September 8, 1935 |
Capracotta, Molise, Italy
|Institutions||MIT, Harvard, Boston University|
|Alma mater||University of Naples, University of Turin|
|Known for||Hadronic Physics
September 8, 1935 |
Capracotta, Molise, Italy
|Institutions||MIT, Harvard, Boston University|
|Alma mater||University of Naples, University of Turin|
|Known for||Hadronic Physics, Hadronic Chemistry, Magnecules, Controlled Intermediate Nuclear Fusion|
From September 1977 to August 1981 Santilli was a visiting scholar at the Department of Mathematics Harvard University under Department of Energy funding jointly with Shlomo Sternberg. In September 1981 Santilli established and became the President of the Institute for Basic Research Santilli has been the Founder and Chief Scientist of MagneGas Corporation. Currently, Santilli is the President of the Institute for Basic Research, Founder and Chief Scientist of Thunder Fusion Corporation.
Hadronic mechanics and hadronic chemistry
The primary thrust of Santilli's work has dealt with his so-called hadronic mechanics, a non-unitary, axiom-preserving covering of quantum mechanics for the interactions of particles at one Fermi mutual distances, while recovering quantum mechanics identically for larger distances, which theory has been named after the composite particle hadron and it is not generally accepted by the physics community.
Santilli claims to have developed novel fuels, named "MagneGas" and "MagneHydrogen". They are produced by plasma arc gasification of liquid waste. Santilli claims that these fuels are composed of magnecules. These hypothetical particles are a type of theoretical chemical species proposed by Santilli, distinguished from better-known species by containing a novel type of bond called a "magnecular bond", which he claims consists of atoms held together by magnetic fields which arise from toroidal polarization of their electron orbitals. Neither these claims nor the existence of magnecules have been accepted by the scientific community.
In addition to proposing Magnecules as a new kind of chemical structure, Santilli rejects the prevailing view of chemistry as being well-described by quantum mechanics (see quantum chemistry). For example he argues that the covalent bond is impossible in quantum mechanics, as he cannot conceive of a manner in which two same-charged electrons can come together to cause an attractive interaction. (However, computational chemistry remains successful in describing chemical systems and is based on quantum mechanics of the electron.)
Magnecules have also been invoked as an explanation for a purported "HHO gas", which Santilli claims is "a new form of water" produced by electrolysis. The name comes from the supposed chemical structure (H × H)–O, where “×” represents a "magnecular bond" and “−” a conventional molecular bond. This has subsequently been adopted by water-fueled car scams and pseudoscience involving electrolysis machines and water torches. It is claimed that these devices produce HHO gas, with a number of unique properties, instead of the usual oxyhydrogen gas, which is simply a mixture of diatomic hydrogen and oxygen gases.
In 2006, Brown University Professor of Engineering Joseph M. Calo wrote in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy that Santilli's article had "many serious misinterpretations, and misunderstan