Cold fusion gets cold shoulder from many scientists

S.F. Chronicle/WSJ ^ | 9/5/2003 | Sharon Begley

[B Knotts]

"Well, we're here," said physicist Peter Hagelstein to the 150 scientists at the 10th International Conference on Cold Fusion in Cambridge, Mass., last week. "Many people in the scientific community feel we should be shot."

That, actually, would be a big step up for the beleaguered community of cold fusioneers.

[B Knotts]

Sorry...I couldn't resist posting this.

[Rodney King]

There are a couple of nut jobs here who make money selling a pseudo science cold fusion magazine (that is not to say that cold fusion in and of itself is pseudo-science). I wish I could remember who they were so I could ping them. It's a Dr. somebody and his sidekick who name starts with a D.

[fishtank]

"What these claims need is critical scrutiny by skeptics. That's how science normally functions. But in cold fusion, it isn't. And that's the worst pathology of all."

I read this article in the hard copy WSJ. Cold fusion will attract attention when real usable results are produced.

[B Knotts]

Perhaps. I just find the whole thing fascinating, both the sideshow atmosphere that has grown around cold fusion (or whatever it is) and the orthodoxy enforced against anyone who thinks there may be something to it.

[SpaceBar]

You know something's true when you can buy it at Wal*Mart.

[jimkress]

Copernicus got the same treatment. Galileo was imprisoned by the catholic church for equivalent heresy against 'common knowledge'. Columbus was ridiculed and ostracized for espusing the belief that the world was round.

Science is just as political and emotional as any other form of human endeavor. Just look at 'global warming'. 'Science' has always been as much a political tool as a systematic examination of our environment. All major scientific advances have been the subject of scorn and ridicule at their inception. It's just the human factor in play.

When the cold fusion folks reach a point of having usable, reproducible benefits to society, the worm will turn.

[jimkress]

espusing = espousing

Got to get a new spell checker ...

[Poohbah]

If were working on cold fusion and I had solid reason to believe that there was anything to cold fusion, I'd jump for joy that major scientists weren't chasing it. No competition for patents, or for getting the thing to market.

And then the money would be mine! Mine! ALL MINE!

[RightWhale]

It has been years since a major physics journal published a paper on cold fusion.

There is a reason, believe it or not, why physics journals read by physicists are read by physicists. It's a matter of trust. If there is deceit happening in the journals, the journals very soon would become unreliable for transmission of information between and among scientists. Then, very soon after that, science would descend to the level of science in the 3rd world. Without communication, science would be destroyed.

[SES1066]

Consider for later reading and reply.

[Rebel_Ace]

"...It's a Dr. somebody and his sidekick who name starts with a D..."

How could you forget? It's Doctor Muon and his trusty sidekick, Deuterium Boy!

[fishtank]

If there is a reputable researcher out there doing work in cold fusion, he/she should:

(1) Never use the term "cold fusion" in their publications.

(2) Never cite as a reference an article mentioning "cold fusion".

[Rebelbase]

Ponds and Fleichman bump.

[Dead Dog]

So, if you and an anchor are in a row boat in a swiming pool, and you throw the anchor overboard. Does the water level go up or down?

The question is a good example of how the mind can alter the math.

[RonHolzwarth]

re: ""make us conclude that we are seeing new physics."

Oh come on. Physics has not changed since the Creation. What is possible to change is our understanding of it.

[B Knotts]

Just a guess...but I reckon that's what he meant. :-)

[Diogenesis]

The Cold Fusion meeting was in Cambridge MA and at MIT.
Many FReepers were there. Cold fusion is very real -- as is its coverup.

[RightWhale]

Sure. There's plenty of lab work and accompanying formulas to develop in the nuts and bolts of the associated reactions. There could be a new way to 'see' the adsorption of hydrogen atoms or molecules onto palladium or platinum. Computer models could provide some colorful diagrams, and an article could appear in Physics World. There must be thousands of submicroscopic phenomena available in the apparatus without even worrying about the cold fusion intent.

[Diogenesis]

You are a nut case who has a history of diverting these threads. Cold fusion is real.

---

For FReepers and scientists who care about what is going on:

New Scientist Features Cold Fusion

"No sooner had cold fusion surfaced than it was written off, and the idea of
extracting virtually limitless free energy from water became taboo. So how come
a small band of experienced researchers working for the US Navy just can't let
it drop?"

Theoretical Framework for Anomalous Heat and 4He in Transition Metal Systems

Deuteron Fluxing and the Ion Band State Theory

Calorimetric Principles and Problems in Pd-D2O Electrolysis

Anomalous Effects in Deuterated Systems, Final Report

Thermal and Nuclear Aspects of the Pd/D2O System, Vol 1

Thermal and Nuclear Aspects of the Pd/D2O System, Vol 2

"...California is experiencing rolling blackouts due to power shortages.
Conventional engineering, planned ahead, could have prevented these
blackouts, but it has been politically expedient to ignore the inevitable.
We do not know if Cold Fusion will be the answer to future energy needs,
but we do know the existence of Cold Fusion phenomenon through
repeated observations by scientists throughout the world.
It is time that this phenomenon be investigated
so that we can reap whatever benefits accrue from additional scientific understanding.
It is time for government funding organizations to invest in this research"
Dr. Frank E. Gordon
Head, Navigation and Applied Sciences Department
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego

Cold Fusion Times

[punster]

One of the things I found most disturbing about all of the hoopla about cold fusion was:

The preferred reaction is:

H2 + H2 yields He3 + 1 neutron

What this means is the reaction is a potent source of fast neutrons as well as gamma radiation. The original researchers should have gotten high radiation exposure in short order, even a many times lethal dose. That is the most questionable thing about their claims.