Scientists in possible cold fusion breakthrough

[garbon]

The navy!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090324/ts_alt_afp/usscienceenergynuclear

Researchers at a US Navy laboratory have unveiled what they say is "significant" evidence of cold fusion, a potential energy source that has many skeptics in the scientific community.

The scientists on Monday described what they called the first clear visual evidence that low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR), or cold fusion devices can produce neutrons, subatomic particles that scientists say are indicative of nuclear reactions.

"Our finding is very significant," said analytical chemist Pamela Mosier-Boss of the US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) in San Diego, California.

"To our knowledge, this is the first scientific report of the production of highly energetic neutrons from a LENR device," added the study's co-author in a statement.

The study's results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The city is also the site of an infamous presentation on cold fusion 20 years ago by Martin Fleishmann and Stanley Pons that sent shockwaves across the world.

Despite their claim to cold fusion discovery, the Fleishmann-Pons study soon fell into discredit after other researchers were unable to reproduce the results.

Scientists have been working for years to produce cold fusion reactions, a potentially cheap, limitless and environmentally-clean source of energy.

Paul Padley, a physicist at Rice University who reviewed Mosier-Boss's published work, said the study did not provide a plausible explanation of how cold fusion could take place in the conditions described.

"It fails to provide a theoretical rationale to explain how fusion could occur at room temperatures. And in its analysis, the research paper fails to exclude other sources for the production of neutrons," he told the Houston Chronicle.

"The whole point of fusion is, you?re bringing things of like charge together. As we all know, like things repel, and you have to overcome that repulsion somehow."

But Steven Krivit, editor of the New Energy Times, said the study was "big" and could open a new scientific field.

The neutrons produced in the experiments "may not be caused by fusion but perhaps some new, unknown nuclear process," added Krivit, who has monitored cold fusion studies for the past 20 years.

"We're talking about a new field of science that's a hybrid between chemistry and physics."

[Alatriste]

The difficulty of achieving fusion is getting the nucleii together against the repulsion of their positive electric charges. Nature does it routinely, of course, but even Nature needs a truely huge mass to do it... a star.

Now, if some kind of unknown process is generating fast neutrons in low energy reactions that's extremely interesting (and astonishing and hardly believable too) but jumping to conclusions and saying that is due to 'cold fusion' isn't serious. There are known sources of neutrons, like radiactive decay, that probably could explain the presence of some neutrons, but the article doesn't provide any detail about the experiment performed [sigh]

Regarding the Navy's interest in nuclear physics, it isn't anything new. Even during the Second World War the US Navy had a nuclear research project, independent from the Manhattan Project, aimed at - you guessed it - nuclear propulsion for submarines. Their ideas for producing U235 were actually more advanced...

[Brazen]

Cold fusion's easy to achieve. Just lick a lamp post when it's freezing.

[Monoriu]

I will not see fusion before I die.  I hate to be proven wrong.

[jimmy olsen]

The navy!

Navy scientists amuse you?

[Alatriste]

It must be said in his defence that tattoos & funny hats don't go well with white coats & thick glasses...

[Caliga]

LULZ was this experiment done in: Philadelphia

[Grallon]

I remember such a cold fusion craze in 1989 - a couple of european scientists had proclaimed they had acheived it but nobody else could reproduce the experiment...

Anyhow let's hope this is the real deal this time around.

Imagine, all the fucking arabs would then become entirely superfluous 





G.

[Caliga]

  Dubai's crash is going to be the most hilarious one ever.

[PDH]

I remember such a cold fusion craze in 1989 - a couple of european scientists had proclaimed they had acheived it but nobody else could reproduce the experiment...

They were scientists from Utah - they harnesses the power of Mormonism to achieve it, but the church kept a lid on it to make sure the gentiles didn't misuse it.

[garbon]

Navy scientists amuse you?

Navy scientists who claim they've made a cold fusion breakthrough amuse me, yes.

[grumbler]

The navy!

Navy scientists amuse you?

Not as much as the oxymoron of "gay scientist" amuses the average person, but since he cannot laff at that, he gets his laffs where he can.

[garbon]

Not as much as the oxymoron of "gay scientist" amuses the average person, but since he cannot laff at that, he gets his laffs where he can.

Are there gay research labs?

I thought those were called porn studios.

[Ed Anger]

Feltching technology- improved straw in 7 turns

Culture Advisor: We need improved internet for gay porn delivery!

[DGuller]

I will not see fusion before I die.  I hate to be proven wrong.

I certainly hope to not see fusion moments before I die.