Not Cold Fusion but: "Oak Ridge scientist exhausted, elated with response to research"

Knoxville News-Sentinel ^ | Mar 7, 2002 | Frank Munger, News-Sentinel senior writer

[The Raven]

They're downplaying it.

[ovrtaxt]

Cool. Maybe a neat new bubble fusion gun for the Special Ops boys in the future? Maybe I can program a plug in for Quake....

[Naspino]

We shouldn't allow this type of research to be shared. It should be owned by the United States alone.

[The Raven]

Here's the link the the referenced UK article that leaked

[Movemout]

ORNL has impressive capabilities and is one of the most interesting places I have ever visited. Most of the national labs are filled with superb people. I'm glad they are on our side.

[HiTech RedNeck]

If they're getting bubbles "the size of a pencil top eraser" by irradiating with neutrons, why doesn't the agitation splash the acetone all over the place. Also why the wimpy shielding if they expect it to produce more neutrons (let alone the original neutrons)... paraffin blocks?!? It ought to be behind some thick lead.

[Dan Day]

The celebrated work had not undergone peer review and when scientists around the globe failed to reproduce their results, the affair turned into one giant embarrassment for the Utah professors and science in general.

Horse manure.

"Science in general" came out smelling like a rose, because the debacle demonstrated that the scientific method, and scientists worldwide, "police their own" just fine. A paper based on faulty method was published, and the subsequent reproduction of the experiment (or more accurately, the lack thereof) and peer review tested it and properly found it wanting.

What actually earned the "giant embarrassment" was the *media*, which jumped to conclusions, shouted from the rooftops, and made a mountain out of this molehill before it had been properly examined, and certain glory-hound scientists who properly received their comeuppance for their preference for the spotlight over careful methodology.

[HiTech RedNeck]

because the debacle demonstrated that the scientific method, and scientists worldwide, "police their own" just fine

When it comes down to something that actually would MATTER in the everyday life of the average citizen, they might. The embarrassment at the prospect of looking like clowns to the public that worships them would motivate them to come clean. Unfortunately (flame bait warning) that doesn't seem to extend to the junk brought to bear for the Holy Dogma of Evolution... why, even if this Dogma were true, would we STILL have a curious silence from the scientific world about science textbooks that present long-discredited "evidences" for evolution. These scientists sure aren't silent when someone manages to get, say, intelligent design theory introduced into classrooms.

[ASA Vet]

The Media and other liberals hate it when the process works well,
and they will spin the story to push their agenda.

Remember Three Mile Island?
The Engineered safeguards worked properly, shut down the plant, without a leak into the environment.
The media and libs used this success as "proof" that nuclear power isn't safe.

[Justa]

Well, supposedly this occurs in acetone. Acetone is highly volatile. So how hot are they gonna be able to get that to fuel a heat exchanger? And what's the density of these reactions? Heating up a bunch of acetone a few degrees just won't cut it.

[Rifleman]

Because the container is closed, not open at the top. And because they need to stop neutrons not gamma rays.

[Diogenesis]

Science in general has done poorly because the coverup of cold fusion was not exposed;
and some of those who sell their books about it continue that coverup up as they pose as "scientists".

[FreeAtlanta]

Typically, you use lead to stop Gamma Rays. Neutrons are better stopped by stuff like water, and paraffin.

[Diogenesis]

Actually, lead is only used for gamma rays up to about 200 keV.
From there to about 2 MeV, you can block with any material.

[Andrew Wiggin]

The Utah scientists were afraid that one of the people they had asked to peer review their work was about to publish it as his discovery. Acting on this belief, they rushed to make sure they received credit for their own work.

There is a fascinating book on the subject, I believe it is titled 'Bad Science'.

[spunkets]

"If they're getting bubbles "the size of a pencil top eraser" by irradiating with neutrons"They're using high energy density ultrasound to produce the cavitation(bubbles). The energy is high enough to produce ionization, but it's still mechanical energy and isn't anywhere near what it takes to enhance a fusion process. The neutron flux added, only serves to produce tritium and more deuterium. Even with this, the probability fusion will occur is still essentially nothing.

The 18 million degrees they mention, really only means some tiny fraction of ions of the light producing plasma are in an excited state, and some others, in the far tail of a velocity distribution, have large velocities. None of this could possibly lead to measurable fusion, because the probability of a deuterium/tritium nucleus having enough energy to overcome the electrostatic repulsion of another nucleus is astronomically small and the cross sections here are similar. All they do is heat the building in an expensive and elaborate way, all using power from the local TN power co.

[aruanan]

See the interesting, related cavitation research HERE (as well as a review of the field up through 1998). Go HERE for other papers on CANR (chemically assisted nuclear reactions).

[lepton]

We shouldn't allow this type of research to be shared. It should be owned by the United States alone.

I doubt that the tech could be kept. If they can figure out a way to harness such diffuse release, or to create the buble and collapse in a narrow stream, then this will be almost table-top with the right hardware.

I do not know that this is real, but that conditions in the center of collapsing bubbles are similar to that of the sun in terms of heat for a very brief time, has been known for some time. It's part of how bubbles pound propellers like a hammer, putting millions of tiny dents (craters) in the things.

[RogueIsland]

a problem known as premature cavitation

They might want to see a specialist about that.

[JMK]

"...a problem known as premature cavitation."

Ya gotta hate when that happens....