Steven Jones was one of three scientists whose work
resulted in the "cold fusion" controversy, 13 years ago.
Unlike Fleischmann and Pons, he is a physicist. Pons
left the field while Fleischmann and Jones are still very
active. Which Nobel Prize might they share, in physics
or in chemistry? Physics. Is this possible? I think so.
But at this stage I would not recommend them (if I were
entitled to suggest nominees). Instead I would argue
that the second national evaluation of the entire "cold
fusion" field is needed in view of recent findings. We,
teachers, could play a role in asking for the second
evaluation, as exemplified by my letter to the editor
of our journal. Click below to see that letter.
My hope was that others will support the appeal (in
responding to what I wrote) and that this will be noticed
by NSF, NAS and AIP leaders. A letter to the editor,
inspired by Jones' papers, for example, can have a
significant impact. [Other research papers, presented
at the Cold Fusion conference last August, are also
downloadable from the same web site as Jones's
papers. To get them go to http://www.lenr-canr.org ,
click on the ICCF10 and scroll down to the list of
downloadable papers.]
Something will happen if many physics teachers write
that they are confused by the present situation. We
(and our students) have access to many good papers
but our establishment keeps repeating old arguments
that the entire field is "pseudo-science." Somebody
should appoint a panel of experts to evaluate findings
reported in the last ten years.
A letter to the editor of our journal, The Physics Teacher,
can be submitted via e-mail. The editor is Dr. Karl. C.
Mamola. The address is: < tpt@appstate.edu >