Lattice Energy LLC - Mystery of Nagaokas 1920s Gold Experiments - Why Did Wor...Lewis Larsen
In a recorded interview with fellow physicist Prof. John Wheeler in 1962, Nobel prize-winning Japanese physicist Hideki Yukawa said that his colleague Hantaro Nagaoka in the 1930s was (quoting directly), “…“I think Professor Nagaoka was all powerful then among scientists … he had some very deep insight, although he did not work himself [at that point in his career] … Nagaoka was [the] President of Osaka University when I moved from Kyoto to Osaka. But he was at the same time President of the Academy; he was the greatest boss among all the scientists in Japan.”
Between September 1924 and June 1925, Nagaoka and his co-workers at RIKEN in Japan conducted some 200 experiments with high-current electric arc discharges between Tungsten electrodes immersed in liquid hydrocarbon transformer oil in which they detected successful transmutation of Tungsten into macroscopic, visible flecks of Gold and Platinum. In June 1925, Nagaoka went a world tour in which he spoke to scientific and lay audiences about their transmutation experiments in Japan and handed-out samples comprising small pieces of porcelain reactor vessels with tiny bits of adhering Gold that had been created therein. In July 1925, “Nature” published his Letter to the Editors in which he reported on their results and encouraged other scientists to try to repeat their provocative experiments.
Amazingly, as far as we can tell no one ever tried to repeat Nagaoka et al.’s landmark experiments. Even more incredibly, the entire area of inquiry involving electric discharge-triggered transmutations of elements essentially died-out worldwide by 1930 (Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932 and transmutation via neutron-capture was first elucidated by Taylor in 1935). In this document, we explore some of the possible underlying reasons that may have caused this totally unexpected historical twist.
In 2004, Cirillo & Iorio (Italy) transmuted Tungsten into Rhenium, Osmium, and Gold in a modern, roughly equivalent version of Nagaoka’s electric arc discharge experiments. In 2012 at an American Nuclear Society meeting, using a very different type of gaseous D2 thin-film permeation experimental method it had pioneered in back 2002, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reported transmutation of implanted Tungsten targets into Osmium and Platinum.
Widom & Larsen theory of neutron-catalyzed low energy nuclear reactions (as published in the “European Physical Journal C – Particles and Fields” - 2006 and in “Pramana – Journal of Physics” – 2010) both predicts and explains all of this earlier experimental transmutation data with Tungsten targets.
If a modern repetition of Nagaoka et al.’s 1920s experiments produced encouraging results, commercial transmutation of Gold might not be very far in the future. That said, as in many cases--- time will tell --- and as they say in Russia, “We shall live and we shall see.”
1. The History of the Atom
A Timeline by: Helena Brand, Nicole Reich,
Matthias Roth and Max Klug
2. Democritus 400BC
The theory of Democritus was that everything is composed of atoms, which are physically
but not geometrically indivisible. All atoms would then be indestructible with empty space
between them. The atoms differ in shape and size. Democritus said, "The more any
indivisible exceeds, the heavier it is."
Aristotle 332BC
The theory of Democritus was that everything is composed of atoms, which are physically
but not geometrically indivisible. All atoms would then be indestructible with empty space
between them. The atoms differ in shape and size. Democritus said, "The more any
indivisible exceeds, the heavier it is."
Dalton 1802
As an english chemist, meteorologist and physicist, Dalton researched about the Atomic Theory. After
describing experiments to ascertain the pressure of steam at various points between 0 and 100 °C (32 and
212 °F), Dalton concluded from observations on the vapour pressure of six different liquids, that the
variation of vapour pressure for all liquids is equivalent, for the same variation of temperature, reckoning
from vapour of any given pressure.
3. Dobereiner 1817
Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner was a German chemist who is best known for work that
foreshadowed the periodic law for the chemical elements. He is known for the
Dobereiner Triads which followed a similar pattern.
Berzelius 1828
As a Swedish Chemist he worked out the modern technique chemical formula
notation.He also analyzed 2000 compounds to provide the experimental basis for the
atomic theory.Berzelius also introduced the symbolism with which chemical formulas
are still written
Newlands 1864
Newlands was born in London and was the son of a Scottish Presbyterian minister.He
was born in 1837 and he was a English Chemist.He was one of the first to propound the
conception of periodicity among the chemical elements.
4. Mendeleev 1869
He arranged 63
known
elements to
form the
periodic table.
The elements
were arranged
by their atomic
He even mass.
predicted several
elements, that
were not
discovered at
that time
6. J.J. Thomson
He was the first to discover the electron. On
the 30th of April 1897 he declared that there is In 1998 he suggested that there is a „proton“.
a particle lighter than the lightest atom, However he could not prove this at that time.
hydrogen. This particle is called the electron.
7. Millikan 1910
Millikan researched the charge of an electron. Once repeated this experiment several
times, he declared that results could be explained as integer multiples of a common
value (1.592*10^-19 coulomb) the charge of a single electron. This number is slightly
lower than the modern value of 1.602 176 53(14) x 10−19 coulomb due to Millikan's use
of inaccurate value of the viscosity of air.
Rutherford 1911
Ruthford designed a new model of the atom called the Rutherford Model. It disagreed
with the “Plum Pudding Model” from J.J. Thompson. It showed a new way of looking at
an atom. He discovered that there is an area in the atom, which has far more energy in
a small volume than the rest. This is now called the “nucleus” of an atom.
Moseley 1913
Looking at X-Rays passing through elements, Moseley corrected Mendeleev´s version
of the periodic table. He then ordered the elements by their atomic number.
8. Other Interesting Events at that Time
Scientist
Proust
1913-1927
1909
Worldwar
Plastic was
invented
I begins 1927 BBC
is founded
in 1914
Bothe and
Chadwick
1930
