The following was addressed to a Nuclear Physicist, and his reply is included. The purpose of this communication was to eliminate any possibility of "Nuclear effects" from the investigation into the Scientific mechanism of Homeopathy.

My question relates to the forces/energies needed to cause nuclear effects/decay/particle emission. Whether a simple process like strong and vigorous grinding (over a long period of time) at room temperature, could in any circumstances ever produce nuclear effects.

I hope you will seriously consider even the remotest possibility of nuclear effects happening in the following procedure. This procedure is Chemistry but the "effect" is believed to be within the bounds of Physics (resembling cascade phenomena?).

There is a three-hour procedure of grinding, using a very small amount of material. It was originally performed by hand using a mortar and pestle, and required considerable effort. One grain (0.06 gram) of a substance is mixed with 2 grams of pure LACTOSE powder (inert powder used in grinding, though it is not inert in this case) in a mortar. Note that 2g is a very small amount of material to be grinding in a mortar.

The grinding is continued strongly for 20 minutes. At this point, a second 2g of lactose is added and the grinding continued for another 20 minutes. This is repeated again, producing "First Hour Powder".

Just 0.06g of this powder is then mixed with 2g of new lactose, and the very same procedure is repeated for a second, and then a third hour.

Chemically, there is little unusual to be seen in
these powders. But, it is known that the powders are light-sensitive and must be kept in a tightly closed container away from heat or they deteriorate, which normally indicates instability due to weak bonding in Chemistry.

But, it is possible that information of some kind
about the 0.06g of starting substance, is carried by a physical property of the lactose powder. It is also necessary to decontaminate the Mortar and Pestle after use, a lengthy process requiring extremely high temperatures, before these tools can be used again. From a
Chemist's point of view, the need for such a lengthy process, although necessary, is unclear.

As these substances are crystalline powders (lactose is a simple sugar) there has been talk of a possible Piezoelectric or Triboluminescent effect contributing to the change, which I am following up. These effects cause electrical discharges and light emission during mechanical stresses. The question is, could these
effects, encountered by this process under high
pressures during the 3-hours of grinding, possibly have a nuclear effect of some kind?

The properties of the "effect" are :

1. The longer the powder is grounded down and
attenuated with lactose (the more dispersed the
original substance becomes in the lactose) the greater is the magnitude of the "effect" which develops in the steps after the 3-Hr trituration.

2. A minute amount of the final "three-hour powder" is dissolved in a large amount of water and then a single drop diluted with alcohol in a test tube. The test tube is shaken vigorously (succussed), and this causes the "effect"
to increase in magnitude. Further steps of dilution in alcohol and vigorous shaking, cause even further increase in magnitude even though, Chemically, nothing can be detected.

Because of this rule about "the smaller the amount of starting material in the solution (the more dispersed is the original substance in the lactose), the greater is the magnitude of
the effect which develops", I suspect some kind of cascade process to be responsible here. As such processes do not occur in a situation like this in Chemistry, would you please consider the possibility that the process might resemble Nuclear phenomena you are familiar with. Examples : Internuclear Cascade, Electromagnetic Cascade? (What do you think of Cold fusion?)

This is a very unusual question, I know, but hope that you will try to address it from the perspective of a Nuclear Physicist. Thank You.

THE NUCLEAR PHYSICIST'S REPLY

This is the Physicist's reply to the above :

I do not believe any such process could be nuclear as the localised energy would have to be many orders of magnitude greater than could be
achieved like this. A simple test would be to put a Geiger counter on the process, as it is unlikely a nuclear reaction could take place
without radiation, but I am not an experimental physicist. In so far as I can ascertain cold fusion is a myth, and probably a confidence trick. I would suspect that electrons are being put into excited states and that it is a classical luminescence effect.