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Cold fusion 'demonstration': Definitely a hoax, or merely almost definitely a hoax?


Schrödinger's hat

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Found this via slashdot:

http://peswiki.com/index.php/News:Real-Time_Updates_on_the_October_6%2C_2011_E-Cat_Test

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/06/1430210/does-italian-demo-show-cold-fusion-or-snake-oil

 

I've seen hydrogen-nickel fusion rolling around the crazier corners of the internet for a while, but this event and the commentary around it are merely ringing most of my crank alarms loudly. The others are only jangling.

 

Anyone have anything more to say on the matter?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Damn - He is playing a very dangerous game for a fraudster, I still think that he believes he has a break-through; whether he is deluding himself as well as others will soon be discovered. I still wouldnt buy a ticket - but getting close

 

While few appear to have much faith in the E-Cat, it's might be compared to buying a lottery ticket: the chances of a success are low, but the prize is gigantic.

 

from captain's linked article

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Well Schrödinger's hat ... this may be a clue:

 

My be-wary-of-the-delusional-loony-o-meter testing device kicked out quite a strong signal while processing the the first two sentences.

 

On October 6th of 2011, a very important test of Andrea Rossi's E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) will take place in the city of Bologna, Italy. Attending the test will be invited scientists from around the world, including staff from the University of Bologna.

 

Decoded:

* "I'm a very important man"

* "Scientists from as far afield as 30 paces down the corridor who are hoping for publicity for their university and in increase in Grants/Funding"

 

Rich

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Here is some news ... about some success:

http://pesn.com/2011...est_Successful/

 

 

... but it looks seriously like a Fanzine Page:

 

What You Can Do

  • Pass this on to your friends and favorite news sources.
  • Once available, purchase a unit and/or encourage others who are able, to do so.

 

Also a lot of negative comment at the bottom of the page.

 

but it's going to be a few days before he gets the necessary info and editorial approvals before he's able to run a story in the Associated Press.

 

So we'll have to wait until someone with some independent credibility post some meaningful news or comment.

 

The cold fusion page on Wikipedia says this today:

On October 28, 2011, Rossi claimed that he had completed a successful 5.5 hour test of a self-sustaining heat generator that produced 470 kW, and that he had made a sale to a undisclosed customer. However, the independent observers of the test were not allowed to make their own measurements nor closely scrutinize the company's procedures. [87]

--

Rich

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  • 1 month later...

Thought I would link to a brutal debunking of much of the published "theory" behind cold fusion research. The authors address the absurdity of below ground state orbitals in hydrogen and the absurdity (this one really cracks me up :P ) of "superbound" diatomic hydrogen molecular ions* (H2+ and/or D2+).

 

*The original quack who made this claim evidently considered the system as a classical point charge in the coulombic potential of two protons then claimed position certainty for the electron disallowed by the HUP, yet he uses some QM to explain away his lack of a radiating electron (and non relativistic QM at that, and arguable assumption at best for small molecular systems)...long story short...this doesn't cut it.

 

Cold Fusion Arguments addressed

 

I think the strongest [experimental] argument here is that the ground state to below ground state has never been observed.

 

Another good argument comes from here:

 

H. Wind, "Electron Energy for 

2 H in the Ground State", J. Chem. Phys. 1965 42, 2371

 

Which is cited in the linked paper. It's a bit old but might serve as a decent review for those who know some quantum mechanics but don't regularly use it in the context of molecular sciences.

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