Robert Nelson : Ken Shoulder's
Hal Fox : Charge Cluster Energy Devices ( PDF )
Ken Shoulders' Electrum Validum (EV)
Robert A. Nelson
Kenneth R. Shoulders has received five US Patents for his discovery and development High Density Charge Cluster (HDCC) technology. Shoulders describes the HDCC entity as "a relatively discrete, self-contained, negatively charged, high density state of matter... [a bundle of electrons that] appears to be produced by the application of a high electrical field between a cathode and an anode." He has given it the name "Electrum Validum" (EV), meaning "strong electron", from the Greek "elektron" (electronic charge) and the Latin "valere" (to be strong, having power to unite).
Ken Shoulders suggests that EVs travel in an electromagnetic container, a potential well with a depth of about 2 kv. The electromagnetic field attracts a few ions, and they give the EV its mass. In a conventional electron beam, the containment is due to an external electrostatic or magnetic field, since electrons repel each other. Though an EV is a discrete bundle of electrons, it prefers to communicate with other objects, and disintegrates if it has nothing to do. An EV also can be conceived of as an atom without a nucleus, or as a spherical monopole oscillator. EVs exhibit soliton behavior with number densities equal to Avagadro's number. These non-neutral electron plasmoids contain various levels of binding energy whichexceed that of atoms, and allows for new types of reactions with matter.
An EV is relatively small (about 0.1 micrometer) and has a high (-) electron charge (typically about 1011 electrons, minimally 108 electrons). There is an upper limit of 1 (+) ion per 100,000 electrons. EVs attain a velocity on the order of one-tenth the speed of light under applied fields. Though the EV has a preferred quantum-level structure of approximately 1 micrometer diameter, EVs in the range of 1/10 micrometer diameter have been observed.
The EV probably is a spheroid, but it may be toroidal and possess a fine structure. Lone EVs are rarely observed. They tend to form closed "chains" -- quasi-stable, ring-like structures as large as 20 micrometers in diameter (Fig. 1a, b). Although they are not vortexes or filaments, such rings can form chains of rings that are free to rotate and twist around each other. The spacing of EV beads in a chain is approximately equal to the diameter of the individual beads. EV chains appear to be tangled when they are launched from the cathode, but they automatically rearrange themselves into rings. Shoulders does "not mean to imply that there is an actual untwisting occurring, but rather that the nodes of a complex pattern are somehow moving." The EV chains hit a surface without rotation, translation or skewing.
EVs can be found in gross electrical discharges (lightning, sparks, etc.), but they are not practical in that form. Shoulders says, "The EV is formed and propagates to the anode whenever the DC or pulse voltage rises to the point at which field emission begins a runaway switching process aided by metallic vapor from the cathode emission site. This process happens 100% of the time." Shoulders' patents describe devices for propagating, isolating, selecting and manipulating EVs so that thermal energy, electrical power, and other work can be extracted from them. Theirpath can be switched or varied in length for use with a camera, oscilloscope, or panel display. Shoulders' EV devices have properties superior to any other technology.
Another patent is pending for the remediation of nuclear waste by EVs. This is a priceless application of this technology; it will be the basis of a great new industry of inestimable value to humanity and the planet.
An EV can be generated at the tip of a sharply pointed electrode when a large negative charge (2-10 kv) is applied. A dielectric plate (preferably fused quartz or alumina, typically 0.0254 cm thick) intervenes between the emitter cathode and the collector anode.(Figs. 2, 3)
The EV makes a streak of light as it travels across the surface of the dielectric, and imparts a localized surface charge. Unless this charge is dispersed, it will cause the next EV to follow another path. A witness plate of metal foil may be positioned to intercept the EVs, and will sustain visible damage from their impact. The foil thus serves to detect and locate the entities even if they are invisible ("black EVs").
The anode current value can vary from 1 to 6 amperes. Shoulders has found that a 1-ampere level of anode current is produced by a chain of 3-5 EV beads whose overall diameter is about 3 micrometers. A sufficiently low load resistor must be used so that the voltage will not rise and deflect the EV. For a 2 kv pulse, a rise of 500 volts at the anode is a reasonable maximum. The rise rate is very high, and a wide-band oscilloscope is required to measure it. Otherwise, a capacitively coupled load must be provided for the EV. There is an upper EV size or current limit that can be collected for any particular wire size.
The EV generator is typically about 10 mm. long, but the generation and manipulation of EVs can be accomplished with structures as small as 10 micrometers. The materials used in its construction need be very stable and durable to withstand the high energy of EVs. The generator also can be tubular, and it can be designed to operate in a vacuum or in a gaseous atmosphere. In a high vacuum system, the space between the cathode and anode should be less than 1 mm for a 2 kv charge. In a gaseous atmosphere of a few torrs pressure, the distance between the electrodes can extend to over 60 cm if a ground plane is positioned next to or around the tube.
The negative pulse can vary from a few nanoseconds to continuous DC without unduly influencing the production of EVs. A series resistor is placed between the pulse voltage source and the EV generator, and a scope is used to monitor the voltage. The current is calculated from the resistor value and the voltage drop.Long pulse conditions in a gas atmosphere require the use of an input resistor to prevent a sustained glow discharge within the tube. The discharge is easily quenched under low pressure or vacuum conditions. Using a pulse period of 0.1 microsecond, for example, a resistor value of 500 to 1500 ohms is practical for operation in either a vacuum or gaseous regime.
The formation of an EV is a very fast event which cannot be observed clearly on a conventional oscilloscope; all that shows is a disturbance and a small step for a few nanoseconds. Ken Shoulders has developed a "picoscope" which performs as anoscilloscope for waveform measurements in real time to 10-13 seconds.
The cathode may be constructed of copper or a wide variety of other materials (Ag, Ni, Al, etc.). It must have a sharp tip or edge so that a very high field can concentrate there. However, the dissipation of energy by EV production destroys the electrode tip, which must be regenerated. This can be accomplished with a liquid conductor such as mercury. Non-metal conductors also may be used instead (i.e., glycerin doped with potassium iodide, or nitroglycerin/nitric acid). The pulse rate of the power applied to the cathode must be low enough to allow migration of the liquid conductor.
The cathode also can be embedded within a guide groove in the dielectric base. Such a cathode may be made of metallic paste fired into an alumina base. Molybdenum is preferable because silver or copper are too soluble in mercury to be useful in such a film circuit. A surface embedded cathode enables the propagation of EVs with only 500 volts and a much higher pulse rate.
EVs may be launched across a gap between the cathode and dielectric guide if the end of the cathode forms an acute angle. In a low-pressure atmosphere (i.e, Hg or Xe at 10-2 torr), an EV launcher can be operated with a cathode pulse as low as 200 volts. If the dimensions of the components are reduced to a minimum (i.e., 1 micrometer thickness of the dielectric base), an EV can be launched with less than 100 volts difference between the cathode and anode. (Fig. 4)
The operation of a wetted cathode produces vaporous products that form a (+) ion cloud and enhance the production of EVs. However, these vapors are considered as contaminants that must be stripped away from the EVs. This is done by a tunnel dielectric separator which contain the contaminants while the EVs exit toward the collector anode. The separator is provided with a counterelectrode located on the exterior of the tunnel and maintained at a positive potential relative to the cathode. The anode is positively charged relative to the counterelectrode. Typical voltage values are in the range of 4 kv on the cathode, 2 kv on the counter-electrode, and 0 on the anode. If the separator tunnel is constructed of semiconductor material, the tunnel itself can serve as a counter-electrode.
EVs tend to follow fine structural details such as surface scratches and imperfections. Thus, EVs can be guided by providing a smooth groove or an intersection of two dielectric surfaces or planes at an angle less than 180o. The groove needs be only a few micrometers wide and deep. The guiding effect may be enhanced by a tubular dielectric guide provided with an exterior counterelectrode or ground plane. The guide channel can be as small as 20 micrometers in diameter without restricting the EVs. If an EV is larger than the channel, it will bore out a wider pathway for itself. Once this is done, no further damage will be done by subsequent EVs. As EVs travel across a dielectric surface, they seem to synchronize their paths in a 180o out-of-phase relationship.
An EV can be guided across the surface of a dielectric if a positively charged ground plane or counterelectrode is positioned on the opposite side of the dielectric. The path of the EV also can be influenced by RC (Resistance/Capacitance) and LC (Induction/Capacitance) guides.
A gaseous environment can be used to enhance the guidance of EVs. Mercury and xenon work particularly well. In a low pressure atmosphere (typically 10-3 to 10-2 torr), the EV chain rises slightly from the dielectric surface and no longer interacts disruptively with it. The efficiency of transmission is increased accordingly, and the EVs can travel further between electrodes. Surface charge effects dissipate after an EV is propagated in a gaseous environment. If the unit is pulsed without any gas in the channel and with the anode at an excessive distance for the applied voltage, there is no EV formation. This condition is called "flaring". (Fig. 5)
At higher atmospheres, the EVs lift further from the dielectric surface and are cushioned from it by the gas guide. The groove guide and counterelectrode create a wedge-shaped gas pressure gradient which helps guide the EVs. In addition, the interior of the groove can be given a coating of resistor material to provide surface charge suppression.
When an EV moves through an atmosphere without RC guidance, it is accompanied by a visible streamer. A narrow beam of light appears to precede the streamer, possibly due to ionization of gas by the streamer. This forward light beam can be deflected by objects, and the EV and its streamer will follow it. This property makes possible the use of optical mirror guides for EVs. The mirrors should be constructed of material with a high dielectric constant and good reflectivity in the ultraviolet region. They need be only a few micrometers on a side.
When an EV approaches any circuit element, it depresses the potential of that element, which then becomes less attractive to the EV. Inductive elements are very susceptible to this effect and can be used to provide an LC guide for EVs. LC guides can be made in a variety of shapes, such as laminar planar designs or quadripoles that operate without the need of producing image forces. The poles should be quarter wave structures at the approach frequency of the EV; this is determined by the speed of the EV and its distance from the pole elements. They should be at least 20 micrometers apart and enclosed with conductive shields. (Fig. 6)
If an EV crosses a rough surface, it loses electrons which produce a surface charge that retards subsequent EVs. The surface charge can be suppressed in several ways. The dielectric base can be coated with alumina doped with chromium, tungsten or molybdenum to provide bulk conductivity to the substrate. The resistance must not be less than 200 ohms per square inch. The effect can be enhanced by decreasing the thickness of the substrate. The surface charge also can be removed by photoconductive processes if the dielectric is composed of diamond carbon doped with graphite. Another method is bombardment-induced conductivity, activated by the high-speed electrons from EVs.
Beads of EVs can be isolated from their chains for use in a process or device. Approximately 5 EV chains, each containing 1-12 beads, can be extracted from a total charge by a selector device provided with an extractor electrode that is positively charged with about 2 kv. A series of EV separators permits extraction of EVs of a specific binding energy from a multitude of chains with a wide range of binding energies. (Figs. 7-9)
A large burst of EVs can be divided by a splitter apparatus into many closely timed or synchronized sub-events. An EV splitter is constructed by interrupting a guide device with narrow secondary channels which intersect the main guide channel at positions where the EVs propagate. A single EV can be expected to turn into a side channel in each event, but the crowding effect of multiple EVs prevents the total group from diverting into a splitter. Multiple EVs generated by a single pulse may be split up to produce EV arrival signals at two or more locations, either simultaneously or with variable time delays. The guide components may include turns which selectively change the direction of EV propagation.
The direction of EV travel also can be influenced by transverse electric fields. The extent of deflection depends on the size of the deflecting field and its time period.. The deflecting field can be turned on/off or varied in strength to provide selective deflection. The deflection switch must not be near any guide channel that would interfere with transverse deflection of EVs. Degenerative or regenerative voltage feedback from the passing EVs can be used to communicate with a deflection switch by a push-pull device or filter. The deflection voltage can be as low as a few tens of volts. Deflection switching can be used to design multi-electrode sources (triodes, tetrodes, etc.). In general, techniques used in the operation of vacuum tubes can be applied to EV devices.
The use of field-forming structures such as deflection electrodes make possible the construction of an EV oscilloscope with a phosphor screen, optical microscope, or electron (video) camera. Accordingly, single event waveforms in the 0.1 picosecond range can be observed with a "picoscope" embedded in the EV generator. (Fig. 10)
EVs also can be generated in "electrodeless" devices which use radio frequency energy to stimulate a gas (preferably xenon) at 0.1 atmosphere pressure. External metallic electrodes are excited with approximately 3 kv which is transmitted through a tubular or planar dielectric envelope to a formation chamber which acts as a "virtual cathode". A counterelectrode ground plane cannot completely circumscribe such an envelope, because it would prevent the electromagnetic radiation signal from propagating out of the tube. A wire helix is used, terminating in an impedance-matched load. (Fig. 11)
For example, if a 30 cm helix with a delay of approximately 16 nanoseconds at 200 ohms impedance is wrapped around a tube with an outside diameter of 3 mm (1 mm. i.d., 10-2 Xe atmosphere), an EV can be launched with a 1 kv source at a rate of 100 pulses/second through a 1500 ohm input resistor, with an anode voltage of zero and a target load of 50 ohms to achieve an output voltage of -2 kv on a 200 ohm delay line and an output voltage of -60 volts at the target. The waveform generated in the helix is a function of the gas pressure. Using these parameters, a sharp negative pulse (16 ns long) was produced, followed by a flat pulse that was linearly related to the gas pressure. At minimal gas pressure, the flat pulse can be eliminated.
The propagation of EVs through a gas atmosphere produces very thin, bright ion streamers in the gas or along the wall of the envelope. In an electrodeless device, other EVs may follow along the same sheath of an ion streamer formed by a preceding EV. The thickness of the ion sheath increases as multiple EVs propagate along the same streamer. If the gas pressure is very low, EVs will propagate without the formation of a visible streamer. Such are known as "black" EVs.
The EVs generated within an electrodeless envelope can be used in a traveling wave tube. Such devices provides good coupling with a conventional electrical circuit and can exchange energy with it. Electromagnetic radiation from microwaves to visible light frequencies can be generated by EV pulses and coupled to an electrical circuit by adjusting the parameters of the transmission line and the EV generation energy. (Fig. 12)
The generation of EVs requires the rapid concentration of a very high, uncompensated electronic charge in a small volume. The previously described field emission processes produce metal vapors from the cathode by thermal evaporation and ionic bombardment. Pure field emission generation of EVs can be accomplished with fast switching in a high vacuum environment. The emission process must be switched on/off before the emitter overheats and evaporates; that is, faster than the thermal time constant of the cathode (typically less than 1 picosecond). The field emitter has critical limiting size of approximately 1 micrometer lateral dimension. Larger cathodes suffer undue thermal strain, whereas "below the one micrometer size range, the field emitter has the advantage of large cooling effects provided by small elements having a naturally high surface-to-volume ratio."
The emitter can have a positive bias if it is over 2 kv; the electrodes are spaced about 1 mm apart. The extractor electrode must be coated with a resistor material (approximately 10-2 to 10-6 ohms).
Ken Shoulders' has also built a "picopulser" to control the generation of EVs in less than a picosecond. (Fig. 13)
If an EV is destroyed completely, X-rays ae produced. When an EV is caught in a low-inductance circuit, it releases its energy so rapidly as to produce X-ray photons with about 2 kv of energy. The EV impact also can produce thermionic pulse emisssions andphenomena --- most notably, atomic transmutations. (Fig. 14)
EVs can be used as an electron source. Secondary emission of electrons from passing EVs can be collected out the top of the RC guide groove, but there is a relatively long time constant for recharge. LC guides have a much faster recharge rate and can be used to generate radio frequencies.
According to Shoulders, "There is a reciprocal relationship between the EV velocity along the channel guide and the output cavities, in conjunction with the collector electrode arms, that determines the frequency of the radiation provided. The frequency produced is equal to the speed of the EV multiplied by the inverse of the spacing between the slots... The shapes of the openings in the counterelectrode determine the wave forms to be produced. Aperiodic waveforms, which may be employed for driving various computer or timing functions, can be generated... by appropriately shaping the counterelectrode openings... The load on the collector electrode must be proportioned according to the bandwidth of the generated waveform."
LC guide structures also can be shaped as "wigglers" or circulators. A charge under acceleration radiates energy at a frequency which is determined by the acceleration of the charge. Intensity varies in relation to "the geometry of the radiation source and the number of charges involved. Thus a radiation source can be produced by a slowly moving charge in a small radius or a fast moving charge in a large radius. The time for one complete circulation defines the frequency. Furthermore, the radiation pattern from a circulating charge is equivalent to two lines of charges oscillating in a sinusoidal manner with a phase angle of 90o to each other." Harmonic radiators, phased array antennas, etc., also can be utilized.
LRC (Inductance/Resistance/Capacitance) resonant guide circuits can be designed for many applications; i.e., toimprove the recharge time constant without necessitating doping of the dielectric material. Stray charges are removed by a thin metal coating on the walls of the guide. According to Shoulders, "The coating would optimally be in the range of 200-500 angstroms, where good optical reflectance is obtained for the EV, but where the resistance along the channel is moderately high. Aluminum and molybdenum are good classes of materials for coating the guide... [Fig. 15]
"The circulators and the wiggler type of radiators... are directly applicable to a wide range of collision avoidance and communications applications where the generator array is directly exposed to the environment being radiated... By using EV circulators having... a frequency of 3 GHz (a wavelength of 10 cm), this entails the use of a circulator having a physical dimension of 3 cm for light velocity circulation or 4.3 cm for 1/10 light velocity EVs. These radiators... can be placed in an array of thousands laid out on a plane substrate of only a few inches on a side... For a pulse system, they have to be turned on at different times as well as phase controlled. This is a complex switching pattern for thousands of sources, but it is within the capability of an EV switching system to do this..."
A phenomenon occurs when dealing with EVs that is not available when using conventional wiring methods. Crossed guides can be established at 90o to each other (on XYZ axes) without the effect of "shorting" that would occur in a wired circuit.
The passage of an EV along a traveling wave tube or planar device results in sudden accumulation of negative charge yielding direct current at the collector electrode. Under optimal conditions, the output of the device exceeds that necessary to generate the EV. Shoulders offers, "For example... an input pulse of 1 kv through the input resistor of 1500 ohms, and an output pulse of 2 kv through the helix having an impedance of 200 ohms, the ratio of the output peak power to the input peak power is 20,000,667 = 30. This result must be multiplied by the ratio of the width of the output pulse to the input pulse width, which was given as 16 ns¸ 600 ns = 0.027. The resulting corrected energy conversion factor is 0.027 x 30 - 0.81... A portion of the input energy is lost to excitation of the gas in the traveling wave tube...
"Under preferred conditions, the gas pressure is reduced to the lowest value that will sustain the EV generation... With the input pulse length reduced to 5 ns for example, the corrected energy conversion factor becomes (16¸ 5)¸ 30 = 96. That is to say, with the input pulse lengths reduced as noted, energy available at the output of the helix of the traveling wave tube is 96 times the energy input to the traveling wave tube, in addition to the energy consumed within the traveling wave tube and the energy available in the form of collected particles at the collector electrode.
"Even a greater energy conversion factor is available if the input pulse is further reduced; an EV may be generated with an input pulse as short as 10-3 ns. The EV is a mechanism for tapping a source of energy [probably the zero-point] and providing that energy for conversion to usable electrical form... I believe a large portion of the electron charges contained within an EV are masked, so that... the EV does not manifest to external measuring devices a charge size equal to the total charge contained within an EV."
The residual charge carried by a 3-micrometer EV striking an electrode is 2 x 1010 electrons. As many as 3.5 x 1014 electrons can be shed by a 10-micrometer EV while traveling 1 mm. There are some indications that an EV may explode once it reaches a critical lower charge or density.
Shoulders has calculated that the current density of an EV is about 6 x 1011 amps/cm3. Its rate of emission would be approximately 1.7 x 106 amps. The lifetime of an EV is approximately 3 x 10 -11 second. His calculations show the charge density to be about 6.6 x 1023 electrons/cm3 , which approximates that of a solid.
Shoulders claims that "At this point I can fall back on the paper of Bergstrom... and claim that the motion of contained charges is indeed what binds them to the remaining charges forming the entity. At this same juncture, I can step over into the holy region of the vacuum, or polarizable ether, as Bergstrom called it, and begin to look for the sustaining process that keeps the entity intact for longer than it would seem possible from initial energy input considerations. I will invoke zero point fluctuations as the ubiquitous energy source to sustain the life of the EV... I claim that the initial motion of electrons set up at the time of an EV formation is kept in equilibrium or compressed further by the electromagnetic input from the zero-point fluctuations...
"Since the ZPF energy supply rate is limited (probably by coupling considerations) there is a finite extraction rate of energy from the electrons in the potential well created, before the stability criterion for the well is exceeded. If this rate is exceeded, as it may well be upon contact between an EV and a metal, then the EV explodes, giving up its container energy into whatever region of the radiation spectrum is most appropriate. There are indications that this may be the soft x-ray region for 1 micrometer beads... The constant diameter of bored holes [in aluminum oxide] suggests that the device doing the boring was either very high in energy content, and hardly affected by the operation, or that it was being resupplied with energy as it went. I choose the latter explanation..."
Ken Shoulders also has suggested that the EV is a spherical monopole oscillator. As he describes it in the conclusion of his book EV: A Tale of Discovery, "This [monopole oscillator] is the perfect generator for vector and scalar potential waves without contamination from either E or B fields. These waves can be thought of as longitudinal waves in the vacuum. They are largely undetectable by standard E and B detecting means but are readily accessible to the monopole world. There appears to be an incredibly large number of useful phenomena yet to arise from using potential effects that are not immediately accessible to the force of E and B fields. This phase determined, force-free world will certainly be another chapter somewhere in the future" of EV research and development.
One of the most important applications of EV technology will be in the transmutation of nuclear waste into non-radioactive elements. Shoulders has a patent pending on the process, called Plasma-Injected Transmutation. Other researchers (Rod Neal, Stan Gleason, et al.) also have filed for patents on similar applications. EVs apparently function as a collective accelerator with sufficient energy to inject a large group of nuclei into a target and promote nuclear cluster reactions. The composition of EVs allows for the inclusion of some 105 nuclides. Ions can be added to EVs until the net charge becomes positive. Such EVs are called NEVs (Nuclide-EVs). According to Shoulders, "The NEV acts as an ultra-massive, negative ion with high charge-to-mass ratio. This provides the function of a simple nuclear accelerator." NEVs can be produced by mechanical energy which is stored in and stored released from a brittle metal lattice by fracto-emission of electrons. In the case of acoustic/aqueous systems, they are generated by charge separation in a collapsing bubble. Analysis of palladium foils after they were struck by NEVs has revealed increased quantities of Mg, Ca, Si, Ga and Au. Locally produced fracto-emission induced by NEV strikes contribute a considerable amount of energy to the reactions and can initiate a "wildfire" propagation of energy which either triggers or fuels the events.
Shoulders concludes that "such nuclear reactions are fundamentally an event involving large numbers and not one of widely isolated events working at an atomic level." These events occur within a few tenths of a picosecond. The first step is a loading process process that renders the material brittle. Then a very rapid fracture generates a NEV, compression-loaded with available nucleons (i.e., 100,000 deuterons in an electrolytic cold fusion cell). The NEV is accelerated into the parent material by the applied voltage which, though it is only in the kilovolt range, has a velocity equivalent to megavolts due to the mechanism of the accleration in the fracture. Shoulders offers an ad hoc explanation of these results as being "due largely to a nuclear cluster reaction having an unknown form of coherence."
Ken Shoulders has demonstrated the complete elimination of radioactivity in high-level nuclear material. Whatever the mechanism may be, the neutralization of our huge stores of radioactive waste by EV technology will be a great wonderment and blessing, for which we can thank Ken Shoulders.
Kenneth R. Shoulders: P.O. Box 243, Bodega, CA 94922-0243 USA
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