Portland State Magazine Winter 2008

Energy like the sun Squeezing hydrogen acorns together creates heat. It's what the sun does every day-using incense graviry co suck in hydrogen and squash it into a smaller and smaller space, until it fuses. If you could squeeze hydrogen on Earth, you could produce the power of the sun and deliver plentiful, clean en– ergy. Just one problem: Earthly methods of squeezing hydrogen use more energy than the power produced. Or do they? Researchers around the world, in– cluding John Dash, professor emeritus of physics, are pursuing a way co make hydrogen squeeze itself, so co speak. The metals titanium and palladium are sort of super sponges for hydrogen. Palladium can attract and ab orb up co 900 times its own weight in hydrogen. And when chat much hydrogen gets attracted into and squeezed onto the metal, cold nuclear fusion happens. (It's "cold" because no heat is used co squash the atoms together.) Researchers at a handful of U.S. universities, including the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology and Universiry of Illinois, are working on developing cold fusion co a scale where it could be useful. There might be more scientists working on the technology except for the stigma. About 20 years ago, two scientists trumpeted to the press that they had cre– ated cold hydrogen fusion. Their claims made them the wunderkind of the age– instant Einsteins. But when only a few scientists of the many who tried could duplicate their claims, the scudy of cold fusion gained a reputation as pseudosci– ence and government funding fizzled. With chat kind of skepticism, only a few intrepid scientists, like Dash, continued co investigate cold fusion and its potential for safe and inexhaustible energy. With funding from PSU and the U.S. Army Research Office, Dash got positive results with his first experiment. He and his student assistants continue co pro– duce incremental improvements in heat output. Their efforts caught the eye of a private, anonymous donor, who has con– tributed $1 million to Dash's research. 10 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE WINTER 2008 John Dash, emeritus physics faculty, expects to prove that cold nuclear fusion can eventually provide safe, plentiful energy. To power up or not Managers at the aluminum companies along the Columbia River do their job with one eye on the clock. They have to. From hour to hour they have co decide whether co make aluminum or sell the electriciry the process would have used. With their monthly electric bills reaching $10 million or more and prices for elec– triciry bouncing up and down, the chance to make-or miss-a small fortune is colossal. Fortunately, they have Gerald Sheble, Maseeh Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, co help. Sheble is an expert in optimizing systems, especially power systems. When a Texas utiliry scarred using Sheble's Optimizing a utility's power system can save money, energy, and ultimately the environment-a specialty of engineering professor Gerald Sheble. methodology, it began saving $3 million a year. Globally, Sheble has helped more than 40 electric utilities, and he can analyze any system-from massive coal power plants co rooftop solar panels. Sheble's current efforts are aimed at helping an Oregon company, Rogue River Wind , develop models for its ur– ban wind turbines, which supply power for a single building, while integrating efficienrly and reliably with the North– west power grid. He's also in contact with Bonneville Power Administra– tion and the Northwest Power Pool, a consortium of utiliry planning groups, discussing technological changes co optimize power. Sheble even looks at futuristic systems. For instance, what if utilities could score excess power in your garage? It might work like chis: Electric cars have large storage batteries chat aren't used when a car is not being driven. What if power companies could use that storage capaciry, when it is not needed by drivers, for, say, wind power-an off-and-on-again energy source? Sound like something from a sci-fi novel? Sheble says a proposal to allow electric utilities co do just chat is already making the rounds on Capitol Hill. Turning down urban heat Cities are hoc. Machinery, cars, build– ings-they all spew heat. Even the average human contributes-producing about as much hear as a 60-wact light bulb. All chat warmth adds up. In any good– sized ciry, downtown temperatures are