[ExI] [extropy-chat] Elvis Sightings (was: cold fusion warms up)

[Damien Broderick]

At 04:09 AM 12/26/2006 -0500, John Clark wrote:

>Come on Damien be honest, is there really any reason to think cold fusion is
>true other than the fact you wish it were true? Well I wish it were true
>too, but it's not. The new year is coming so I'll make you a little bet,
>I'll bet you that an article favorable to cold fusion (not counting Muon
>fusion) will not be published in Nature or Science in the next year. If the
>article appears I will publicly admit that I was wrong and you were right.
>But if the article does not appear will you do the same? I mean, if the
>phenomenon is real it can't remain hidden forever from the scientific
>method forever. I intend to remember this bet one year from today.

It's too late for that bet (and since I'm not a 
gambling man, and don't really care strongly one 
way or the other, I didn't take it), but anyone 
interested in placed a wager with John might take note of this:

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<http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/acs-fr031709.php>

Public release date: 23-Mar-2009
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein at acs.org
202-872-6042

American Chemical Society

'Cold fusion' rebirth? New evidence for existence of controversial energy
source

Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a
meeting of the American Chemical Society


SALT LAKE CITY, March 23, 2009 — Researchers are reporting compelling new
scientific evidence for the existence of low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR),
the process once called "cold fusion" that may promise a new source of
energy. One group of scientists, for instance, describes what it terms the
first clear visual evidence that LENR devices can produce neutrons, subatomic
particles that scientists view as tell-tale signs that nuclear reactions are
occurring.

Low-energy nuclear reactions could potentially provide 21st Century society a
limitless and environmentally-clean energy source for generating electricity,
researchers say. The report, which injects new life into this controversial
field, will be presented here today at the American Chemical Society's 237th
National Meeting. It is among 30 papers on the topic that will be presented
during a four-day symposium, "New Energy Technology," March 22-25, in
conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the first description of cold
fusion.

"Our finding is very significant," says study co-author and analytical
chemist Pamela Mosier-Boss, Ph.D., of the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare
Systems Center (SPAWAR) in San Diego, Calif. "To our knowledge, this is the
first scientific report of the production of highly energetic neutrons from
an LENR device."

...In the new study, Mosier-Boss and colleagues inserted an electrode composed
of nickel or gold wire into a solution of palladium chloride mixed with
deuterium or "heavy water" in a process called co-deposition. A single atom
of deuterium contains one neutron and one proton in its nucleus.

Researchers passed electric current through the solution, causing a reaction
within seconds. The scientists then used a special plastic, CR-39, to capture
and track any high-energy particles that may have been emitted during
reactions, including any neutrons emitted during the fusion of deuterium
atoms.

At the end of the experiment, they examined the plastic with a microscope and
discovered patterns of "triple tracks," tiny-clusters of three adjacent pits
that appear to split apart from a single point. The researchers say that the
track marks were made by subatomic particles released when neutrons smashed
into the plastic. Importantly, Mosier-Boss and colleagues believe that the
neutrons originated in nuclear reactions, perhaps from the combining or
fusing deuterium nuclei.

"People have always asked 'Where's the neutrons?'" Mosier-Boss says. "If you
have fusion going on, then you have to have neutrons. We now have evidence
that there are neutrons present in these LENR reactions."

They cited other evidence for nuclear reactions including X-rays, tritium
(another form of hydrogen), and excess heat. Meanwhile, Mosier-Boss and
colleagues are continuing to explore the phenomenon to get a better
understanding of exactly how LENR works, which is key to being able to
control it for practical purposes.

Mosier-Boss points out that the field currently gets very little funding and,
despite its promise, researchers can't predict when, or if, LENR may emerge
from the lab with practical applications. The U.S. Department of the Navy and
JWK International Corporation in Annandale, Va., funded the study.

Other highlights in the symposium include:

Overview, update on LENR by editor of New Energy Times ­ Steve Krivit, editor
of New Energy Times and author of "The Rebirth of Cold Fusion," will present
an overview of the field of low energy nuclear reactions, formerly known as
"cold fusion." A leading authority on the topic, Krivit will discuss the
strengths, weaknesses, and implications of this controversial subject,
including its brief history. (ENVR 002, Sunday, March 22, 8:55 a.m. Hilton,
Alpine Ballroom West, during the symposium, "New Energy Technology)

Excess heat, gamma radiation production from an unconventional LENR device
—Tadahiko Mizuno, Ph.D., of Hokkaido University in Japan, has reported the
production of excess heat generation and gamma ray emissions from an
unconventional LENR device that uses phenanthrene, a type of hydrocarbon, as
a reactant. He is the author of the book "Nuclear Transmutation: The Reality
of Cold Fusion." (ENVR 049, Monday, March 23, 3:35 p.m., Hilton, Alpine
Ballroom West, during the symposium, "New Energy Technology.")

New evidence supporting production and control of low energy nuclear
reactions — Antonella De Ninno, Ph.D., a scientist with New Technologies
Energy and Environment in Italy, will describe evidence supporting the
existence of low energy nuclear reactions. She conducted lab experiments
demonstrating the simultaneous production of both excess heat and helium gas,
tell-tale evidence supporting the nuclear nature of LENR. She also shows that
scientists can control the phenomenon. (ENVR 064, Tuesday, March 24, 10:10
a.m., Hilton, Alpine Ballroom West, during the symposium, "New Energy
Technology)

###

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the
U.S. Congress. With more than 154,000 members, ACS is the world's largest
scientific society and a global leader in providing access to
chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed
journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington,
D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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Of course, they're only chemists, not real scientists like physicists.

Damien Broderick