EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF THE NON-GENERALITY OF KELVIN’S AXIOM
Chapter 1 – Introduction
The experiment described in the eBook “Unfinished Book on Environmental Energy“, which demonstrates how the axiom relating to the second law of thermodynamics has no general validity, can be carried out in a simpler way, while continuing to use the Hewlett-Packard HP3455A electronic voltmeter.
The first experiment was conducted by bringing the oven temperature to about 500 °C, in order to replicate a similar experiment described by the scholar Philip Hardcastle. In the first experiment, it was not considered appropriate to connect the 3Q4 pipes in series through the relative connection sockets, as it was feared that, at such a temperature level, atmospheric oxygen could compromise the electrical continuity of the junctions and distort the results.
In that first experiment, therefore, the electrical connections needed to put the 3Q4 thermionic tubes in series were made by welding conductive wires directly on the pins of the thermionic tubes, by brazing at temperatures of about 1000 °C.
The method for carrying out the experiment described below avoids the need to carry out the aforementioned welds with hard brazing – this is a first advantage, since suchwelds are not so easy to carry out and often cause the destruction of the thermionic tubes.
In this regard, see the videos posted on the following YouTube Channel:
Chapter 2 – Practical implementation of the simplified experiment and instructions for repeating it
Experience has shown that it is not necessary to increase the oven temperature up to 500 °C, as it has been ascertained that the electrical voltages developed by 24 3Q4 tubes connected in series begin to be measurable starting from the temperature of 230-280 °C and increase exponentially over 300 °C.
The possibility of maintaining the maximum temperature of the experiment just above 300 °C made it possible to assemble 24 3Q4 tubes using the relative connection sockets. The internal connections between the 24 3Q4 thermionic tubes were made with the soft brazing technique based on a metal alloy composed of Tin, Silver and Copper with a melting point at about 400 °C.
In this way, there is the further advantage of being able to easily demonstrate that no cheating or trick has been introduced, as the experiment can be easily and completely disassembled.
The following Figure shows the complete assembly of 24 3Q4 tubes.
Figure
For the sake of brevity, we call “System”this set of elements.
The System wiring diagram is shown in the following Figure.
Figure
The heating of the System can be obtained by locking it inside an oven. Alternatively, it is possible to introduce the System between two superimposed electric burners.
The following Figure shows this latest version, which was actually made for the express purpose of demonstrating that there is no trick, since it can be easily inspected.
Figure
If you plan to keep the system under heating for long periods of time, it is advisable to introduceinto the oven a small flow of an inert gas, such as Nitrogen or carbon dioxide. With this precaution, the oxidation of the electrical connectors of the sockets and the pins of the thermionic tubes can be avoided. If such oxidation occurs, the repeatability of the experiment would be compromised.
The two conducting wires that carry the electric current developed by the System up to the input of the voltmeter must have the same composition, and therefore must consist of two sections taken from a single lot of conductor wire, such as Copper or preferably Silver (as in the experiment ).
This precaution is to prevent some detractors from advancing the hypothesis that the measured electric current does not originate from the phenomenon of thermionic emission, but from the thermoelectric effect.
This effect occurs when two metal wires of different composition join together, and the junction point is heated with respect to the opposite side, where the voltmeter is connected.
This effect does not occur if the two metal wires above have the same composition.
There is also another reason why the electrical potential measured across the load resistor cannot be generated by the thermoelectric effect: the two metals wires are not in mutual contact on the side of thethermionic tubes, but are separated by 24 sections of pneumatic vacuum, and this constitutes a second reason that prevents the thermoelectric effect from occurring.
Finally, the electric potential measured across the load resistor increases as the number of tubes connected in series increases, and this definitively demonstrates that the thermoelectric effect cannot be the cause of the generation of the electric current flowing through the load resistor.
If an electric burner with visible heating resistor is used to bring the system to 300 °C (such as the one that was used), a metal mesh connected to ground must be interposed between the stove and the system in order to shield electrical disturbances coming from the electricity grid.
Chapter 3 – Reduction of electrical noise
The System has been connected to the load resistor and the voltmeter by means of two conducting wires, which can be reached by electrical disturbances. Such disturbances have been minimized by adopting the following precaution.
The System consists of 24 thermionic tubes grouped between two metal discs, which act as an electrical screen. One of the two aforementioned conducting wires is electrically connected to the filament of the first tube 3Q4 and also to the two metal discs, and the whole is connected to ground. The second common thread, on the other hand, is connected to the control grid of the last 3Q4 tube of the series.
With such an arrangement, it is not convenient to use the ground-balanced input of the HP3455A voltmeter (the one on the left), but it is better to use the unbalanced one (on the right).
The grounded wire was used as an electrostatic shield for the other metal wire. This shielding was made by wrapping, with a rather long pitch (example: 5 – 8 cm), the wire connected to earth around the other wire, which, therefore, was electrically isolated from the other by means of a rock wool sock.This last conductor wire conducts the negative electrical charges to the sensitive input of the voltmeter.
The load resistor was welded directly between the two wires at the unbalanced input of the voltmeter.
Chapter 4 – Operation description
The presence of the load resistor is essential, as the purpose of the experiment is to verify that the load resistor heats up due to the electric current that runs through it and that is generated by the thermionic tubes.
When the electronic voltmeter detects an electrical voltage other than zero across the load resistor, this resistor must heat up, albeit very slightly, according to the known formula
P = V2 / R
Where P is the thermal power (expressed in Watts) that the electric current develops inside the load resistor R (expressed in Ohm), across which the electric voltage V (expressed in Volts) is measured.
Some detractors might object that the described system does not allow the temperature to be uniform inside the oven, and that therefore the experiment does not demonstrate the violation of Kelvin’s axiom. One can answer this observation very simply: First, Kelvin’s axiom does not concern uniform temperature systems.
Secondly, although there are temperature differences between parts of the thermionic tubes, the Kelvin axiom is still violated when the system generates direct electric current.
In fact, there is no other physical phenomenon, other than the thermoelectric effect, which is able to allow a thermionic tube to spontaneously generate direct electric current. Therefore, any colder parts of a thermionic tube can only contribute to the production of electricity to a lesser extent than warmer ones.
In other words, the colder parts of the thermionic tube filaments emit electron streams of lesser intensity than the warmer parts, and the only explanation that remains, to save the energy conservation principle, is that the filaments of the 3Q4 tubes spontaneously become colder than the surrounding environment, due to the fact that the System generates electric current.
The non-influence of any temperature differences, with respect to the validity of the experiment, can be highlighted by noting that by increasing the thermal insulation of the system, the potential generated remains unchanged or even increases.
Finally, as described in the aforementioned eBook, the experiment was successful using a group of eight 3Q4 tubes enclosed within a 20 mm thick aluminum cylinder, surrounded by an electric resistor made almost incandescent. Therefore, the temperature differences inside the aluminum cylinder had to be really small and insignificant.
Chapter 5 – Results
When the final temperature was reached, close to or slightly above 300 °C, the heating was regulated (actually decreased) by means of an electronic variator (“light dimmer” type), in order to keep the temperature constant, and voltage across the load resistor was measured at time intervals. It was found that the measured voltage remained constant as long as the temperature remained constant.
It has been observed that when the oven temperature rises from ambient temperature, the measured voltage values are strangely positive and take on fluctuating values. After a certain time and a certain temperature, these values become permanently negative, according to the theoretical forecast.
Regarding the aforementioned anomalous positive potentials, it must be considered that the thermionic tubes have not been designed to work in the absence of electrical power and not even to be heated above 300 °C, so it is reasonable to expect some anomalous or inexplicablebehaviourat the moment.
This second method of carrying out the experiment was repeated several times, for many days, even by turning the heating on and off.
The results obtained show that Kelvin’s axiom is violated. In fact, when the temperature exceeds 250-320 °C,the voltages measured at the ends of the 1 MOhm load resistor connected to the grid and plate remain permanently negative around 5-10 mV, while, if the axiom were also valid for the System, at the ends of the load resistor the measured electrical potential should always remain equal to zero.
Some naive observer might argue that to obtain as a result a few mV over 1 MOhm, two electric cookers were used (which generally have a maximum power of at least 1 kW each), and ultimately nothing more than a great waste of energy has been achieved.Especially since a temperature of 300 °C on the surface of the Earth does not exist.
This is true, but the purpose of the experiment is not to produce more energy than has been dissipated, but to demonstrate that a physical principle has no general validity.
Now suppose we can carry out the experiment on the planet Venus, or even better in some dim light area of Mercury – a planet where the maximum detectable ambient temperature melts Lead and even other elements.
In those places, too, Kelvin’s axiom should hold true. However, on such planets we would not need electric burners, but we could simply assemble our system and the experiment (in the hypothesis of having a voltmeter capable of operating at such temperatures) to see Kelvin’s axiom broken without having to dissipate any energy. Unfortunately, this cannot be done by exploiting the phenomenon of thermionic emission here on Earth, but even here we could verify the non-generality of the axiom even at room temperature, provided that much more sophisticated technologies are used.