U.S. Dept. of Energy Takes A New Look At Cold Fusion

lhouk281 writes "Technology Review is reporting that the U.S. Department of Energy has decided that recent results justify a fresh look at cold fusion. According to Peter Hagelstein, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, experiments performed under properly controlled conditions reliably produce more heat than standard theory predicts, and nuclear products show up in about the right amounts to account for this excess heat. Maybe we'll get those atomic-powered automobiles after all ..."

Comments

Re:Solve the world's problems

[Dun Malg]

If the USA spent 10% of it's military budget on alternative energy sources then this nut could be cracked quickly

You think the reason alternative energy projects are moving slowly is lack of money? Please.

Re:Solve the world's problems

[Anixamander]

Imagine - oil would no longer have much value, and so the Middle East would no longer be a constant battleground.

While it would indeed solve the worlod's energy problems, I have to disagree on the above point. The Middle East was a battleground long before oil meant anything. Perhaps what you meant was it would no longer be a battleground that the US cared about. Without oil, it would be more like Rwanda...bad shit would still happen there, but the developed world would not care.

Re:Is there a physicist in the house?

[TigerNut]

There are lots of people in the nuclear physics field that are plugging away at cold fusion, though, and they wouldn't be doing that if it was proven to be a crackpot science. Historically, a lot of ground-breaking discoveries have been made by people from outside the established group of experts in the field.

The facts are that a lot of people are seeing unexplained excess heat generation when they do these experiments. Whether it's fusion or not, unexplained results eventually lead to fundamental theoretical insights, and that's all to the good.

It's funny to watch people react here..

[xtal]

Look, everyone seems all full of their intelligence here - so why not approach things with a neutral opinion until proven one way or the other? This guy is not selling you anything. He has an experimental apparatus and theory behind analmous heat production and can reproduce it; Ergo, either something is going on or he made a mistake. This can be determined on the basis of his experiment.

When experiment and existing theory produce different results, you need a new theory. That's how science works. The universe is never wrong. If you want to critique this guy, then go show me how smart you are and pick apart his experiments or apparatus, or maybe propose a theory that could explain the results another way - and devise an experiment to test that theory.

People mocked astronomy, planes, cars, space travel, quantum physics, the atomic bomb, television, computers, you name it - as the work of the devil, impossible, blah blah blah.

Yes, he could be wrong, but that's for replicable experiments to decide. I applaud these guys for trying and more importantly publishing their results. Nothing like the herd mentality, though. :sigh:

Re:It's funny to watch people react here..

[Minwee]

Carl Sagan put it best: "They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

Being persecuted for your beliefs doesn't make them right. Sometimes, it just means that you really are a crackpot and that the other children are right to laugh at you.

Re:Solve the world's problems

[argStyopa]

If the USA spent 10% of it's military budget on alternative energy sources then this nut could be cracked quickly...

So the reason Cold Fusion doesn't work is now ALSO the USA's fault?

You people are amazing.

Re:Cold Fusion possibly already achieved!

[DuckDuckBOOM!]

But does it not seem coincidental that one of the two suddenly owns an island and the other vanished?

Yep, the secret vanished, to the same place where hides the 100 MPG carburetor, the Dean Drive, and the rest. Just for the record, let me point out the teeny flaw in reasoning common to this class of conspiracy theories:

Scenario 1:

1. Pons and Fleischmann discover a source of effectively unlimited energy that is relatively safe and easy to manufacture, and portable in the bargain!
2. Exxon and Ford investigate, and discover that the process works and is commercially viable.
3. E & F decide that this incredible discovery must be suppressed for the sake of their businesses. They buy off Pons for an island and $whatever, on condition that he become a permanent recluse. Fleischmann refuses to cooperate, and "vanishes".
4. Exxon's profits sag as OPEC jacks up the price of crude yet again. Ford ups its factory rebates to hang on to its market share.

Scenario 2:

1. Pons and Fleischmann discover a source of effectively unlimited energy that is relatively safe and easy to manufacture, and portable in the bargain!
2. Exxon and Ford investigate, and discover that the process works and is commercially viable.
3. Exxon and Ford gain exclusive licenses for the process from P & F for a few US$billion each. Pocket change for them.
4. Exxon builds huge CF generators to pump hydrogen and electricity into the grid at one third of current prices, and its net profit jumps by a factor of 20 as Westinghouse, GE, BP/Amoco, and OPEC go bankrupt. U.S. pollution and CO2 emissions drop 30%. CEO honored at Sierra Club's annual convention.
5. Ford immediately retrofits entire product line for CF power at 30% above current sticker prices. New Expedition gets 11,400 miles per gallon of heavy water with zero emissions and near-zero maintenance (grease the suspension and empty the tritium cup every now & then). Ford's market share increases to 90% in three years. US pollution and CO2 emissions drop another 40%. Members of employee stock purchase program retire and buy yachts, CF-powered of course. Ford CEO honored at Greenpeace's annual convention.
6. Pons and Fleischmann are multi-billionaires and Nobel Prize winners. Forever after revered in history books as saviors of mankind.

Flippancy aside, which scenario do you consider more plausible?