THOR - Control Sample

Looking to see if all ICEs produce crenellated microspheres

The sample

For a long while I had planned to do an SEM/EDS analysis of an old internal combustion engine exhaust sample, to see if similar Fe-rich crenellated structures were present without the introduction of water and extreme hydrodynamic shear present in Malcolm Bendall's 'Thunderstorm Generator'.

Following a request to Alan Goldwater, he presented me with a section of a used exhaust pipe from an old Norton motorbike that he had ​​cut with a hacksaw blade, which I could look at using his SEM/EDS at his Magic Sound Lab in Santa Cruz, California.

Here is Alan giving the details regarding the test sample.

The analysis

The images

The data

Most of the ‘soot’ on the inside of the exhaust pipe comprised of carbon and oxygen with Zinc, Phosphorous, Calcium and Sulphur also present.

Alan Goldwater said the following about the zinc:

Zinc (also known as ZDDP, ZDTP or zinc dialkyldithiophosphate)
is the most common lube oil additive.​​
It's especially important for engines with flat cam followers,
like the Norton that yielded this sample.
- Alan Goldwater, Sun 24th August 2024

The chemical formula of the additive is Zn[(S₂P(OR)₂]₂ - which also accounts for the observed presence of Phosphorous (P) and Sulphur (S)

There was some Fe containing contamination particles found from the cutting of the exhaust pipe.

Use the “Download data” link below to get the full image and analysis set.

The conclusion

In this old exhaust pipe section, selected at random from a number of possible donor exhaust pipes, no similar pentagonal or hexagonal carbon structures with Fe-rich crenellated microspheres were found. This supports the hypothesis that there is something interesting going on in the ‘Thunderstorm Reactor” that this author believes is related to micro-ball lightning phenomena, emergent from PLASMa torOIDS (PLASMOIDS).