Re: Cold fusion = Pathological science ???

[Ludwik Kowalski <kowalskil@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

On Wednesday, Jul 21, 2004, at 07:00 America/New_York, Ludwik Kowalski
wrote:

> Thanks to all who contributed to unit #161 on:
>
> http://blake.montclair.edu/~kowalskil/cf/
>
> Ludwik Kowalski
> P.S. I am always interested in what teachers
> think about all aspects of cold fusion.

I usually try to avoid personal issues surrounding cold fusion. The
documented history of rejections (unit #88 and #154) and unit #161 are
exceptions. In unit #161 one of you mentioned John Bockris. This
prompted me to fetch his paper describing cold fusion research and
politics at Texas E&M  University. Most of it is science (in historical
perspective) but some is politics. It is a pdf file. I will keep its
icon on my desktop for a couple of days. Those who want to see it
should contact me privately; I will be glad to send it to you as an
attachment. Here is an extract about personal politics. Let me add
that, as far as I know, Bockris, now retired, is a big name in
electrochemistry. His team was working on fuel cells when the cold
fusion controversy erupted. I am not surprised that some of his cold
fusion claims were considered to be even more strange than those made
by Fleischmann and Pons. He wrote (in Journal of New Energy, Vol 4, no
2, 1999, p. 40):

" 2. The reactions among Texas A&M chemistry professors varied within
divisions. Some organic faculty showed scholarly interest and
approached me for discussion and explanation (though the Distinguished
Professors in organic chemistry, both of whom were from Imperial
College, London, my alma mater, withdrew all relations from me!).
Professors in the Cyclotron group, - the nuclear chemists, - behaved as
scientists and offered hesitant and skeptical discussion. The Head of
the Cyclotron Institute (Prof. J. Natowitz) took a laid-back and
skeptical interest in our results, which he thought must be due to
errors of measurement. However, what discussion he gave us was normal
and scientific in attitude.

A Dean accused me officially of "Misconduct in Research" but the
verdict (from a committee of my peers) was complete exoneration. A
professor in the inorganic faculty stimulated a second, much longer,
investigation which (a press report alleged) was aimed at unseating me
from the university! It ended positively for me after I had lodged a
formal complaint concerning my treatment to the American Association of
University Professors.

Remarkable, indeed, was the attitude of the Distinguished Professors
group to which I had belonged since 1982, and most of whom I had
entertained in my home. When the transmutation phenomena were first
announced, one of its members gathered signatures from 21 out of 34 of
the Distinguished Professors to a manifesto, sent to the Provost asking
for my demotion from the Distinguished Professor rank because my
coworkers had discovered reactions inconsistent with the reigning
paradigm. The word caper was used to describe the tritium work with its
world wide confirmation and the idea that one could have transmutation
of metals in the cold was described as equivalent to claiming to mine
green cheese on the moon. None of those who signed asked to see the
publications on these subjects which had been made in refereed
journals. None of the Distinguished Professors called to ask me what
was going on. [31] Only Frank Vandiver (formerly
President of the University) met with me privately to express regret at
having signed the manifesto.

Lastly, it is interesting to comment upon the ERAB Committee [31] which
investigated the phenomena in 1990. The members of this committee
included a well known electrochemist, Prof. Alan Bard of the University
of Texas. The attitude taken by most of the committee members was that
a crime had been committed and was being investigated. On occasions
when clear positive data were presented, committee members became
disturbed and abruptly ended discussion.

It seems reasonable seriously to compare the attitudes present in
investigation of this ERAB Committee on cold fusion [31] as similar to
those of Inquisitions by the Roman Catholic Church of a heresy from
doctrine."