An article in The New York Times (3/25/04) gave
additional details about the upcoming review of
cold fusion by a panel of scientists selected by
the US Department of Energy (DOE). Extracts
from that article can be found in item #134 on
my cold fusion web site:
That item will probably be growing as I learn
more about the pending DOE evaluation. Please
send me references to articles (or, preferably,
copies of articles themselves) on that topic, as
you encounter them in different journals or papers.
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P.S.
If it were up to me I would suggest that the panel
of DOE scientists focus on essential scientific
questions and not on practical applications which
are far away, at best. Promising too much, and
too early, was one of the mistakes made fifteen
years ago. In my opinion the six most important
scientific questions are:
1) Are unexpected neutrons, protons, tritons and
alpha particles emitted (at low rates) in some
CF experiments?
2) Is generation of heat, in some CF experiments,
linearly correlated with the accumulation of He-4
at the rate of 24 MeV per atom of He-4?
3) Have highly unusual isotopic ratios been observed
among the elements found in some CF systems
4) Have radioactive isotopes been produced in some
CF systems?
5) Has transmutation of elements occurred in some
CF setups?
6) Are the ways of validating scientific findings in
the areas of CF research consistent with accepted
methodologies in other areas of science?
I think that a positive answer to even one of these
six questions should be sufficient to justify an
official declaration that “cold fusion, in light of recent
data, should be treated as a legitimate area of
research.” The normal peer review mechanisms will
then be used to separate valid claims from wishful
thinking.