Outline of your Petitioner’s Proposed Mechanism of a Nuclear Catastrophe
occurring by the operation of the LHC. [Draft, March 30, 2010]
All matter has a mass. For example, a cubic centimeter of water has a mass of one gram. By
virtue of its mass an object resists acceleration, when a force is applied to it. By that force, as the
weight of a massive object, the mass is measured, relative to a standard material object, by means of a
weighing balance. All matter consists of
atoms; and by well-established theory and classic
experiments, the atom consists of a core, called the nucleus, wherein most of the mass of an atom
resides, surrounded by a number of orbiting electrons. The radius of the orbits determine the size of an
atom; though the radius of the nucleus is very much smaller – extremely so. The nucleus of an atom
contains a number of particles, namely,
protons and
neutrons, except the abundant isotope of hydrogen,
which contains one proton in its nucleus, and no neutrons. Each proton and electron has an electrical
charge. The proton’s charge is equal in magnitude as the electron, but a positive charge as distinguish
from the negative charge of the electron, such that the two suffer a mutual attraction force that binds the
electrons of an atom to the nucleus of the atom. The Uranium atom contains, according to theory and
experiment, 92 protons and 143 neutrons; the light atoms, as Carbon, for instance, contain the same
number of neutrons as protons in their nuclei, or nearly so. Carbon has 6 protons and 6 neutrons.
Some materials are naturally radioactivity, that is, they emit radiation. The nucleus of a radium
atom emits
alpha rays, which are high speed, highly energetic particles consisting of the nuclei of
helium atoms: helium having two protons and two neutrons in its nucleus. In units of energy called the
electron volt, abbreviated
eV, the alpha particles emitted by radium have 4.5 million eV. The symbol
for a million eV is one MeV. When mixing the element Beryllium with Radium, the alpha rays from
the radium react with the nuclei of the Beryllium and produce as reaction products carbon nuclei and
neutrons – the neutrons appearing as a radiation emanating from the mixture, and are highly energetic
(about 2.5 MeV), and highly penetrating through matter, since they carry no electric charge that would
otherwise inhibit their travel through a medium of positive charges (protons of the nucleus) and
negative electrical charges (the electrons of the atoms). It was discovered in the year 1939 that when
irradiating Uranium by the neutrons of a radium-beryllium source, that is, by exposing the uranium to
the neutron radiation from the radium-beryllium source, the neutrons react with the nuclei of the
uranium atoms (upon their collision with the uranium nuclei) to cause some of the uranium nuclei to
disintegrate (explode) with a release of enormous energy. The process is called
nuclear fission. That
fission reaction products consists of two atomic nuclei having roughly half of the mass of the uranium
atom and a number of neutrons (about 2.5 neutrons), which, like the reaction of alpha rays with
beryllium, are also highly energetic, having an average energy of 2 MeV, and of course, highly
penetrating in materials. The energy released by the uranium fission is about 200 MeV. The total
number of protons and neutrons is conserved, however, in the fission reaction, that is, the total number
of protons and neutrons of the fission products equals that of the Uranium nucleus plus the neutron that
hit the caused the fission reaction. For a comparison, the burning of hydrogen gas in air (hydrogen
reacting with the oxygen in the air) releases about 2.5 eV energy, hence, about one hundred million
times less than the energy release from nuclear fission. So, one can understand the power of atomic
bombs, and the energy potential of nuclear fuel in a nuclear power reactor.
The emission of a
number of neutrons from the uranium nucleus in a fission reaction with an
incident neutron gives rise to the phenomenon of a atomic fission
chain reaction, whereby the released
neutrons, in principle, can react with other uranium nuclei in a mass of uranium to produce additional
fission reactions, which in turn emit more neutrons, and hence by them still more fission reactions – a
chain of reactions. To illustrate, one initial neutron from a neutron source, by inducing a fission
reaction with a uranium nucleus, produces say 3 neutrons (actually about 2.5 on the average). Those
three neutrons can then induce three fission reactions, to produce 9 neutrons (3 for each of the three
fission reactions), and those 9 neutrons in turn can produce 9 fission reactions, resulting in the third
generate 27 neutrons; thus, a multiplying fission chain reaction. The average distance a fast neutron
travels through a mass of solid uranium before colliding with a uranium nucleus is about 2.9
centimeters; which
mean free path length is due to the size of the uranium nucleus, though small, there
are a great many uranium atom in a cubic centimeter volume of the materials. The velocity of the
neutrons emitted by the nuclear fission is about 2×10
9cm/sec, which is about 6.5% of the speed of
light – very fast. Thus, the time between the emission of a neutron by fission and its collision, hence
reaction, with a uranium nucleus in the vicinity, is the quotient of the mean free path length divided by
the velocity, which figures to be
2.3 cm/(2×109 cm/sec)=1.5×10-9sec, or 0.0015 millionths
of a second – which is extremely fast. Thus, a multiplying fission chain reaction in a mass of uranium
can be extremely rapid, which explains an atomic bomb explosion; as the neutrons can multiply
extremely rapidly and produce such an enormous quantity of neutrons, and consequently, an enormous
number of nuclear fission reactions, with their releases of nuclear energy. The Hiroshima atomic
explosion released about 13,00 tons of TNT (dynamite) equivalent energy. Also, only about 1.5% of
the uranium atoms underwent nuclear fission. This is because not all of the neutrons released by a
fission reaction induce a fission reaction, since a large fraction escape the uranium mass of the bomb
device, mostly those near the periphery of the mass. During the early phase of an atomic explosion the
uranium (of the Hiroshima bomb) explodes apart, thereby promoting the “leakage” of neutrons, so as to
reduce the fraction of neutrons that can react with the uranium below the value required for sustaining
the multiplying chain reaction, with the result that the explosion terminate the chain reaction before
much of the uranium is consumed by fission reactions.
Actually, Uranium consists of two kinds: U-235 and U-238. The 238 type has three more
neutrons in its nucleus. It happens that the U-235 “isotope” of Uranium has a much greater propensity
for undergoing a fission reaction with neutrons than the U-238. The U-238 can suffer a fission
reaction, but the neutron which induces the reactor must have about 1 MeV energy or more for the
reaction to occur. The U-235 isotope has not that limitation. Since a large fraction of the neutrons
emitted in a nuclear fission reaction have energy less than the 1 MeV
threshold for U-238 fission, the
U-238 alone cannot sustain a fission chain reaction. So, the Hiroshima bomb, for instance, contained a
highly enriched U-235 form of Uranium, produced by elaborate systems for separating the UJ-235 from
the U-238. The
threshold phenomenon for a fission chain reaction by U-238 is important for the
present analysis of a possible mechanism for a catastrophic nuclear reaction associated with the LHC
proton-proton collision experiments.
Of critical importance for the present analysis is the fact the sum of the masses of the fission
reaction products of U-235 is less than the sum of the mass of the U-235 atom and the neutron that
induced its fission. The difference is about 0.0009 times the mass of the U-235 atom. Thus, by the
fission reaction, a quantity of
mass of matter vanishes. It is explained by the amount of energy
released, according to the Einstein’s theory of relativity,
E=mc2, which asserts that associated or
inherent in a quantity of mass,
m, is a corresponding amount of energy,
E, and that indeed, mass is
energy, by that theory. Thus by the release of energy, a quantity of mass was released – the
mass being the energy.
To illustrate, the mass of a proton is
1.67×10-24gram, and that of the neutron nearly
the same. So, since the U-235 nucleus has approximately the mass of 235 protons, then the
energy of the 0.0009 fraction of the U-235 mass converts by Einstein’s equation to:
0.0009×235×1.67×10-24×(3×1010)2=3.18×10-4erg
=3.18×10-4erg/(1.6×10-6erg/MeV)=198MeV
(This calculation uses the conversion factor of
1.67×10-12erg. ) This explains the
approximately
200 MeV of energy released by the fission reaction. Thus the mass held in the nucleus
of any atom is a store of potential energy.
Now consider that the LHC machine accelerates
protons. The source of the protons is a bottle
of hydrogen gas. The nuclei of the hydrogen provides the protons, since the nucleus of each hydrogen
atom consists of a single proton. (A small fraction of ordinary hydrogen consists of the isotope known
as deuterium, which consists of one proton and one neutron in its nucleus; but, of course, it is removed
from the ordinary hydrogen in the LHC operation, by a suitable preparation.) So, the mass of each
proton that is used in the LHC, but before they are accelerated, is 24
1.67×10
-24;
× gram. CERN has
declared that the “nominal” energy of the protons after they are accelerated will be, if operated
as designed, 7 TeV, that is,
7×1012eV=7×+06MeV. By Einstein’s theory of Relativity, this
means that the protons at the LHC operating energy will be about 7460 times the normal mass
of a proton! The normal mass being the mass of the protons of the hydrogen in a glass of
water, for instance). This fact is due to another equation of the theory of relativity – one
which relates the energy of a particle of mass with its momentum, p, as follows:
E2=p2c2m02c4
where the momentum,
p, is defined as
p=mv, where
m0 is the mass of the particle in its state of
motion, v is the velocity of its motion, and m0 is the mass of the particle when it is as rest, hence,
m0=1.67×10-24gram, which is practically the same as the mass of the protons for the LHC before
they are accelerated.
1 CERN gives the “nominal” energy of the accelerated protons as 7.0 TeV, or in
units of
eV,
7×1012 eV. This value can be compared to the rest mass energy,
m0c2=1.67×10-24gm ×(3×1010)2=1.5×10-3erg
=1.5×10-3erg /(1.6×10-12erg/eV)=9.38×108eV
As is seen, the rest mass energy is greatly less than
E, the stated nominal proton energy, thus we write
E>>m0c2, that is,
E is much, much greater than the rest mass energy. The square of the energy is
______________________________
1 The proof of this formula is fairly simple. By Newton’s law, the force exerted on a material object,
F, is defined
as the rate of change of its momentum,
mv, that is,
F=dp/dt=d/dt(mv). The change in energy of the object,
denoted as
dE is defined as the product of the force times the distance over which the force is exerted,
dx. So,
dE=F×dx=dp/dt×dx. The differentials can be rearranged, each being a quantity, so that
dE=dp×dx/dt. In this form, the factor
dx/dt is the velocity of the particle, the distance traveled in
dt time. So
then,
dE=v·dp. Now multiply before sides of the equation by the mass
m and recalling the
p=mv, we obtain
mdE=pdp. From Einstein’s mass-energy equation
E=mc2, were c is the velocity of light, 3x10
10cm/sec, and by substitution, we obtain
EdE=c2pdp. This simple differential equation can then be
integrated. The result is
E2-E02=p2c2, where , the energy before the acceleration, since
p=0 at
the start of the acceleration, that is, at zero velocity. The result then is
E2=p2c2+m02c4. Q.E.D.
even more so, by the square of the ratio. Therefore virtually all of the energy is given by the product
pc. We may equate then as an accurate approximation,
E=mc2=pc=mvc. The mass may be
divided out of the equation, as well as one of the c factors, leaving
v=c practically. Therefore, protons
will be traveling virtually at the speed of light. The mass then is
m=E/c2, and its ratio with the rest
mass is
7×1012 eV/(9.38×108 eV)=7460.
Now the question is to be asked, and the question put to the theoretical physicists of the Fermi
Laboratory yesterday, is from whence does the accelerated proton obtain its additional mass. The
7460-fold greater mass than the original rest mass of the proton, must be assumed to be real; for that
mass is explains the radius of the LHC rings, of about 8.5 km. The dipole magnets of the LHC
machine “bend” the travel line of the protons to follow a circular arc through each of those magnets,
and the radius of curvature of the circular is proportional to the momentum of each proton, according to
the electromagnetic theory of the effect of the magnet. By that theory the magnetic force acting of an
electrically charged particle moving in a
magnetic field of intensity
B, is:
Fmagnetic=Bqv
where
q is the electric charge in
emu units,
1.6×10
-20 emu, and v is the particle velocity. The force
required to constrain the particle, as a proton, to move in a circular arc of radius of curvature R , called the centripetal force, is:
Fcentrepital=mv2/R
Equating the two forces, since the magnetic force supplies the required force, and canceling one of the
velocity v factors, we obtain,
BqR=mv=p
Now, CERN gives the value of the magnetic field intensity for the dipole magnets as “8.33 T”, where
the “T” denotes the Tesla unit, which is 104 gauss units, which are necessary for expressing the
momentum in terms of gram times the velocity in cm/sec units, and R in centimeter units, but q in emu
units of electrical charge. CERN also gives the “bending radius” effected by the dipoles, at 2804
meters. (Table 7.5 of Chapter 17 of the LHC Design Report.) By this equation the momentum can be
inferred, and from the equation E=pc, the energy can be deduced. The calculation is as follows:
p=BqR=8.33×104x1.6x10-20 2804 m ×100 cm/m
=3.74×10-10 gm-cm/sec
To get the energy the momentum is to be multiplied by the velocity of light, as before shown, E=pc;
so
E=pc=3.74×10-10×3.0×1010/(1.6×10-12 erg/eV)
=7.00×1012 eV
This is precisely the nominal energy for the LHC protons, according to the CERN declarations. Thus,
the mass of the proton is really 7460 times the rest mass.
Therefore, the question arises, and the question which was put to two theoretical physicists of
the Fermi Laboratory yesterday, is from whence does the accelerated proton obtain its additional mass.
I asked, does the protons received particles of mass during the acceleration process, as by a series of
kicks from the RF (radio frequency generators) fields of the accelerator fields? Are those particles the
strange particles called
mesons said to be observed among the cosmic rays, and according to quantum
field theory are quanta of energy, or particles, that hold the protons and neutrons together in an atomic
nucleus, or electromagnetic
photons? And on what structures or entities in the proton receive and carry
those particles or that great additional mass added to the proton during its acceleration, according to the
theory of high energy physics? Evidently, by the operation of the LHC so-far, and by the Tevatron, one
the protons are accelerated in those machines, the protons remain stable, despite possessing an amount
of mass that is 7460 times the rest mass for the LHC, or about 1000 times for the Tevatron; for it is
stated by CERN and the Fermi Laboratory that the protons circulate in the machine indefinitely, though
the LHC, the circulation period is about 85 microseconds; but the protons circulate indefinitely. The
modern
quantum field theory of the “high energy physics” holds that the proton has a structure,
consisting in part of smaller particles
quarks. However, it is not necessary to learn that theory in order
to assess the hazards of the LHC experiments. For it may be fairly assumed that there are entities in the
protons that hold the mass together, and the same assumption for the nucleus of any atom, whether it be
hydrogen, carbon, iron, radium, beryllium, or Uranium-235. To be sure, there must be large forces that
bind the protons and neutrons together, since the electrical repulsion forces of the positive electrical
charges of the protons would otherwise force the particles apart and disperse them. So, the nuclear
forces must be inward, more or less toward the center of the nucleus. It is well-established theory of
atomic physics that the energy of the electrons of an atom in their orbits about the nucleus of the atom
can be raised by their absorbing a quantum (a unit) of electromagnetic energy, hence a mass of a
photon, so that their radius of orbit is greater – further from the nucleus. The atomic theory has it that
the electrons in such an “excited” energy state can “fall” back down closer to the nucleus, to a more
stable level, and emit in the process photo of energy. So, it must assumed that a similar process occurs
in a fission reaction of a Uranium nucleus: that when it is hit by a neutron, it is thrown into an excited
state, where then it is unstable – the internal supports for the mass of the nucleus in that state, with now
an extra neutron, perhaps, having been disturbed, or pushed aside; so the uranium nucleus collapses,
and the mass then, being energy, propels itself out of the original confines of the nucleus – that is, the
uranium nucleus breaks up into fragments, as actually occurs, according to well-established basic
nuclear physics principles and a great amount of confirmatory experiments.
Also, there are numerous nuclear reactions which are induced by irradiating materials with
energetic neutrons. Many such reactions require a certain minimum neutron energy to induce an
atomic nucleus to disintegrate and form other species of atomic nuclei. Such a minimum energy is
called the
threshold for the reaction. These nuclear reactions usually result in the emission of one or
more neutrons, protons, or alpha particles.
This takes us now to consider the rest mass of an atomic nucleus – the mass that ordinarily is
held in the nuclei of the atoms of our Earthly materials that are all around us. We ought not assume that
the Earthly atoms are perfectly stable. We now know that they are not. The alpha rays from radium
when incident on beryllium induces the beryllium nuclei and alpha particle (helium nucleus) to collapse
together (combine) but not with releasing a neutron and about 5.7 million eV of energy. The uranium
nuclei exposed to neutrons disintegrate. Before the 1930s, the neutron was not known by the
physicists of that time. But by experimenting with the alpha rays, as by mixing radium and beryllium,
neutrons were discovered – that is, by the physicists doing things which they did not do before, that is,
by experimenting (venturing) in the unknown. The neutron, a very strange particle at the time, was
subsequently observed to induce nuclear fission reactions with uranium, and later with other heavy
atoms, even Bismuth.
So, the possibility suggests itself that by CERN experimenting with the unknown, might
produce by the investment of an enormous quantity of extraneous mass, however actually constructed
into the protons, and then colliding those particles, might produce some strange energetic radical
particles, analogous to the
neutrons, that would fly off and interact with the nuclei of atoms in the
materials around the collision zone of the machine, and disturb the structure that supports the rest mass
of those nuclei, and thereby induce the collapse of those atomic nuclei. Such radical particles might
originate from a part of the normal atomic nuclei, but be transformed by a high energy shock, to make
them dangerous to other atomic nuclei. The collapse of the nuclei, involving a great potential energy
normally bound up as the rest mass, could emit more such radical particles, so as to start a multiplying
chain reaction. For such as been observed with man-made devices – the atomic bomb explosions, for
instance. Chain reactions are rather common in nature. For example, the explosion of a flammable
gas. I have read in treatises on physical chemistry that the explosion of a mixture of hydrogen and
oxygen gases proceeds by a radical chain reaction. The formation of polymers occurs by radical chain
reactions. The growth of a human body, starting with its first cell, is a chain reaction. The infection of
a living cells and organism by a
virus is a chain reaction, whereby the virus induces the nucleus of a
living cell to produce copies of the virus, which are then sent them out to infect other cells, &c. We can
consider ourselves fortunate that U-235 is not so abundant in nature. If it were, like veins of gold, and
formed in a blocks, two blocks suddenly thrown together would produce a Hiroshima size nuclear
explosion, initiated by a single stray neutron from the sun. I worry that such a device could ignite the
Earth’s atmosphere in a nuclear fusion chain reaction, as before mentioned.
According to the theory of the emission of
beta rays from radioactive substances, which are
reported to be highly energetic electrons emitted by an unstable atomic nucleus, the emission is
accompanied by the emission of very “tiny” particles called the
neutrino, which like the neutron, hold
no electric charge, but is much smaller than the
neutron, and somehow has the property of very rarely
interacting with other atomic nuclei in the medium through which they pass. Well, could such tiny
particles be associated with the things within the atomic nucleus that hold the mass of the nucleus,
whether the nucleus is in motion or at rest?
There is an enormous amount of energy that comprises the “rest” mass of the atomic nuclei of
the material all around us – the material of the Earth. The carbon nucleus holds a potential energy by
virtue of its rest mass that is 56.3 times the energy release of U-235 fission, Aluminum, 27 times.
Therefore, there is a real danger of a catastrophe involved in the operation of the LHC, but
venturing into the unknown by running up the collision energy of the machine. Radical particles could,
for all we know, be produced and initiate a multiplying chain reaction of collapsing atomic nuclear in
the machine and the surrounding Earth’s materials. The same danger is involved in a LHC proton beam
dump into carbon. Could the reactions produce the dread radical particles as before postulated? The
energy of the protons is 7,000 billion electron volts, which is about a thousand times more energetic
that the average cosmic ray proton energy of 5 billion eV. In this respect it must be considered, as
discussed earlier in this letter, that the accelerated protons of the LHC cannot be assumed to be the
same cosmic ray particles that enter the Earth, for the LHC protons will be accelerated
differently, that
is for sure. So, the structure of the protons of the LHC will not be known, and cannot be assumed to be
that of cosmic ray protons, even if there are cosmic protons having energies of 7,000 billion eV.
Finally, the phenomenon of the
threshold must be considered. The following graph, taken from
the book
Nuclear Physics, by Kaplan, shows a prime and very important example. The graph exhibits
the propensity of a fission reaction with U-238, and other isotopes of Uranium, in terms of a quantity
called the “fission cross-section.” Essentially, the rate of fission reactions in a nuclear reactor is
proportional to the “fission cross-section. (I refer elsewhere in this letter for the explanation of the
term.) Natural Uranium consists of 99.3% U-238, and the rest, 0.7% of U-235. The other isotopes are
produced in nuclear reactors. The horizontal graph is the energy of the neutron in the experiments for
measuring the fission cross-sections. The graphs show that for U-238 there is no fission reaction for
neutron energies below the threshold of about 0.5 million eV (MeV). The average energy of the
neutrons released by fission reactions is about 2.0 MeV. Also noteworthy is the fact that the width of
the threshold is about 1.0 MeV; thus, a an increase in the energy by one MeV can make the fission
reaction in the U-238 in full effect; so that if a neutron energy of, say, 1.5 MeV would not support a
fission chain reaction, a 2.0 MeV neutrons might, if other properties of the U-238 would favor a chain
reaction potentiality.
This fact, and there are many other facts of thresholds of nuclear reactions, is important for
considering that the proton-antiproton collision experiments of the Tevatron might have come close to
producing the postulated dreaded radical particles, but due to a threshold for a production of such
particles, such were not produced, to our good fortune. This principle can also be applied to the case of
the LHC. For if the LHC proton-proton collisions are in fact carried out at the 3.5 TeV proton energy,
as CERN has been announced to be their intention, and without any sign of a dangerous reaction, or
worse, then such a result would not guarantee the impossibility of the dreaded catastrophic when
running up the proton energy to 7.0 TeV, which is the purpose of the LHC, due to the threshold
possibility. Indeed, if the width of the threshold were only 1MeV, like the U-238, then there would be
no sign whatsoever of any dangerous particle production, until it is too late.
I conclude by mentioned that one of the theoretical high-energy particle physicist at the Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory with whom I conferred responded to the proposed mechanism for a
catastrophic nuclear chain reaction by saying that it is “an interesting question.” I ought to mention
that fact. He also admitted, after a discussion of the mechanism, that there is some element of the
unknown in the experiments of the LHC, because of the unprecedented proton energy at which it is to
be operated; and so, he said, he has relied on the reported measurements of the cosmic ray proton
energies, and assumes therefore, that cosmic ray protons hit the Earth regularly at energies greater than
the equivalent LHC cosmic proton hypothetical of 10
17 eV. He admitted, though, upon my questioning
of that reliance, that he himself did not make the measurements which have been reported as inferences
of the cosmic ray proton energies. The other physicist broke off the discussion that I sought to have,
after I asked about the physicists’ understanding of how the protons acquire mass in the progress of
their acceleration in either the Tevatron or the LHC, and so before I could propose to him the subject
mechanism for a nuclear catastrophe. So, there is a reluctance among some of the high energy
physicists to discuss these questions. I mention these discussion not for the purpose of embarrassing the
physicists who received my phone calls, but because the facts are important, since it is virtually
impossible to obtain a scientific and government investigation of the nuclear hazards. I hope with this
letter, the Swiss Confederation Government will do so. I add that I participated in a British Court of
Inquiry in 1988-1989 that was held to inquire into the safety and hazards of building additional nuclear
power reactors in Britain of the pressurized water reactor type. It was very commendable court
investigation, consisting of several judges representing very disciplines, biology, economics,
mechanical engineering, and the chief judge, a Queens Counsel, Mr. Michael Barns. I recommend the
model to your Government.
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