Well, It had to happen...... 60 minutes did a second pass on what they still want to purvey as cold fusion. The difference is it wasn't a hachet job, as in the past.
CANR-LENR, as it is now often called, or whatever the correct cover name you may wish to assign to it, is warming up again.
Even after a cursory overview, CBS news found out a lot of folks are seeing stuff and more qualified folks are working on this than mainstream science wants to admit to. The natural next question is, why, if the subject is so discredited are their good folks still pecking at the lobes of this?
60 minutes reported that a recent DARPA report following government sponsored experiments openly concluded in its research summary that there is definitely something to the phenomena of deuterium loaded, lattice based, excess heat production.
The initial opening interview was with Mike Mc Kubre of SRI international, whom I have met. For such a serious researcher, his first few thoughts were unusually bold and I felt a bit out there. However, he settled down as the piece went on. With video editing we don't know that they were even time ordered comments, having been selectively stripped from 3 hours of interviews. (Been there, had that done to me).
The key point was when CBS inquired, rightly, to the heads of the APS, (American Physical Society), as to a recommendation from them to a top notch, unbiased, person to help them look at this without a pre-disposition on the subject. A well known physicist involved with energy measurement was recommended to them. He agreed to go to Israel where the current best CANR-LENR research is being done and look, critcally, at their work. The physicist admitted that he thought the subject died years ago, but was amazed at the work being done, as he very skeptically looked on. He returned with a pile o' their data and spent " payed for time" running the calc's and checking the data. He admitted that their work looked impeccable, the calcs were good and that they appeared to have a genuine phenomena in hand!
The physicist admitted, on camera, that he was now a convert and was stunned that this got shoved into a bad place years ago.
The obligatory interview with Martin Fleischmann, the "grand old man" now moldering away in ill health and ruined carrer, was last. Fleishman noted that real fusion or not, his one great regret was using the hot button word "fusion" to describe his and Pons efforts.
He also noted, as many in the field now know, that the 1989 press interview was bad, as well, but forced upon him by the college and its lawyers seeking to back the patents and firmly establish their claims.
So where are we? Who knows?
As I have noted, those who do the work and, just once, see 5,10, 40 times the energy out as was put in are hooked and they must be prepared for there being no satisfying theory extant to explain the results chemically or at an acceptable nuclear level and a world of frustration borne through failure to consistently replcate, to consistently perform to similar levels when replicated, little or no radiation, excess heat far beyond the single ev chemistry level., plus measurable nuclear ash and transmutation products present in the loaded palladium remnant. Frustration....endless frustration...... Yet, they are hooked.
This more cheery segment now about possible new energy in the future followed an initial, very depressing report on the whys and wherefores surrounding the recent horrid 401 melt downs.
Two well done and interesting segments. I wonder if these are on line?
YES (update) view the piece at.......
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4955212n
Love it or hate it, a must see piece.
What you get out of it will be up to you and your own perceptions, knowledge and hopes, fears and dreams.
Richard Hull |
2009-04-20 13:21 Cold Fusion on 60 Minutes! (Richard Hull) [Latest: 2009-04-23 04:31]