The chemical activity of boron has been measured for compositions throughout the Mo-B system between 1800 and 2200 K using a mass spectrometer. A complete thermodynamic analysis is given. Based on this data and previously reported work, the Mo-B phase diagram has been refined. A value of 137.4 ± 0.2 kcal/mol (574.9 ± 0.8 kJ/mol) at 298.15 K was determined for the second law enthalpy of vaporization of elemental boron. A photon counting pyrometer is described which permits temperatures near 2000 K to be determined with a precision of ±0.2 K. By using this instrument, second law enthalpies of vaporization can be measured with an accuracy as good as that obtained from the third law method.
Tantalum carbide and niobium carbide samples with carbon-to-metal molar ratios varying from 0.754 to 0.987 for tantalum carbide and from 0.70 to 0.977 for niobium carbide were examined for superconductivity. Both niobium and tantalum carbides were found to be superconducting with transition temperatures which vary with composition. The major conclusion is that the highest temperature is reached for the stoichiometric composition and any deviation therefrom results in a lowering and eventual disappearance (less than 1.05°K) of T c .
There is no topic more relevant or important today than energy. With stable, cheap and non-polluting energy sources we have the means to refine and even manufacture the air, water and food we need to live and travel in comfort. Ours is the first generation with a globally uncertain energy future, with no assurance that energy resources will continue to expand to meet our needs. With this background it is no surprise that the results reported on March 23, 1989, by my good friends Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons in Salt Lake City, Utah, were greeted with such a universal outpouring of interest, hope and expectation. When all other resources based on chemical and conventional nuclear fission are drained, our only prospect for a sustained energy future and thus for the continued growth or even survival of civilization is the use of fusion power. Such power is provided by the fusion energy of the sun or it can be obtained from either hot fusion or cold fusion here on earth.The first of these options, tapping the fusion energy of the sun, will certainly help to satisfy our future energy demand although solar power is never likely to meet the needs of dense urban and industrial regions. Lack of progress in addressing materials issues make the prospects for practical energy production via hot fusion less likely now than when first proposed over 50 years ago. This is a course on which we cannot pin our hope for the future of mankind. One is left with the third option, cold fusion, using whichever acronym one prefers. There is no man better positioned to describe the issues, history and results, and assess realistically the opportunities and future of cold fusion research than Ed Storms. This is more than a science book or a book about a scientific phenomenon, in the broader context this book addresses our future.Searching for a fitting way to complement Ed Storms masterful work I thought to introduce it as the first textbook in the emerging field of cold fusion and condensed matter nuclear science. I have no doubt that this book "The Science of Low Energy Nuclear Reaction" will serve as a valuable reference and trusted guide for many years to come. There is a wealth of experimental detail and it was a pleasure for me to read this manuscript and be reminded of the excellent and difficult work undertaken and completed by so many old friends over the years. Storms also includes a very valuable discussion in Chapter 7 covering what is measured and how, providing a useful primer for experimentalists newly entering the field.One might, however, reasonably argue that the first textbook in any field signals the end of the discovery phase and the onset of the new mature phase of consolidation. Textbooks also tend to be difficult to read. For both reasons I am personally happy, as I am sure the reader will be, that this book is not a textbook. vii This book has several interesting facets, including the subject, the author, the content and the potential readers. Each of them deserves some attention. The topic of cold fusion has...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.