  We discuss the isotopic abundances found in the E-Cat reactor with regard to
the nuclear mechanisms responsible for excess heat. We argue that a major
source of energy is a reaction between the first excited-state of Li-7 and a
proton, followed by the breakdown of Be-8 into two alphas with high kinetic
energy, but without gamma radiation. The unusual property of the Li-7 isotope
that allows this reaction is similar to the property that underlies the
Mossbauer effect: the presence of unusually low-lying excited states in stable,
odd-Z and/or odd-N nuclei. We use the lattice version of the
independent-particle model (IPM) of nuclear theory to show how the geometrical
structure of isotopes indicate nuclear reactions that are not predicted in the
conventional version of the IPM. Finally, we speculate on similar mechanisms
that may be involved in other low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR).
