Cold Fusion
I’ve been planning to write something up about the current state of cold fusion research. This IEEE Tech Talk Blog Post does that. I wouldn’t say I agree with every word but that’s not surprising, as it’s written by someone I’d expect to be skeptical. For instance:
After more than three decades of simmering debate in specialized physics groups and fringe research circles, the controversy over cold fusion (sometimes called low-energy nuclear reactions or LENRs) refuses to go away. On one hand, ardent supporters have lacked the consistent, reproducible results and the theoretical underpinning needed to court mainstream acceptance.
Bolded is bullshit. I suppose I should be more charitable, but it’s annoying. Consistently repeating this claim doesn’t make it true. Especially as he follows by admitting there is consistent evidence.
On the other, vehement detractors cannot fully ignore the anomalous results that have continued to crop up, like the evidence for so-called “lattice-confinement fusion” adduced last year by a group at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
What’s interesting about this post is the announcement that government labs have been/will be coordinating a new effort to look at cold fusion. And,
The researchers say they hope to publish their initial results by the end of the year. “I think the most important thing is to reveal a mechanism by which the phenomenon works,” says Gotzmer.
I mean ok, great. Good luck to them.
Every time I think about making a post on this topic I get discouraged. I will follow up soon but I guess this will do for now.