Although I read a couple of books on cold fusion some years ago, I remember few of the details today, and can safely say I know next to nothing on the subject. That said, I found this blog post by Roger Stritmatter about the E-Cat reactor very interesting. It's a good summary of the cold fusion controversy, the vindication of Fleischmann and Pons by a number of independent researchers, and the amazing potential of low energy nuclear reactions. Since I can't judge the scientific tests of E-Cat that have been performed so far, I can only say that either this thing will be a game-changer or it will be one of the great hoaxes of all time. Either way, it's worth knowing about.
http://shake-speares-bible.com/2012/02/14/i-am-an-e-cat-junky/
Michael, Stephan Schwartz has been following this story closely for the last year or so on his blog, and because I've been attracted to Schwartz's work over the years and find him credible, I've been following it too. I agree with you that it's a story that's hard to resist.
Posted by: Bruce Siegel | February 20, 2012 at 01:33 AM
I mentioned Rossi's ecat work on this blog several times over the past few months, but nobody responded or seemed interested.
That may be about to change...
Posted by: Douglas | February 20, 2012 at 03:20 AM
If you've been following long-time LENR advocate/reporter Steven Krivit's coverage of Rossi it's hard to escape the conclusion that the E-Cat is a hoax, and not one of the most cunning hoaxes of all time either. (Though hoax isn't quite the right four-letter word.)
Posted by: anonymist | February 20, 2012 at 05:18 AM
Actually, if you've been following the whole ecat saga for severla years BEYOND just Steven Krivit's evaluation, it's hard to escape the conclusion that there is definitely something genuine here.
The problem is that many American and Australian obervers just don't get the way that European, and italian in particular, pioneers and inventors operate.
Posted by: Douglas | February 20, 2012 at 05:40 AM
I'm confident enough to let it hit the market and leave the pseudosceptics to argue if the science says it exists or not.
Posted by: Charles Frith | February 20, 2012 at 06:00 AM
The Krivit articles are interesting. This one in particular struck me as pretty convincing:
http://newenergytimes.com/v2/news/2012/Report-4-Rossis-NASA-Test-Fails-to-Launch.shtml
But I realize there's another side to the story. It will be interesting to see what happens.
My main takeaway from reading about cold fusion a few years ago is that the Fleischmann & Pons experiments have been replicated by some well-respected researchers and institutions. It seems as if something was legitimately going on; it wasn't just a measurement error, as MIT and others insisted at the time. Whether or not Rossi is for real, there's a genuine phenomenon here that may be exploitable for commercial purposes, if it can be harnessed and if the energy output is significant enough. (Those are big ifs.)
E-Cat could be a scam; Krivit's posts make me inclined to think it is. But LENR is a legitimate field of study and may hold out greater potential than the multibillion dollar R&D of hot-fusion reactors.
Posted by: Michael Prescott | February 20, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Glad you're taking an interest, Michael. This is the year for recognition of free energy, as I've said.
E-cat can't be a scam if he's sold it to the US Navy, as is claimed. However, Rossi is a tricky customer, no doubt. Defalkion have their own version in Greece, and there are other devices in the pipeline -one in South Africa.
When I see some of the ideas about how free energy of this type might be used, though, I begin to have a few reservations about it (Non-stop round the world motorboat racing, for instance. Humans will be humans. 2012 won't change that).
Posted by: Ben | February 20, 2012 at 12:15 PM
I agree with MP's comment above. There is definitely something to LENR. Unfortunately Rossi has litle credibility. He was indicted on fraud charges a decade or so ago and there are serious doubts about hidden energy input in his demonstrations.
Posted by: Michael Duggan | February 20, 2012 at 07:37 PM
that should be serious concerns about hidden energy input... (been a hard day)!
Posted by: Michael Duggan | February 20, 2012 at 07:42 PM
I used to read Richard Milton's book Alternative Science which was my first introduction to people calling out professional skeptics for being blind-sided. In relation to cold fusion, he called CSICOP the and other skeptics who frothed at the mouth over it, the "paradigm police", can't wait until cold fusion is everywhere, and they can eat crow,
Posted by: Cyrus | February 21, 2012 at 03:12 AM
Cold fusion is definitely happening, regardless of Rossi. I don't think he's a fraud, but I do think he may be struggling to replicate his results to the consistant requirements of industry, and he's trying to keep the internal problems as secret as possible until he resolves them. It doesnt cast a very good light however.
Rossi has even sold his own house to fund his project so i don't think fraud is at work here.
Cold fusion is definitely happening in various labs around the world however, as others have said, although it now being called LENR.
Posted by: Douglas | February 21, 2012 at 08:02 AM