Thanks to a reader for sending the following link from the website of Fondazione Leonardo, an Italian nonprofit which provides information on topics dealing with science, technology and society.
The article is about the Prometheus hydrogen reactor and consists of an interview with Salvatore Majorana, one of the directors of the Prometheus project. Here are a few excerpts (translated from the original Italian):
How to explain this reaction?
To explain it simply, and this is confirmed by some scientists with whom we have worked at some schools and research centres, these reactions can probably be traced back to the family of Low Energy Nuclear Reactions , i.e. nuclear reactions which in certain circumstances can also be induced at low energy levels, completely different from the nuclear reactions that characterize the great classical nuclear projects, as we are used to imagining.
Could you give us a practical example of how the reactor works?
An electronic circuit has thus been designed which is able to generate an electrical impulse which very quickly, but with high intensity, introduces a sufficient quantity of energy into the reaction chamber to induce the lightning effect. With that amount of impulsive energy, plasma is generated, the generation of this plasma involves the separation of hydrogen from oxygen.
What can you tell us about transportation and storage risks?
[Explains the difficulties in storing and transporting hydrogen]Prometheus’ approach would allow us to have a hydrogen generator with low energy consumption and above all transportable, which means that ideally it would be possible to generate hydrogen even on the move, and this gives us hope for a future also in traction systems, for example.
With a solution that can compactly work even on the move, we are watching the dawn of a new technology.
