WO1991018397A1

WO1991018397A1 - Deuterium accumulation energy conversion apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1991018397A1
Application number: PCT/US1991/003281
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jerome Drexler
Original assignee: Jerome Drexler
Priority date: 1990-05-17
Filing date: 1991-05-10
Publication date: 1991-11-28
Also published as: JPH05507151A

Abstract

Method and apparatus (11) for promoting Li6OD electrolyte ionization of heavy water to thereby produce deuterons and lithons that are accelerated by an alternating current voltage and swept back and forth through a deuteron and lithon-permeable and absorptive accumulator (22) and collected in the interior of the accumulator. Two electrically insulated electrodes (17, 19) are spaced apart and immersed in the liquid (15) with an alternating current voltage impressed between them. The accumulator is positioned between the two electrodes and forms a structure through which the ions may flow, and which consists of a material that readily absorbs the hydrogen isotope deuterium and the lithium-6 ion. The accumulator material can absorb a fraction of the deuterons and lithons that would otherwise flow toward the instantaneous negative voltage electrode. The instantaneous negative electrode is electrically insulated from the deuterons and lithons, which cannot pick up a free electron. Thus, the deuterons and lithons are not converted to unwanted deuterium atoms and gas. Deuterons and lithons, absorbed into the accumulator may fuse or otherwise combine to produce heat energy.

Description

Deuterium Accumulation Energy Conversion Apparatus

Technical Field

This invention relates to apparatus and materi¬ als for production of thermal energy by conversion from other forms of energy-

Background Art

Electrically charged particles such as bare electrons or protons or muons are known to be fermions and to obey Fermi-Dirac statistics. Two like elementary particles such as two protons have like electrical charges so that they tend to repel one another. Further, these two like fermions obey the Pauli exclusion princi¬ ple so that, if the particles possess identical quantum numbers, the two identical particles will not occupy the same region of space at the same time, even if the iden¬ tical particles have no net electrical charge. The com¬ bination of two fermions in a nucleus, such as a neutron and a proton, which together form the nucleus of a deute¬ rium atom or ion, behaves as another type of particle, called a boson and obeying Bose-Einstein statistics rath¬ er than Fermi-Dirac statistics. This has been discussed recently by K. Birgitta haley, a theoretical chemist speaking at the Dallas meeting of the American Chemical Society in April, 1989. Particles that obey Bose-Einstein statistics tend to accumulate in the same region of space under some circumstances, in preference to staying apart as like fermions tend to do. This tendency of bosons to accumu¬ late in the same region of space is indicated by a quantum thermodynamic expression for the pressure in a system of bosons developed and discussed in Statistical Physics by L.D. Landau and E.M. Lifshitz, Addiεon-Wesley Co., 1958, p. 159. In this expression for pressure, the pressure developed by a system of Bosons is less than the pressure developed by a system of particles that are nei¬ ther Fermions nor bosons at the same concentration and temperature. This suggests that the boson particles ex- perience a modest attraction for one another that has its origin in quantum mechanical forces. haley has speculated that, because of the quantum effect features of particles such as deuterium nuclei, the natural repulsion between two such nuclei can be blocked inside a crystal so that the deuterium ions are not held apart by the combination of strong coulomb forces and quantum forces. Some workers speculate that, because deuterium nuclei might be brought very close to¬ gether inside a crystal, the deuterium nuclei could com- bine in a fusion process at enhanced rates, as compared to the infinitesimal rates observed at ordinary fluid densities for deuterium nuclei.

Lithium ions have been widely used in the elec¬ trolyte added to heavy water in certain experiments in- volving palladium by Pons and Fleischmann and many other researchers. The electrolyte used most commonly is LiOD, wherein most or all of the hydrogen in LiOH is replaced by deuterium. Most reports of generation of heat by these experiments indicated that the LiOD electrolyte had been used. In March, 1990, several physicists speculated that the excess enthalpy generated may come from the re¬ action

Li⁶ + D > 2 He⁴ + 22.4 MeV.

The excess energy of 22.4 MeV is carried by the kinetic energy of the two helium nuclei, and is dissipated in the host lattice used, which is usually palladium.

It is known that lithium reacts with hydrogen to form LiH, in which the hydrogen acts as a negative ion. This is evidenced by the fact that when this sub- stance is electrolyzed the hydrogen is liberated at the anode. Therefore it would be expected that the close proximity of lithium-6 ions and deuterium ions within the palladium lattice could lead to a strong chemical bond with the deuterium acting as a negative ion and the lith- ium-6 as a positive ion. In contrast, in the case of two deuterons the coulomb force would tend to push them apart. It is known that some metals will readily ac¬ cept substantial amounts of hydrogen or its isotopes into the interior of such metals and that such metals can be used to filter hydrogen isotopes from a stream of other substances. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,065, granted Septem- ber 27, 1988 to R. Penzhorne et al., it is disclosed that a hot palladium membrane will filter tritium and deuteri¬ um from CO molecules. The palladium membrane disclosed by Penzhorne et al. was used to filter exhaust gas from a fusion reactor. However, even where a metal such as palladium is chosen as an accumulation structure ("accumulator") for deuterium ions (deuterons) or lithium ions (lithons) , those deuterons and lithons that pick up electrons at the accumulation structure will no longer behave as bosons and may not manifest the desirable feature of high densi¬ ty accumulation within the palladium interior or lattice unless they separate from the electron and return to positive ions within the lattice. Also, lithons that pick up an electron at the palladium cathode in the prior art can deposit as lithium atoms on the accumulator, which can interfere with the accumulation process and/or the fusion process. This description refers to Lithium-6 which acts as a boson after losing its outer electron, whereas Lithium-7 does not act as a boson. When the deuterium and OD ions of heavy water reach the cathode and anode, respectively, they either pick up or give up electrons and become deuterium and oxygen atoms by the well-known process called electroly¬ sis. The electrolysis process consumes energy and is a factor in reducing the energy conversion efficiency of the apparatus unless these atoms recombine and give up heat energy. One object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that encourages a nuclear reaction within a deuterated palladium lattice to generate excess thermal energy. Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus that suppresses the tendency of the deuteri¬ um ions and lithium ions to pick up electrons at the ac¬ cumulator.

Another object of the invention is to suppress the electrolysis process which produces unwanted deuteri¬ um and oxygen gas, consumes energy, and creates bubbles that disrupt ion flow.

Another object of the invention is to suppress the tendency of the deuterium ions and lithium ions to be blocked or disrupted by deuterium gas as the deuterium ions and lithium ions approach the accumulator.

Summary of the Invention

These objects are met by apparatus that en- hances deuteron and lithon formation in primarily high purity heavy water, in which most of the hydrogen ions found in ordinary water are replaced by ions of the hy¬ drogen isotope deuterium. An LiOD electrolyte containing a substantial amount of Lithium-6 is added to ensure sig- nificant deuteron and lithon formation. The apparatus contains first and second electrodes, spaced apart from each other and electrically insulated from the liquid in which they are immersed. Alternatively the electrodes are not insulated from the liquid, but are connected to the alternating current voltage source through a large capacitor in one variation and directly to the voltage source in another variation. The voltage difference be¬ tween the two electrodes is sequentially switched from positive to negative and back again. An accumulator, in the form of a deuteron and lithon-absorbing wire mesh cage, helix or tube with apertures, is placed in the liq¬ uid between the first and second electrodes and is elec¬ trically isolated from the voltage source on the first and second electrodes, except for action of the electri¬ cal conductivity of the liquid. This accumulator has a surface layer of a material that readily absorbs deuter¬ ons and lithons into its interior, or the accumulator may be composed entirely of such material, which is usually a metal. In order to accumulate at the instantaneous nega¬ tive electrode, most of the deuterons and lithons pro¬ duced by use of an electrolyte must pass through the ac¬ cumulator. With a suitable choice of accumulator geome- try, a substantial fraction of the deuterons and lithons that approach the accumulator will be pulled into the interior of the accumulator material, combine with one another, and contribute to the production of energy therein. The apparatus promoting ion motion here in- eludes the first and second electrodes whose sequential voltage switching cause the ions to move back and forth through the accumulator. The accumulator attraction to deuterons and lithons is not diminished by accumulation of the deuterium ions at the instantaneous negative elec- trode. The accumulator is made of a deuterium absorbing material such as palladium or palladium composites. A fraction of the deuterons and lithons are caught and ab¬ sorbed by the accumulator material each time they pass through the accumulator. By this means the palladium accumulator becomes deuterated and may be referred to as β palladium. This process may take place in the cell or the accumulator may be precharged in another cell first. At least 65% of the interstitial sites in the β palladium should be filled with deuterons, and preferably about 85%. Since the solution also contains lithium-6 ions from the ionization of LiOD, lithons will also strike the accumulator. The lithium-6 ions are wave-like bosons and the deuterium ions are wave-like bosons. Thus they need not satisfy the Pauli exclusion prinicple inside the pal- ladium lattice and therefore can come very close together and may fuse within the lattice. Within the accumulator material, the deuterons and lithium-6 ions may act as Bosons and may fuse or otherwise combine to produce heat and other forms of energy.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention.

Figs. 2a, 2b, 2c are graphs of examples of the electrical voltage of the first electrode relative to the second electrode, as a function of time. Fig. 3a is a top plan view of a first alternate embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3b is a top plan view of a second alter¬ nate embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective cutaway view of the embodiment of Fig. 3b.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of two strands or fibers of material used in an accumulator of Fig. 1.

Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective cutaway views of other embodiments of the invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

With reference to Fig. 1, the apparatus 11 in one embodiment includes a container 13 containing pri¬ marily high purity heavy water D 0 and an amount of LiOD electrolyte in a concentration of 0.1 M to 1.0 M, prefer¬ ably closer to 0.1 M, to ionize and create a large ion population and increase the conductivity of the liquid. It is important that the LiOD contain at least seven per¬ cent of Lithium-6 with the remainder being Lithium-7. A higher percentage of Lithium-6 would be preferred. Two electrodes 17 and 19 are coated with an electrical insu¬ lating material such as plastic, varnish, glass, or cer¬ amic on the side facing the electrolyte and are immersed in the liquid 15 and spaced apart from each other and are connected by an alternating current voltage source 21 that imposes an alternating electrical voltage V₁₂(t) on the second electrode 19 relative to the electrical volt¬ age of the first electrode 17. Alternatively the electrodes are not insulated from the liquid, but are connected to voltage source V₁₂(⁺) through a large capac¬ itor in a first embodiment, and directly to the voltage source in a second embodiment. To prevent such metal electrodes in the first embodiment from providing elec¬ trons to the deuterons, metals such as gold, silver and platinum may be used to cover the surface of the elec¬ trodes. The source 21 may provide an alternating current voltage of a selected frequency and wave shape or a volt- age that is switched between positive and negative values so as to move the positive deuterons and lithons back and forth through the accumulator 22, thereby causing a large number of such ions to enter the accumulator. A pre¬ ferred embodiment of the voltage wave form would be a positive-to-negative-to-positive rectangular wave. The electrodes 17 and 19 thus serve as anode and cathode for the apparatus 11, but their roles are reversed as the positive and negative voltages are reversed. The D₂0 molecules in the liquid 15 are decomposed into negatively charged OD~ ions, which are drawn to the first electrode 17 when it has a positive voltage, and positively charged deuterons and lithons, which are drawn to the second electrode 19 when it has a negative voltage. An accumu¬ lator 22 is immersed in the liquid 15 and is positioned between the first and second electrodes 17 and 19.

In a preferred embodiment, the accumulator 22 may be left electrically floating or optionally have a time varying voltage applied to it. When deuterons or lithons enter it, accumulator 22 will temporarily pick up a positive charge. An OD ion with a negative charge will move to it and offset the positive charge. Thus, as the deuterons and lithons enter the accumulator, more and m re OD ions may become attached to the accumulator 22 and its charge will tend to be neutral. Preferably, the accumulator 22 extends between two walls of the container 13 in Fig. 1 so that the accu¬ mulator divides the container liquid 15 into a first portion that contains the first electrode 17 and a second portion that contains the second electrode 19.

The two electrodes 17 and 19 in Fig. 1 are electrically insulated from the electrolyte with an insu- lating material such as plastic, varnish, glass or ceram¬ ic. The insulators create a capacitance across which there is a voltage drop, which may be reduced by adding external capacitors in parallel with the insulation material to increase the associated capacitance across the insulating material. A thin metal coating preferably siler, gold or platinum may be applied to the insulator to provide a connection point for the external capaci¬ tors. Adding to the capacitance of the electrode insula¬ tion material with a parallel capacitance will increase the effective capacitance between that electrode and the liquid and will thus reduce the effective impedance and voltage drop across the insulation material. Thus, deuterium ions attracted to these electrodes do not make electrical contact and cannot pick up a free electron. Thus, very little deuterium or oxygen gas is generated by electrolysis.

The voltage V₁₂(t) may be: (a) a rectangular wave; (b) a trapezoidal wave; (c) a triangular wave; (d) a sawtooth wave; (e) a sinusoidal wave, as illustrated in Fig. 2; or any other suitable shape of wave.

In another embodiment, also covered by Fig. 1, (and in Figs. 3A, 3B, 4, 6 and 7) the electrodes 17 and 19 are not electrically insulated from the electrolyte and deuterium atoms and molecules and oxygen atoms and molecules are alternatingly produced adjacent to, and combine with each other adjacent to, each of these elec¬ trodes as the voltage difference V₁₂(t) changes sign pe¬ riodically. By this means the energy consumed in the electrolysis of D₂0 into D and 0 is returned in the form of heat as the D and 0 recombine to form D₂0. This proc¬ ess can occur at both uninsulated electrodes or at one uninsulated electrode if the other electrode is insulat¬ ed. Fig. 3a illustrates an embodiment in which first and second electrodes 31 and 33 are spaced apart and an accumulator 35 radially surrounds and is adjacent to the second electrode 31, with the first electrode 33 being positioned outside the region defined, in the plan view of Fig. 3a, by the accumulator. A high purity heavy water liquid 37 is provided in which the two electrodes 31 and 33 and the accumulator 35 are immersed, and an alternating voltage source 39 is connected between the two electrodes. In this embodiment, the accumulator 35 again divides the container liquid 37 into two portions, and most of the deuterons and lithons in the liquid 37 must pass through the accumulator 35 in order to accumu¬ late at the second electrode. in Fig. 3b a coaxial arrangement of electrodes is used in which a first electrode 32 radially surrounds the accumulator 35, which radially surrounds the second electrode 31. The first and second electrodes may be formed by a circle of rods, or may be cylindrical or hel- ical.

Deuterium ions and lithium-6 ions are produced by ionization in conjunction with an LiOD electrolyte in high purity heavy water, which has a high concentration of deuterium atoms present in the form D₂0. The two electrodes in Figs. 1, 3a and 3b may be of conventional design and materials, with an alternating voltage maximum magnitude |v₁₂(t)| in the range of 1 to 100 volts, im¬ pressed across the liquid between the first electrode and the second electrode. Fig. 4 is a perspective view il- lustrating the embodiment of Fig. 3b.

As illustrated in the cross-sectional view of Fig. 5, the accumulator 35 used in the embodiments dis¬ closed here may have a surface layer 40 of a selected thickness, with the surface layer being composed of a metal such as palladium, palladium composite or palladium alloy. The accumulator material may also be entirely composed of one or more of the foregoing materials. Fig. 6 illustrates another embodiment, in which a first electrode 41 radially surrounds and is spaced apart from a second electrode 43, with both electrodes being immersed in high purity heavy water 45 with an Li⁶OD electrolyte added thereto. A deuteron and lithon accumulator 47, shaped as a helix or other similar con¬ tinuous three-dimensional curve, radially surrounds the second electrode 43, is radially surrounded by the first electrode 41, and is radially spaced apart from each of the two electrodes. The accumulator 47 includes a deu¬ teron and lithon-absorbing material, and the associated helical curve is preferably wound so that the distance that separates two adjacent "cycles" of the curve is ap¬ proximately equal to the wire diameter. An alternating voltage source 49 connects the first and second elec¬ trodes 41 and 43 and imposes a voltage difference V₁₂(t) that alternates in sign as with the preceding voltage sources. The accumulator 47 is electrically floating in the liquid 45, and the first and second electrodes 41 and 43 each have an electrically insulating coating between the electrode and the liquid 45. Alternatively the accu¬ mulator may have a time varying voltage applied to it to change the distribution of ions adjacent to it. Also, alternatively the electrodes 41 and 43 are not insulated from the liquid, but are each connected through a large capacitor to voltage source V₁₂ (t) in one embodiment or directly to the voltage source in another embodiment as described previously. Such electrodes would be prefera¬ bly coated with gold, silver or platinum. Fig. 7 illustrates another embodiment, wherein a first electrode 51 radially surrounds and is spaced apart from a second electrode 53, with both electrodes being immersed in a high purity heavy water 55 with an LiOD electrolyte added thereto. A deuteron and lithon accumulator 57, in the form of a tube or cylindrical shell (tube radius not necessarily constant) with a plu¬ rality of apertures 58 therein, radially surrounds and is spaced apart from the second electrode 53. The accumula- tor 57 is radially surrounded by an is spaced apart from the first electrode 51 and is electrically floating in the liquid 55. The accumulator 57 includes a deuteron and lithon-absorbing material. An alternating voltage source 59 connects the first and second electrodes 51 and 53 and imposes a voltage difference V₁₂(t) that alter¬ nates in sign. The first and second electrodes 51 and 53 each have an electrically insulating layer between the electrode and the liquid 55. Alternatively the electrodes 51 and 53 are not insulated from the liquid, but are each connected through a large capacitor to voltage source V₁₂(t) in one embodi¬ ment or directly to the voltage source in another embodi¬ ment as described previously. Such electrodes would be preferably coated with gold, silver or platinum.

The cylindrically shaped first electrode shown in any of Figs. 4, 6 and 7 may be replaced by an elec¬ trode that is a wire mesh cage, a helical rod or a tube with apertures therein, similar to any of the accu ula- tors shown in Figs. 4, 6 and 7.

If a first three-dimensional body, such as the second electrode 33 in Fig. 4, is oriented more or less parallel to a longitudinal axis AA that passes through the first body, a second body will be said to "radially surround" the first body if a plane that perpendicularly intersects the longitudinal axis and intersects the first body to define a first planar figure (the first body boundary in that plane) also intersects the second body in a second planar figure (the second body boundary in the plane) and the first planar figure is contained in the second planar figure.

Reilly and Sandrock have discussed the use of metal hydrides as a storage medium for hydrogen and its isotopes in "Hydrogen Storage in Metal Hydrides", Scien- tific American (February 1980), pp. 119-130. These au¬ thors have noted that materials such as those set forth above for a surface layer used for hydrogen storage has a higher hydrogen storage or acceptance capacity than an equal volume of liquid hydrogen or gaseous hydrogen main¬ tained at a pressure of 100 atmospheres. Theoretically, palladium, which has characteristic valences of +2 and +4, could accept and store two to four times as many deuterium atoms or ions as the number of palladium atoms present. However, a more realistic ratio of the maximum number of deuterium atoms or ions present to the number of palladium atoms present may be about 0.6. The numeri¬ cal density of solid palladium is about 6.75 x 10²² Pd atoms cm^-3 so that a realizable average density of deute¬ rium atoms bound into a Pd-based lattice could be about 4 x 10²² D atoms or ions cm^"3. This density of deuterium within the lattice has the potential to produce substan¬ tial deuterium-related fusion reactions and excess ener- gy.

Jones et al. in "Observation of Cold Nuclear Fusion in Condensed Matter", Nature (1989), reports on detection of neutrons resulting from deuterium-deuterium fusion in a metallic titanium or palladium electrode. These workers used an electrolyte as a mixture of 160 grams of deuterium oxide D₂0 plus 0.2 grams of each of the metal salts FeS0₄.7H₂0, NiCl₂.6H₂0, PdCl₂, CaC0₃, Li₂, S0₄.H₂0, NaS0₄.10H₂0, CaH₄ (P0₄)₂.H₂0, TiOS0₄.H₂S0₄.8H₂0. The pH of the electrolyte was adjust- ed to less than 3.0, using the addition of HN0₃. After electrolysis was begun, oxygen bubbles were observed to form immediately at the anode. However, hydrogen or deuterium bubbles were observed to form at the negative electrode (Pd or Ti) only after many minutes of electrol- ysis, suggesting the rapid absorption of deuterium into this electrode initially. No generation of excess power or energy was reported.

Fleischmann and Pons, Electrochemically Induced Nuclear Fusion of Deuterium, J. Electroanal. Chem. Vol. 261 (1989), pp. 301, and at The First Annual Conference on Cold Fusion, March 28-31, 1990, report on the genera¬ tion of thermal energy in palladium in an electrolysis cell using heavy water, a palladium cathode, a platinum helix anode and a 0.1 M LiOD electrolyte solution. Gen¬ eration of excess enthalpy was reported.

In the Fleischmann-Pons cell the only elec¬ trodes are a palladium cathode and a platinum anode. The cathode plays a dual role in both accumulating the deu¬ terons and lithons and in converting the deuterons to a deuterium gas.

The invention disclosed in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 physically separates the step of promoting ion acceler- ation by the positive and negative electrodes from the step of accumulation of deuterons and lithons within the interior of the accumulator material that readily accepts and stores those ions. The tendency for electron pick up by deuterium ions and lithium ions that have accumulated at the negative voltage electrode as in the prior art is suppressed in this invention, thus permitting more of the deuterium and lithium-6 ions to remain bosons and also avoiding the energy loss associated with creation of un¬ wanted deuterium and oxygen gas.

Claims

1. Apparatus for production of energy through deuteron and lithon accumulation, the apparatus comprising: a container containing primarily high purity liquid heavy water and an Li⁶OD electrolyte; a first electrically insulated electrode im¬ mersed in the liquid; a second electrically insulated electrode, im¬ mersed in the liquid and spaced apart from the first electrode; an alternating voltage source, connected be¬ tween the first and second electrodes, to supply an al¬ ternating voltage difference between the two electrodes and across the electrode capacitances and across the ion¬ ized liquid to cause the deuterons and lithons to alter- natingly move toward the first electrode and toward the second electrode; an accumulator including a deuteron and lithon- permeable material throughout or as a surface layer and immersed in the liquid at a position lying between and spaced apart from the two electrodes, to intercept a fraction of the deuterons and lithons during each pass through the accumulator as the deuterons and lithons move alternatingly toward the first electrode and toward the second electrode; and energy removal means for removing thermal ener¬ gy from the accumulator.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said deuteron and lithon permeable metal is drawn from the class consisting of the materials palladium, palladium composite or palla¬ dium alloy.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said surface layer has a thickness of at least 25 microns.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said alternating current voltage has a wave form that is drawn from a class of wave forms consisting of a sinusoidal wave, a rectangular wave, a triangular wave, a sawtooth wave, and a trapezoidal wave.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said voltage wave form has a peak difference across said liquid that lies in the range 1 to 100 volts.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first and sec¬ ond electrically insulated electrodes are electrically insulated from said liquid by a coating material that is drawn from a class of electrically insulating materials consisting of plastic, varnish, glass, and ceramic.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said electrodes insulate said alternating voltage source from the liquid by means of a capacitor between said electrode and said voltage source.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said accumulator radially surrounds said first electrode.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said accumulator is a wire mesh cage of generally cylindrical shape.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said accumulator is a rod of generally helical shape.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said accumulator is a tube having a plurality of apertures therein.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said second elec¬ trode radially surrounds said accumulator.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said second elec¬ trode is a wire mesh cage of generally cylindrical shape.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said second elec¬ trode is a rod of generally helical shape.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said second elec¬ trode is a tube having a plurality of apertures therein.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a ca¬ pacitance positioned between and connected to one of said electrodes in parallel with a capacitance that exists across said insulation of said electrode, in order to increase the effective capacitance between said electrode and said liquid.

17. Apparatus for production of energy through deuteron and lithon accumulation, the apparatus comprising: a container containing primarily high purity liquid heavy water and an Li⁶OD electrolyte; a first electrode immersed in the liquid; a second electrode, immersed in the liquid and spaced apart from the first electrode, with at most one of the first and second electrodes being electrically insulated from the liquid; an alternating voltage source, connected be¬ tween the first and second electrodes, to supply an al¬ ternating voltage difference between the two electrodes, to cause the deuterons and lithons to alternatingly move toward the first electrode and toward the second elec¬ trode; an accumulator including a deuteron and lithon- permeable material throughout or as a surface layer and immersed in the liquid at a position lying between and spaced apart from the two electrodes, to intercept a fraction of the deuterons and lithons during each pass through the accumulator as the deuterons and lithons move alternatingly toward the first electrode and toward the second electrode; and energy removal means for removing thermal ener¬ gy from the accumulator.

18. The apparatus of ciaim 17, wherein said deuteron and lithon permeable metal is drawn from the class consisting of the materials palladium, palladium composite or palla¬ dium alloy.

19. A method for production of energy through deuteron and lithon accumulation, the method comprising the steps of: providing a container containing primarily high purity liquid heavy water; providing an Li⁶OD electrolyte in the liquid to ionize the heavy water; providing two electrodes, spaced apart and im¬ mersed in the liquid; providing an alternating voltage source con¬ nected to the first and second electrodes to cause deu¬ terons and lithons to move back and forth between the two electrodes as the voltage between them alternates in sign; and providing an accumulator between said elec¬ trodes consisting of a deuteron and lithon-permeable ma¬ terial throughout or as a surface layer that is immersed in the liquid at a position between the two electrodes, whereby deuterons and lithons are accumulated at high density in the accumulator and produces energy by combination of adjacent deuterium and lithium-6 parti¬ cles.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of choosing a capacitor to insert between said electrodes and said alternating voltage source to insulate said voltage source from said liquid.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of choosing said accumulator material from the class con¬ sisting of palladium, palladium composite or palladium alloy.