditions are however not likely to be fulfilled in the relatively low-energy, low electromagnetic field environment of the plasmas studied by Mills et al." and "standard quantum mechanics cannot encompass hydrino states, with the properties currently attributed to them"] A 2005 evaluation by Rathke, found "severe inconsistencies" in Mills' theory, including a lack of "solutions that predict the existence of hydrinos". Rathke also stated that Mills' equations were not Lorentz invariant, a requirement of any theory that explains the behavior of particles moving close to the speed of light.cite journal |last= Rathke|year= 2005|month= May|title= A critical analysis of the hydrino model|journal= New Journal of Physics|volume= 2005|issue= 7|pages= 127|id= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03 |quote= this wave equation is not Lorentz-invariant for any other phase velocity than the speed of light |doi= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03 |quote= this wave equation is not Lorentz-invariant for any other phase velocity than the speed of light]

Mills' company (BlackLight Power, Inc. [ [http://www.blacklightpower.com/ BlackLight Power Inc ] ] ) has raised over fifty million dollars in venture capital. [http://professional.venturewire.com/story.asp?sid=NIMHPJLMMQ VentureWire (subscription required)] It has also given rise to a subsidiary company (Millsian Inc. [ [http://www.millsian.com/ Millsian ] ] ) which has developed and released a molecular modeling program based on Mills' models.

Mills' ideas

Atomic physics

Mills says that the electron is an extended particle which in free space is a flat disk of spinning charge.Fact|date=July 2008

Hydrinos

According to Mills, a specific chemical process he calls "The BlackLight Process" allows the bound electron to fall to an energy state below that of currently accepted quantum theory, at 1/integer that of the ground state radius. These below-ground hydrogen atoms are called 'hydrinos'. The mechanism consists of a non-radiative energy transfer between a hydrogen atom and a catalyst that is capable of absorbing a certain amount of energy. The total energy Mills says is released for hydrino transitions is large compared to the chemical burning of hydrogen but less than nuclear reactions. Mills reports that limitations on confinement and terrestrial conditions have prevented the achievement of hydrino states below 1/30, which would correspond to an energy release of approximately 15 keV per hydrogen atom.Fact|date=July 2008

Experimental reports

In addition to the BlackLight Power website, Mills and his team have published papers in peer reviewed journals, reporting experimental results such as these: [see the bibliography in cite journal |last= Rathke|year= 2005|month= May|title= A critical analysis of the hydrino model|journal= New Journal of Physics|volume= 2005|issue= 7|pages= 127|id= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03 |doi= 10.1088/1367-2630/7/1/127|url= http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html|accessdate= 2007-12-03]

* Formation of plasmas in gas cells with input energies far below those predicted by conventional theory to be required to form such plasmas.
* Spectral lines from gas cell plasmas which match the predictions for hydrino transitions. [Mills, R., and P. Ray, "Extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy of helium-hydrogen plasma," J. Phys. D. 36, 17 (7 July 2003), pp. 1535-1542.]
* Detection of excess heat from plasma cells using water bath calorimetry.
* New chemical compounds said to have been formed from hydrino hydrides ("i.e." a hydrino which has captured another electron to form a negative hydride ion) which show unusual properties and structure.
* Molecular 'dihydrino' gas formation and detection.
* Experiments demonstrating excess energy when sodium hydride is heated in contact with Raney nickel catalyst (R-Ni) [http://www.blacklightpower.com/papers/WFC052708webS.pdf http://www.blacklightpower.com/papers/WFC052708webS.pdf] ]

Mills and collaborators say that only hydrino theory can adequately explain their results.

Šišović et al have reported line broadening that contradicts Mills's models. [(Eur. Phys. J. D 32:347-354, 2005, doi|10.1140/epjd/e2004-00192-1)]

Controversy

2000

In a Space.com article on May 23, Douglas Osheroff, Nobel Prize winner [ [http://www.stanford.edu/dept/physics/people/faculty/osheroff_douglas.html Douglas Osheroff - Stanford Physics Faculty ] ] and professor of physics at Stanford University, is quoted as saying:

[Mills] may be creating compounds with unusual properties. This is obviously a rather clever guy, and he may be onto something, but he seems to think it's more fundamental than it really is. [ [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/generalscience/blacklight_hydrinos_000523.html SPACE.com - Wild Science: Entrepreneur Takes On Quantum Theory ] ]

Furthermore, Osheroff remained certain that hydrinos were a "crackpot idea".

2002

A NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase I study was conducted at Rowan University, led by mechanical engineering professor Anthony Marchese, to investigate the so-called BlackLight Process for use in spacecraft propulsion. The team successfully replicated and confirmed results obtained by BlackLight, Inc., including the observation of line broadening and excess heat (although the final report stated "Additional studies are required to rule out all other possible explanations other than 'excess power' for these observations."). [Marchese, A. J., Jansson, P., Schmalzel, J. L., " [http://www.niac.usra.edu/files/studies/final_report/752Marchese.pdf The BlackLight Rocket Engine NIAC Phase I Final Report] " (May 1 – November 30, 2002).]

On October 27 2002, Bob Park, a professor at the University of Maryland, wrote a follow-up:

Mills has written a 1000 page tome, entitled "The Grand Unified Theory of Classical Quantum Mechanics", that takes the reader all the way from hydrinos to antigravity (WN 9 May 97). Fortunately, Aaron Barth (not to be confused with Erik Baard, the Randy Mills apologist), has taken upon himself to look through it, checking for accuracy. Barth is a post doctoral researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Institute, and holds a PhD in Astronomy, 1998, from UC, Berkeley. What he found initially were mathematical blunders and unjustified assumptions. To his surprise, however, portions of the book seemed well organized. These, it now turns out, were lifted verbatim from various texts. This has been the object of a great deal of discussion from Mills's Hydrino Study Group. Mills seems not to understand what the fuss is all about. [ [http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN00/wn102700.html What's New by Bob Park - Friday, October 27, 2000 ] ]

2004-2005

Andreas Rathke of the European Space Agency published an evaluation that appeared in the New Journal of Physics. [Rathke, A., ' [http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/7/1/127/njp5_1_127.html A critical analysis of the hydrino model] , "New J. Phys." 7 127 (2005).] [ [http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0505150 [quant-ph/0505150 A critical analysis of the hydrino model ] ] He concluded:

We found that CQM is inconsistent and has several serious deficiencies. Amongst these are the failure to reproduce the energy levels of the excited states of the hydrogen atom, and the absence of Lorentz invariance. Most importantly, we found that CQM does not predict the existence of hydrino states!

Rathke's questioning of the compatibility of hydrino states with standard quantum mechanics is contested by other scientists, including those who do not accept Mills' broader theory. One such scientist is Jan Naudts of the University of Antwerp, a supporter of standard quantum theory rather than Mills' theory [" [http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/9/8/4/1 Hydrogen result causes controversy] ", from [http://physicsweb.org/ Physics Web] , August 5, 2005] [Alok Jha (November 4, 2005). Fuel's paradise? Power source that turns physics on its head. The Guardian.] , whose paper [" [http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0507193v2 On the hydrino state of the relativistic hydrogen atom] ", arXiv:physics/0507193v2 [physics.gen-ph] 5 Aug 2005] nonetheless states:

A. Rathke has questioned the existence of [the hydrino] , claiming that it is incompatible with standard quantum mechanics. All Rathke’s arguments relate to nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. The present paper discusses the problem in the context of relativistic quantum mechanics... The present paper shows that one can find arguments in favour of the hydrino state also in the standard theory of relativistic quantum mechanics.

2006-2008

BlackLight Power, Inc. announced it had raised over $50M in venture capital. [ [http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/2006/01/04/blacklight_power_gets_50m_but_is_it_profound_or_utter_nonsense.html SiliconBeat: Blacklight Power gets $50M; but is it profound, or utter nonsense? ] ] As of May 2008, its board members include former Assistant Secretary of Energy Shelby Brewer and Michael H. Jordan, who has served as CEO of various major corporations including PepsiCo Int'l. Foods and Beverages, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, CBS Corporation, and EDS. [http://www.blacklightpower.com/Press%20Releases/BlackLightPressReleaseProcessInfo052808Sb.pdf News release] retrieved on May 28, 2008.]

In June, the subsidiary Molegos, Inc. was formed to market a molecular-modeling software application based on CQM theory. In October 2006, Molegos was renamed to Millsian. On June 14, 2007, Millsian made the beta-version of their molecular modeling software available for download. [http://www.millsian.com/download.shtml Download Millsian Software ] ]

In 2007, Edmund Storms, a cold fusion researcher, said that the hydrino model provides a possible explanation to cold fusion. [citation|last=Storms|first=Edmund|title=Science of Low Energy Nuclear Reaction: A Comprehensive Compilation of Evidence and Explanations|location=Singapore|publisher=World Scientific|year=2007|ISBN=9-8127062-0-8|pages=184.] Another scientist disputing Rathke's analysis, Ronald C. Bourgoin, of the Edgecombe Community College, published a peer-reviewed paper in the journal Advanced Studies in Theoretical Physics, not only supporting the theoretical possibility of hydrino states, but further stating that the general wave equation of quantum mechanics predicts the very same reciprocal energy states as does Mills' theory. [" [http://www.m-hikari.com/astp/astp2007/astp5-8-2007/bourgoinASTP5-8-2007.pdf Inverse Quantum Mechanics of the Hydrogen Atom: A General Solution] ", Advanced Studies in Theoretical Physics, Vol. 1, Number 8, p.381-393, 2007. ]

In March and April 2008, Blacklight Power had four UK patent applications relating to models and apparatus based on hydrino theory refused by the UK Intellectual Property Office, partly on the grounds that the hydrino theory was objectively wrong. [UK-IPO decisions [http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent/p-decisionmaking/p-challenge/p-challenge-decision-results/p-challenge-decision-results-bl?BL_Number=O/114/08 O/114/08] and [http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent/p-decisionmaking/p-challenge/p-challenge-decision-results/p-challenge-decision-results-bl?BL_Number=O/076/08 O/076/08] ]

In a press release issued May 28, 2008, BlackLight Power, Inc. said that they have developed a prototype power system generating 50,000 watts of thermal power on demand.

External links

Advocacy

* [http://www.blacklightpower.com Black Light Power, Inc.] , corporate website.
* [http://www.hydrino.org Hydrino Study Group] (HSG) website

Critical

* [http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN06/wn011306.html "Blacklight power"] from Bob Park's newsletter "What's New", January 13, 2006
* [http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN02/wn062102.html "Hydrino rockets"] , "What's New", June 21, 2002
* [http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN02/wn090602.html "Patent nonsense"] , "What's New", September 6, 2002
* [http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN08/wn060608.html "Hydrinos"] , "What's New", June 6, 2008

General media

*
*" [http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/9/8/4/1 Hydrogen result causes controversy] ", from [http://physicsweb.org/ Physics Web] , August 5, 2005
*" [http://www.popsci.com/gear-gadgets/article/2003-06/blue-light-special# Blue Light Special] ", from [http://www.popsci.com/ Popular Science] , June 2, 2003
* [http://www.pacpubserver.com/new/business/b012099.html Will BlackLight light up the world?] , Kathleen McGinn Spring, "Princeton Packet", January 20, 1999
*" [https://www.keepmedia.com/Auth.do?extId=10022&uri=/archive/forbes/2000/0515/6511117a.html The Alchemists Of Energy] ", Forbes Magazine, May 15, 2000. — offers excerpts from Robert L. Park's book "Voodoo Science", ISBN 0-19-514710-3
*" [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=100939 Academics Question The Science Behind BlackLight Power, Inc.] ", The Harvard Crimson, May 17, 2000
*" [http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/2006/01/04/blacklight_power_gets_50m_but_is_it_profound_or_utter_nonsense.html Blacklight Power gets $50M; but is it profound, or utter nonsense?] " SiliconBeat, January 4, 2006
*
*
*

References