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The Eye IsThe WindowOf the Soul

Leonardo on V ision

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21 stCENTURYSCIENCE TECHNOLOGYV o l . 2 , No. 6 November-December19i 19Features2 8 'The Eye Is the Win dow of the Soul':

Leonardo da Vinci's S cience of 'Prospettiva'RobertL. GallagherThe ancient theory of human vision , based on the sou l ,is con firme d b>Leonardo.44 Om inous Trends in U.S. Defense

RyanJohnsonAs the United States closes down its in-depth defense capabilit ies, theSoviets are in the m iddle ofawar build-up plan that wil l give themmilitary s upe riority in three to five years. New Soviet wea pons based oinew physical principles are ready for deplo yme nt.

52 Ho w to Organ ize Today's Moo n/Mars ProgramMarsha FreemanA review of an unusual Apo llo history that gives a behind-the-sce neslook at the men who made it possible to fulfill President Kennedy'smission to land a man on the Mo on w ithin a decade.

NewsFUSION REPORT6 Co ldF usio n: New Findings Ove rpowe r Stale Lies8 Wh at the Experiments Have Produced12 An Intervie w w ith Texas A& M Researchers:How We D iscovered We Had Trit ium13 De uteriu m in Nuclear Fusion Reactions15 An Intervie w wi th Dr. Steven Jones:'The Excess Heat Is Intere sting , But Not Fusion '16 Cold Fusion Mav erick: H. TracyHal l ,Jr.18 An Interview with Dr. Hugo Rossi:The First-order Priority Is Reproducibility and Repeatability'21 Energy Dep artme nt Sabotages Magn etic FusionNUCLEAR REPORT22 W ho's Trying to Stop Brazil's Nuclear Program?ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

23 Unscientif ic and Un-Am erican:Scientific A mericano n M anaging Planet Earth: A ReviewSPACE57 Voyager Finds a Spectacular Ne ptune

Departments2 EDITORIAL3 LETTERS4 VIEWPOINT

58 BOOKS59 HOLIDA Y GIFT IDEAS

E D I T O R I A L S T A F FE d i t o r - i n - C h i e fC a r o l W h i t eM a n a g i n g E d i t o rMar jo r i e Maze l Hech tA s s o c i a t e E d i t o r sD a v i d C h e r r yM a r s h a F r e e m a nRober t Ga l l agherJ o h n G r a u e r h o l z , M DW a r r e n H a m e r m a nR a m t a n u M a i t r aChar l es B . S tevensB o o k sD a v i d C h e r r yArt D i rectorA l a n Y u eA d v e r t i s i n g M a n a g e rM a r s h a F r e e m a nC i r c u l a t i o n M a n a g e rD a n a A r n e s tS C I E N T I F I C A D V I S O R Y B O A R DWins ton Bos t i ck , PhDJ o h n D . C o x , P h DJ e a n - M i c h e l D u t u i t , P h DB e r t h a F a r f a n , M DJ a m e s F r a z e r , P h DR o b e r t J . M o o n , P h DU w e H e n k e v o n P a r p a r tF rank Sa l i sbu ry , PhDJ o h n S e a l e , M DB . A . S o l d a n o . P h DJ o n a t h a n T e n n e n b a u m , P h DC o l . Mo l l o y Vaug hn . USA ( re t . )Dan ie l R. We l l s , PhD

21st Century Science & Technology ( ISSN0895-6820 ) is published 6 times a year, every othermonth, by 21st Century Science Associates, P.O.Box 65473. Washington, DC. 20035. Tel. (703)777-7473. Dedicated to providing accurate andcomprehensive information on advanced technologies and science policy, 21st Cen tury is committed to restonng American scientific and technological leadership. 21st Century covers the frontiersof science, focusing on the self-developing qualities of the physical universe in such areas asplasma physicsthe basis for fusion poweraswell as biology and microphysics, and includingground-breaking studies of the historical development of science and technology.

Opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of21st Century S cience Associates or thescientific advisory board.Subscriptions by mail are $20 for 6 issues or$38 for 12 issues in the USA and Canada. Airmailsubscriptions to other countries are $40 tor 6 issues. Payments must be in U.S. currency.Address all correspondence to 21st Century,P.O. Box 65473, Washington, DC. 20035.POSTMA STER: Send address changes to 21stCentury, P.O. Box 65473. Washington. D.C.20035.Copyright 198921st Century Science AssociatesPrinted in the USAISSN 0895-6820

On the cover:The Virginofthe GrottobyLeonardo da Vinci, courtesy of Art Resource;coverdesign byVirginia Baier.

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EDITORIAL

The 21st Century: The Promise ExistsThe ne x t 10 yea rs w i l l s u re ly be c ruc i a l t o t he f u t u r e pa t h

o f human i t y f o r t he f o reseeab le f u t u re . A t p resen t we a rel i v i ng i n a pe r i o d cu rsed by na r rown ess o f v i s i on an d , i nman y i ns t ances , sheer b ru t a l i t y . I n A f r i ca , As i a , and no wi n La t i n Amer i ca hunger aga i n s t a lks t he g lobe and a l lunnecessa r i l y . I n t h i s nex t decade e i t he r we w i l l p repa re t oen t e r a t rue space age , an age w i t h an unch ar t e d bu t j o you s l y h o p e f u l f u t u r e a w a i t i n g i t , o r m a n k i n d w i l l h u d d l e h e r eon Ear th i n a p ro t rac t e d da rk age , wh i ch w i l l make ea r l i e rs u c h p e r i o d s s e e m l i k e g o l d e n a g e s b y c o m p a r i s o n . T h echo i ce i s ou rs ; t he p ro m i se ex i s t s .

F i f t y years ago the poss ib i l i t i es o f harness ing f i ss ion energy and f us i on po we r were s t i l l i n t he f u t u r e . Today , we seemo n t h e v e r g e o f n e w e x p e r i m e n t a l d i s c o v e r i e s a b o u t t h eve ry essence o f ma t t e r . The wo rk o f F le i schmann and Ponsand th e i r asso c ia tes, as we l l as the past years ' d iscov er iest h a t h a v e e x p a n d e d o u r n o t i o n o f s u p e r c o n d u c t i n g , p o s ea w h o l e n e w f r o n t i e r n o t o n l y o f p h y s ic s per se, bu t a l soo f b i ophys i cs . The human body opera t es on t he bas i s o fadvanced ca t a ly t i c p r i nc i p les t ha t mus t be ana logous t ocold f u s i o n a n d room temperature s u p e r c o n d u c t i v i t y , b e cause i t can dep loy huge energy f l ux dens i t i es w i t hou tr a i s i n g b o d y t e m p e r a t u r e .

Perhaps t he mos t upse t t i ng f ea t u re o f t he F le i schmann-Pons exper i men t s t o t he sc i ence es t ab l i shmen t has beent he i r ve ry s i mp l i c i t y . To repea t t he m obv i ou s ly requ i resca re and sc i en t i f i c r i go r , bu t no t megab ucks . Any phys i cs o rchem i s t ry labo ra t o ry can j o i n t he game, and many a l readyhave , i n I nd i a and La t in Am er i ca as we l l as i n t he Un i t edS t a t es , Eu ro pe , an d Japan .

The new phys i cs t h rea t ens t o be dangerous ly subvers i ve .I m a g i n e h o w L e o n a r d o d a V i n c i w o u l d l a u g h w i t h d e l i g h tas t he pom pos i t i es o f g roup s l i ke t he Am er i ca n Phys i ca lS o c i e t y , w h i c h o u t l a w e d c o l d f u s i o n o u t - o f - h a n d , a r e p u n c t u red one a f t e r ano t he r .

The essen t i a l l esson o f t he new superconduc t o rs and t hela t es t dev e lop me n t s on t he f us i on f ron t is t he bea u t i f u ldemons t ra t i on o f t he un i t y o f phys i cs and geomet ry , a un i t ythat lay at the bas is o f the great d iscover ies o f Leonardo ,t h e f a th e r o f m o d e r n s c i e n c e a n d t e c h n o l o g y .

Today , phys i cs and ma t hemat i cs have f o l l owed t he samepa t h , re l i nqu i sh i ng t he on ly f ru i t f u l way t o d i scove ryt h r o u g h t h e m e t h o d s o f c o n s t r u c t i v e g e o m e t r y , a n d r e p la c i n g t h e s e m e t h o d s b y a d e p e n d e n c e u p o n d e d u c t i v e l o g i cand i t s s t e r i l e ax i omat i c f ounda t i ons . F rom t he s t andpo i n to f deduc t i ve me t hod , c rea t i ve men t a l p rocesses have nova l i d ex i s t ence i n ou r un i ve rse ; no r a re ma j o r sc i en t i f i cb r e a k t h r o u g h s p r e d i c t a b l e .

Ifas i ng le , c ruc i a l phys i ca l exp er i m en t show s any s t rong ld e f e n d e d t h e o r e m o f a s c h o o l o f m a t h e m a t i c a l p h y s i cs t ob e w r o n g , i t s p h y s i c a l e v i d e n c e c h a l l e n g e s t h e w h o l e d educ t i ve sys t em and t he ax i omat i c be l i e f s upon wh i ch i t i sb a s e d . It is t r u e t h a t t h e n e w h i g h - t e m p e r a t u r e s u p e r c o nduc t o rs o r co ld f us i on may be g i ven p laus i b le exp lana t i onsbu t t he i r i mp l i ca t i ons a re t ru l y re vo lu t i ona ry , and tha t iswh a t i s des t ab i l i z i ng t he sc i en t i f i c es t ab l i sh men t i n t heUn i t ed S t a t es and W es t e rn Europe . ( I n t e res t i ng ly , t h i s i sno t t he case i n Japan , wh ere t he gove rnm en t is un der wr i t i n g m a j o r e x p e r i m e n t a l p r o g r a m s . ) I n d e e d , t h e i m p l i c a t i o no f t he newes t pa t t e rn o f d iscove r i es is t he nee d fo r geo me tr i ca l me t hods t o rep lace ax i omat i cs . W e mus t l ook a t t hegeo me t r i es i n space and t i me , phase sh i ft s ove r f i ne ly qua nt i zed i n t e rv a ls , t o unde rs t an d ho w i t is t ha t t hese resu l t so c c u r . T h e s e ar e n o t b r u t e f o r c e e x p e r i m e n t s

Leonardo's Method Vs. British EmpiricismL e o n a r d o d a V i n c i ' s m e t h o d c a n b e t ra c e d b a c k w a r d i n

t i me t o P la t o , and f o rward t h rough t he wo rk o f Gauss , R i e -m a n n , B e l t r a m i , a n d t h e i r f o l l o w e r s . I n o p p o s i t i o n t o t h ec u r r e n t l y h e g e m o n i c s c h o o l o f B r i ti s h e m p i r i c i s m ( w h i c ha l s o d o m i n a t e s i n t h e S o v i e t U n i o n ) , L e o n a r d o , a n d m o r er e c e n t l y , B e r n h a r d R i e m a n n , s o u g h t t h e g e o m e t r i c a l d e t e r m i nan t s f o r phase sh i f t s and s i ngu la r i t i es i n p rocesses . Theysough t phys i ca l exp lana t i ons w i t h i n t he con t ex t o f a na t u ra llaw t ha t cou ld exp la i n t he con t i nued pe r f ec t ab i l i t y o f Cod ' sun i ve rse . The ax i omat i c me t h od o f B r i t ish em p i r i c i s m (andi t s va r i ous Kan t i an e labo ra t i ons ) can recogn i ze t he ex i s t ence o f d i scon t i nu i t i es as such , bu t on ly as revea l i ng at h r e a t e n i n g b o t t o m l e s s c h a s m t h a t m u s t b e b r i d g e d , w i t hone ax i omat i c sys t em a t t ached t o ano t he r t o span t herevea led gap .

F o r u s , th e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n p h y s ic s a n d b i o l o g y p r o m i sed by recen t d i scove r i es i s t he key t o t he t ran s f o rm a t i ont h a t m a n k i n d m u s t u n d e r g o i n t h e n e x t c e n t u r y . W e m a ya n d w e m u s t d e v e l o p u n f o r e s e e n t e c h n o l o g i e s t h a t w i l lf ree us f ro m t he appare n t boun dar i e s o f l if e t oda y , he re onEarth .

N o n e t h e l e s s , w e c a n n o t j u d g e t h e im p o r t a n c e o f s c i e n t i f i c d i scove r i es i n t e rms o f i mmed i a t e re t u rns o r spec i f i capp l i ca t i ons . I ndeed , t he g rea t es t bene f i t t ha t we may seef rom t he wo rk o f F le i schmann and Pons cou ld we l l be i nt he rea lm o f pu re t he o r y , as se r i ous sc i en t is t s a re d raw n t or e c o n s i d e r t h e w e l l - s p r i n g s o f o u r c u l t u r e , b e g i n n i n g w i t ht he sc i en t i f i c w r i t i ngs o f P la t o and lead i ng f rom t he ret h rough t he g rea t t rad i t i ons o f t he Chr i s t i an human i s tsc ient is ts .

2 N o v e m b e r - D e c e m b e r 1 98 9 2 1 s t CENTURY EDITORIAL

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' I W ant a Solar Cel l 'To the Editor:

I j us t rece i ved w i t h i n t e res t my f i r s ti ssue o f you r magaz i ne . Know i ng ve ryl i t t l e abou t any so r t o f sc i ence , I amn e v e r t h e l e s s c o m p e l l e d t o q u e s t i o nt h e t h o r o u g h n e s s o f D r . M i c h a e l F o x 'srepo r t on so la r ene rgy ( ] u l y -Augus t ,1989, p. 20).

So la r ene rgy ca r r i es a p r i ce t ag " t ha th a s a l r e a d y b e e n d e e m e d t o o e x p e n s i ve f o r any u t i l i t y , " he obse rv es . Nodo ub t ; bu t t ha t s t a t em en t revea ls ab i as t ha t p lagues m os t spec i a l i s ts : Theb u c k s f l o w f r o m b u m s l i k e m e t o t h eb i g boys and f rom t he b i g boys t o t her e s e a r c h e r s . C o n s e q u e n t l y , r e s e a r c h e rs neve r ask f e l l ows l i ke me wha tm i g h t i n t e r e s t us.

I wan t a so lar ce l l tha t I can c leana n d p o i n t a ll o n m y o w n : n o t t o c h a r g eba t t e r i es , bu t t o make t ha t u t i l i t y company me t e r on t he ou t s i de o f t heh o u s e r u nbackwards, i f on ly just a l i t t l e . I k n o w n o b o d i e s a ll o v e r t h e c o u n t ry w ho sha re t he des i re , o f wh i ch I amcer t a i n t he u t i l i t i es a re i n d read . AskFox abou t t he cos t -e f f ec t i veness o ft h a t b o t h n o w , a n d i n t h e r e s e a r c h -a b l e f u t u r e .

Bob F i n t onK i a h s v i l l e , W . V a .

The Author RepliesMy co l leagues and f am i l y have

f o u n d s u c h e x p e r i m e n t s v e r y i n s t r u c t i o n a l . The re a re many sou rces o f i n f o rma t i on and ma t e r i a l s . The f i r s t t ha tc o m e t o m i n d a re t h e g o v e r n m e n t -subs i d i zed so la r ene rgy f a i l u res t ha tl i t t e r t h e c o u n t r y s i d e . T h e y d o n ' t o p e ra t e because t he owners were le f tw i t h h u g e m a i n t e n a n c e a n d r e p a i rcos t s j us t t o keep t hem operab le . Theycou ld be acqu i red a t m i n i ma l cos t .

Be adv i se d t ha t t he i r ene rgy was t yp i ca l ly 7 t o 10 t i mes mo re cos t l y t hant he ene rgy i t rep lace d , as t he G enera lA c c o u n t i n g O f f ic e ( C A O ) r e p o r t e d .The owners have la rge ly gone back t oLETTERS

t he lo ca l l y ava i lab le ene rgy sou rces .T h e C A O s h o u l d b e a b l e t o p r o v i d et he names and addresses o f some o ft h e o w n e r s .

A re t he u t i l i t i es i n d read o f c i t i zensp u m p i n g e n e r g y b a c k i n t o t h e e l e c t r i ca l g r i d f rom t he i r so la r dev i ces? No tt o wo r ry . I n con t ac t i ng some o f t heu t i l i t i es i n t he No r t hwes t , no t one so la r advoca t e has ca l led t o be d i scon nec t ed f rom t he u t i l i t y ' s se rv i ce . I nv i e w o f t h e b o o m i n g g r o w t h o f e n e r g yd e m a n d a n d l o o m i n g e n e r g y sh o r ta g e s i n m u c h o f t h e c o u n t r y , s u c h r e q u e s ts w o u l d p r o b a b l y b e w e l c o m e d .

A n o t h e r s o u r c e o f i n f o r m a t i o n i s t h eso la r ene rgy t rade j ou rna ls , ava i lab lein most l ib rar ies. The last t ime Ic h e c k e d , i t w o u l d h a v e c o s t a b o u t$2 ,000 t o p rov i de eno ug h e lec t r i c i t y t opo we r a 100 -wa t t bu lb (on ly on a sunn yday , o f cou rse ) . Th i s i gno red rep lace ment costs o f the so lar ce l ls every 5 to10 yea rs , as we l l as ma i n t ena nce cos t s ,repa i r cos t s , f i nanc i ng cos t s , d i sposa lcosts , and the costs o f a substant ia lsup p ly o f W i nd ex a nd rags . The d i s posa l cos t s a re i mpo r t an t becauses o m e o f t h e c a n d i d a t e c o l l e c t o r m a t e r i a l s c o n t a i n a r s e n i c a n d c a d m i u m ,k n o w n c a r c i n o g e n s a n d t o x i n s ; a n dd i sposa l o f t hese ma t e r i a l s shou ld no tbe v i ew ed as t r i v i a l .

As far as fu ture cost -e f fect i veness o fs o l a r e n e r g y is c o n c e r n e d , t h e p r o s pec t s a re l i m i t ed by phys i ca l l aw , no tby b i ases o r con sp i rac i es . So la r ene rgyf low s a re t o o low and i n t e rm i t t en t atthe su r face o f the E arth . Thes e aref i xed by t he energy ou t pu t o f t he Sun ,t he d i s t ance o f t he Ear t h f ro m t he Su n ,and seve ra l o t he r va r i ab les . Thus , t heve ry con s t ancy o f t hese l i f e -g i v i ng lawso f na t u re l i m i t s seve re ly t he f u t u re 01t h i s ene rgy f o rm . I n f ac t , we shou lca ll hope t ha t t hese rema i n cons t an t , i lyou ca t ch my d r i f t .

Cosmology Vs. RevivalTent ScienceTo the Editor:

Dav i d Cher ry ' s recen t a r t i c le i n 27sCentury c o n c e r n i n g t h e c o s m o l o g i c ai mp l i ca t i ons o f t he redsh i f t w i t h respect to the or ig ins o f ga lax ies (MayJ u n e , p . 34) was o f con s i de ra b le i n t e res t . Un f o r t una t e ly , t he re a re ve ry f ewge nu i ne skep t i cs i n t h i s a rea and t hose

21st CENTURY

t he re a re seem qu i t e s t a le and t i m i d .I can ce r t a i n l y app rec i a t e t he t h rus t

o f y o u r a r g u m e n t a l t h o u g h I m u s t e x p ress some rese rva t i on abou t t he c re a t i on o f en t i re new ga lax i es . Quasarsm i gh t we l l rep resen t e j ec t a f rom ga lac t i c nuc le i and m i gh t a l so even t ua l l yf o r m wh o l e new s t e l la r agg rega t es . Ye tt he poss i b i l i t y t ha t t hese cou ld r i va lthe parent ga laxy in s ize seemsr e m o t e .

I a m b e g i n n i n g t o w o n d e r i f t h eg l o b u l a r c l u s t e r s s u r r o u n d i n g t h eM i l ky W ay and o t he r sp i ra l ga lax i esm i gh t no t rep resen t quasar remnan t s .. . .T he absence o f dus t i n t he m c ou ldas eas i ly ind icate youth as age.

I n any even t , I ce r t a i n l y app laudy o u r e f f o r ts t o d e b u n k s o m e o f t h e s i l l i e r aspec t s o f B i g Bang c rea t i on i sm .The reds h i f t i n gene ra l m i gh t we l l bec o s m o l o g i c a l i n o r i g i n , b u t i n m e c h a n i ca l t e rms i t canno t rep resen t t he so r to f u n i f o r m c o s m i c e x p a n s i o n c o n v e n t i ona l l y ass ume d . I nde ed i t is j us t t h i ssor t o f na ive analys is tha t g ives s c iencethe aura o f a rev iva l tent instead o f al a b o r a t o r y o f n a t u r e .

I am g lad there i s a t least one out le tf o r se r i ous specu la t i ve i deas i n t herea lm o f sc i ence , and I w i sh t he re w ereo t he rs . I have a f ee l i ng t ha t un t i l w ecan ge t a t ho ro ug h a i r i n g o f bas i c p r i n c i p les and t he i r i n t e rp lay , we w i l l nev e r g e t t o t h e m e c h a n i c a l f o u n d a t i o n so f na t u re and t heo r e t i ca l phy s i cs as wekn ow i t w i l l rema i n an i n t e l l ec t ua lquagm i re o f t he f i r s t o rde r .

Lester Z ickLos Ang e les , C a l i f .

The Author RepliesW h e n a s t r o n o m e r H a l t o n A r p

speaks o f en t i re new ga lax i es be i ngf o rmed f rom t he e j ec t a o f ac t i ve ga lac t i c nuc le i , he i s suppos i ng t ha t t he nu c le i o f ga lax ies are the so u rce o f ne wlyc rea t ed ma t t e r . Hence t he re i s no apriori con s t ra i n t on t he poss i b le masso f t he e j ec t a . The i dea i s deve lopedi n A r p ' s b o o k Quasars, Redshifts, andControversies (Be rke le y , Ca l i f . : I n t e r s t e l l a r Me d i a , 1987) .

C o n c e r n i n g g l o b u l a r c l u s t e r s , t h e i rl ow met a l l i c i t y ce r t a i n l y seems t o i n d i ca t e tha t t hey a re o l d .

Even con ce i v ed as a re la t ive ly l o ca lp h e n o m e n o n , I t h i n k , a q u a s a r is s t il lt oo e ne rg e t i c t o be seen as t he p rede -

Continued on page 5N o v e m b e r - D e c e m b e r 1 98 9 3

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VIEWPOINTThereIsa Super TrainIn Our FutureNew t ra in sys tems w i l l be bu i l t inthe Un i ted Sta tes be fore the tu rn

o f t he cen tu ry and they w i l l be un l i keany th ing m o s t o f you have seen . Som etra ins w i l l opera te a t about 150 mi lesper hour , o thers a t 300. I have nodoub ts abou t w he the r such sys tem swi l l be bu i l t ; i t is no w on l y a ma t te r o ft i m e . We w i l l re tu rn to the t ra ins inr e c o r d n u m b e r s .

M ag ne t i c l ev i t a t i on i s t he w or l d ' sn e w e s t m o d e o f t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . M a g -lev veh ic les are l i f ted and prope l leda l ong and above the gu idew ay by aw ave o f m agne t i c ene rgy .

The G e rm an m ag lev , t he T rans ra p i d , has been i n dev e l o pm en tan d tes t ing for 19 years . That 's an exam ple ofdogg ed pe rseve rance tha t w e seem tohave forgot ten in the Un i ted Sta tes . Anew mode l , the Transrap id 07 , is expec ted to have a c ru is ing spee d of 310mi les per hour .

The Transrap id mag lev is ou t f i t tedw i th conven t i ona l e l ec t r om agne ts anduses t he a t t r ac t i on be tw een the m ag nets in the gu ideway and those in thevehic le to l i f t the tra in about 3/8 of ani n c h . A h igh - l eve l Wes t G e rm an C om m iss ion has se l ec ted t he H am burg -Hanover rou te for the f i rs t mag lev revenue se rv i ce .

Japan has tw o types of mag lev und erdeve lopm en t , bo th t he a t t r ac t i ve andthe " re pu l s i ve " sys tem s . In t he repu l s ive sys tem the magnet ic f ie ld in thegu ideway repe ls the same polar i ty inthe co i l s in the car 's unders ide . Th islev i ta tes the t ra in abou t 6 inches a bovethe g u ide wa y. In a tes t a decad e ag o,the Japanese success fu l l y opera ted aveh ic le a t 300 mph.

Const ruc t ion of Japan 's f i rs t mag levsys tem wi l l beg in in 1990. I t w i l l be onHokka ido Is land and w i l l l ink the c i tyo f Sapporo w i t h an a i r po r t 17 m i lesaway.

These coun t r i es have som e th ing i nc o m m o n . The i r cen t ra l gove rnm en tshave m ade a co m m i tm en t t o bu i l d newsuper -speed t ra in sys tems, or a t leas tse r i ous l y cons ide r t hem . Wha t hashapp ened t o t he sp i r i t ou r f ede ra l gov -

Joseph Vran iche rnm en t used t o show i n p i onee r i ngadvances i n t r anspor ta t i on? Where i st h e n a t io n a l c o m m i t m e n t ? U n l i k e o t h er count r ies , in the Un i ted Sta tes mostof the ac t iv i ty has been in ind iv idua lstates.

Florida Is FirstIf any p lace needs a go od t ra in sys

t e m , whether ra i l or mag lev , i t 's F lor i da . I t i s one of the fas tes t g rowings ta tes i n Am er i ca w i t h a popu la t i ontha t is expec ted t o do ub l e ove r t henex t 15 years to 21 m i l l i o n .

The f i rs t super -speed mag lev l ine tobe bu i l t in th is count ry w i l l be by Maglev Trans i t Inc . , a German-JapaneseC o n s o r t i u m , u s i n g T r a n s r a p i d t e c h no lo gy . The t r a i n w i l l l i n k t he O r l an doA i rpo r t w i t h D i sneyw or l d Epco t C en -

te r 20 mi les away, in about 7 minuteand w i l l opera te a t 200 mph. I t i s epected to car ry 8 .5 mi l l ion passengeannua l ly , s ta r t ing in October 1994.

The C a l i f o rn ia -N evada Supe r SpeeG r o u n d T r a n s p o r t a t i o n C o m m i s s i ohas an no un ce d tha t i t wan ts to b reag round i n 1993 f o r t he Sou the rn Caforn ia /Las Vegas l ine and beg in car ring passengers f ive years later. Ei thea Tran srap id m ag lev or French TGhigh-speed ra i l sys tem wi l l be se lec tein a co m pe t i t i o n . S tud ies have p rojec ted tha t 3 .5 mi l l ion passengerwou ld use the t ra in in i ts f i rs t yeaC ons t ruc t i on i s es t im a ted a t $2 .5 b il i o n , w h i ch w o u ld be f i nanced by a p rv a t e c o n s o r t i u m .

In June , Texas G ove rnor B i l l C l ements s igned leg is la t ion to c rea te thTexas H igh S peed Ra il Au tho r i ty . Thac t i on f o l l o w e d a s tudy t ha t con c l ud eh igh -spe ed ra i l is t he w ay to a cco m m oda te f u tu re t r ave l dem ands be tw eec i t i e s i nc l ud ing D a l l as /For t Wor thH o u s t o n , San An ton io , and Aus t i n .

In September , Pennsy lvan ia released a s tudy of mag lev an d ra i l p roposa ls tha t wou ld l ink Ph i lade lph iw i th P i t tsbu rgh in as l i t t le as tw o ho urs

SCHEMAT IC OF A MAGLEV SYSTEMThe attractive system of magnetic levitation typically supports the magnets with a spacing of about 3/8 inch be low the ferromagn etic rail, whilethe repulsive system ha s the vehicle suspended 4 to 6 inches abovethe guideway. The clearance between the guideway and the vehicledetermines the designs of the guideway, the propulsion systems, andthe secondary suspension systems.Source:ArgonneNational Laboratory

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Ot her s t a t es a re a lso mak i ng p lans t ob u i l d h i g h - s p e e d r a i l s y s t e m s , w h i c hhave many advan t ages ove r bo t h a i r p l a n e s a n d a u t o m o b i l e s .

Fo r examp le , abou t 928 ,000 peop lew e r e k i l l e d i n a u t o m o b i l e a c c i d e n t s i nt he Un i t ed S t a t es be t ween 1971 and1985. The Japanese Bul le t t ra in hasbee n ope ra t i n g f o r 25 yea rs and hasca r r i ed mo re t han 2 .5 b i l l i on passenge rs w i t h ou t a s i ng le acc i den t o r pas sen ger fa ta l i t y . I t is the be st safety reco rd f o r any t rans po r t sys t em eve r i nt h e h i s t o r y o f t h e w o r l d .

T w o m o n t h s a g o t h e A r g o n n e N a t i ona l Labo ra t o ry i n I l l i no i s recommended rep lac i ng sho r t -hau l j e t s t ha tt rave l f rom ma j o r U .S . a i rpo r t s w i t h a2 ,000-m i le ne t wo rk o f 300 -mph mag levt ra i ns . A t a cos t o f abo u t $30 b i l l i o n ,that lab sa i d , i t wou ld be a ba rga i n ,e l i m i n a t i n g t h e n e e d t o b u i l d m a n yc o s t l y n e w a i r p o r t s . A r g o n n e u s e dCh i ca go as an exam p le , say ing t ha tmo re t ha n ha l f o f t he f li gh t s a r r i v i ng o rdepar t i ng O 'Hare cove r d i s t ances o fless t han 500 m i les . Mag lev can t aket he sho r t e r -hau l a i rc ra f t o f f t he r u n w a y s , a l l o w i n g a n e x p a n s i o n o f l o n g e r -r a n g e d o m e s t i c a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a lse rv i ce .

Supe r -spee d ra il w i l l he lp red uceAmer i ca ' s re l i ance on f o re i gn o i l . Ast he t ra i ns run on e lec t r i c i t y , t hey p ro d u c e n o p o l l u t i o n .

I a m r e m i n d e d o f w h a t D a n i e l B u r n -h a m , t h e a r c h i t e c t w h o d e s i g n e dW a s h i n g t o n U n i o n S t a t io n , o n c e sa id ." Make no l i t t l e p lans . They have nomag i c t o s t i r men ' s b lood . " Thesep l a n s f o r s u p e r - s p e e d g r o u n d t r a n s po r t a t i o n a re no t l i t t l e , and I see e v i dence t ha t Amer i cans have beens t i r red .

Joseph Vranich, a public affairs consultant in Washington, D.C., specializes in transport issues. His experiencein high-speed ground transportationdates back to 1969, when his first paperon the subject w as published.

Give gifts with a future:21 stCENTURYSCIENCE TECHNOLOGY

LettersContinued from page 3cesso r o f an y t h i n g so tame as a g lob tla r c lus t e r a mere 106s tars , t yp ica l lyw i t h n o e n e r g e t i c , m o r p h o l o g i c a l l yd i s t i n c t n u c l e u s w i t h o u t s o m e c o r rpe l t i ng ev i dence o f an i n t e rmed i a t ef o r m . H e n c e q u a s a rs a re t h o u g h t o f isear ly ga lact i c nuc le i o r , in Arp 's ar .p ro ach , as e j ec t i on s f rom ga lac t i c n ic le i t ha t evo lve i n t o e n t i re ga lax i es .

Ho w About More onCanada's Candu?To the E di to r :

I have g rea t l y en j oye d t he w i de va r -e t y o f ma t e r i a l you pub l i sh , espec i a l yt h e p i e c e s d e b u n k i n g m e d i a f r a u c ssuch as cho l es t e ro l and cyc lamat e : .The qua l i t y i s vas t ly supe r i o r t o ma t e r -a l in t he o t h e r m ed i a , even wh en t he yare no t ly ing. . . .

Th i s Canad i an i s somewha t amazeda t a cap t i on i n t he March -Ap r i l i ssue(page 18) s ta t ing that Atomic Energy cfCan ada is ready to mass pro du ce a 30( -M W C a n d u p o w e r r e a c t o r . W h a t d ayou say to the idea that severa l smal lnuc le a r p lan t s m ay be be t t e r t han on ela rge p lan t . Th i s i s p resumab ly wheret he 30 0-MW Can du f i t s i n , bu t Canac ahas severe ly cu t AECL's research bu< I-get as par t o f the pr iva t i za t ion po l i cy . Iw ou ld l i ke t o see a l i t t l e Cand u an dt h e 1 0 - M W S l o w p o k e o n a n a s s e m b yl ine. . . .

H o w a b o u t a p i e c e o n t h e C a n d up r o g r a m a n d i ts p r o d u c t s , w h i c h h a v em a d e O n t a r i o H y d r o t h i r d i n t h e w o r l di n nuc lea r genera t i ng capac i t y?

A lex C ro r eVa nco uver , B .C . , Canac a

The Edi tor RepliesW e have suppo r t ed t he i dea o f

ma ss - p ro duc ed , sma l le r (300 t o 3^ 0M W ) n uc l ear p lants as the fastest ar dm o s t e c o n o m i c a l w a y to p r o v i d e p o \ / -e r f o r re i ndus t r i a l i z i ng t he deve lop* dsec t o r and i ndus t r i a l i z i ng t he rest ) ft h e w o r l d . U n l i k e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e ; ,wh i ch has la rge ly d i sm an t le d i ts nuc l ; -a r p lan t p ro du c t i o n f a c i l i t i es , Canac aco u ld (w hen we las t chec ked) t u rn o i ta t least 6 o f the 300-MW Candu's in ayear . An a r t i c le on t he Ca ndu is on o i ra g e n d a .

VIEWPOINT

The'GreenhouseEffect' Is aHoaxEIR's Special Report, "The'Greenhouse Effect' Hoax: AWorld Federalist Plot,"analyzes the scientific truthand the political realitybehind the latestenvironmentalist hoax:Kremlin leaders and theirTrilateral Commission friendsare using "ecologicalemergency" as the pretext todestroy the sovereignty ofnations and establish one-world rule.

Execut ive In te l l igenceReview$100 Order from:EIR News Service, Inc.P.O. Box 17390Washington, D.C. 20041-0390

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FUSION REPORT

ColdFusion:New Findings OverpowerStale Lies Iby Ramtanu Maitra

Th eauthor, a nuclear engineer, is anassociate editor of 21s t C en tu ry andeditor-in-chief of Fus ion As ia magazine of New Delhi, India. He touredcold fusion laboratories in Utah andTexas in August to provide first-handinformation for this report. Coveragewill continue in the next issue.

I cam e he re f r om N ew D e lh i k now ing t ha t t he op t im ism abou t co l d f u sion in India and in Japan was notshared by es tab l ishment sc ien t is ts inthe Un i ted Sta tes , bu t tha t many resea rche rs w e re repor t i ng good re su l t sf ind ing excess hea t , neu t ronbu rs t s , and t r i t i um and w e re exc i t edabou t co l d f us ion ' s p rospec ts .

I t was a p leasure to be ab le to ta lkw i th some of these sc ien t is ts aboutw ha t t hey a re do ing and th i nk ing , andw he re t he i r expe r im en ts a re headed .I t conv inced me tha t co ld fus ion isa l ive and we l l no t on ly in As ia , bu t a lsoin the Un i te d Sta tes , and I am ha ppy tosha re t h i s i n fo rm a t i on w i t h 21st Century readers .

O n l y f i ve m on ths ago , co l d f us ionseemed l ike the greates t sc ien t i f i chappen ing s i nce t he f i s s i on o f u ran i um a tom s . Ye t t he i n i t i a l en thus iasmwas bur ied b y the skept ics and naysay-ers and the i r f r iends in the press .Those w h o base the i r i n f o rm a t i on onthe es tab l i shed m ed ia m igh t t h i nk t ha tco l d f us io n i s ye t ano the r com e t w i t ha b laz ing ta i l tha t pe tered out , leav inga fa i n t m em ory b eh ind . H ow ev e r , as Id i s c o v e r e d , co ld fus ion is fa r f ro mdead and may, in fac t , p rove to be apa th f i nde r t o a new un de rs tan d ing o fm i c r o p h y s i c s , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s .

The s ta r t l i ng announcem en t o f P ro fessors Mar t in F le ischmann and B.Stan ley Pons a t the U n ivers i ty o f U tahin Mar ch 1989, c la i m in g tha t they hadp ro duc ed a f us ion reac t i on i n a s im p le

The University of Utah Departm ent of Metallurgy Laboratory, which has recordedheat from palladium electrodes at various levels of purity. This lab has raised theimportant issue of the role of materials in promoting cold fusion. From right, theauthor; Dr. Milton Wadsw orth, Dean of the College of Mines and Earth Sc iences;and Dr. Sivaraman Guruswamy.

e l e c t r o c h e m i c a l c e l l , shocked thew o r l d .Thei r appara tus cons is ted of pa l lad i

um and p l a t i num e l ec t r odes p l aced i na gl ass t ube w i t h heavy w a te r . A cco rd ing to Pons and F le isch ma nn, a vo l tageapp l ied across the e lec t rodes sp l i ts thew a te r i n to oxygen and deu te r i um(D )a heavy i so tope o f hyd roge n w i t ho n e p r o t o n a n d o n e n e u t r o n i n t h e n u c l eusand the deu te r i um re l eased i sabso rbed by t he pa l l ad iu m l a t t ice .

So fa r , th is is acceptab le to a l l sc ient i s ts . B u t w h e n t h e t w o e l e c t r o c h e m -i st s r epo r ted t ha t t he deu te r i um a tom sins ide the pa l lad ium crys ta l la t t i ce unde rg o f us io n , al l he l l b roke l oose w i t h i n t he "es tab l i shed sc ien t i f i c com m un i t y . " The U tah t eam o f f e red as p roo ft he i r m easu rem en ts o f hea t gene ra tedby the ce l l as we l l as the obs erva t iono f a f ew n eu t r ons , w h i ch a re essen ti a lby -p roduc ts o f t he f us ion p rocess .N eve r the l es s , t he F l e i schm ann -Ponsresu l ts came under heavy and of ten

v i t r i o l i c c r i t i c i sm f r om som e es tab l ished sc ien t is ts , and the professorsw e re accused o f s l oppy , im p rec i sew o r k .

D esp i t e t he c r i t i c i sm , t he F l e i sch m ann -Pons f i nd ings i nsp i r ed m any ex pe r im en ta l i s t s a l l a round the g l obe .R esu lt s f r o m s im i l a r expe r im en ts cam epo u r i ng i n f r o m d i s tan t p l aces Ind ia ,C h i n a , Japan, Hungary , the Sov ie tU n i o n , B raz i l , and M e x i co . I ns ide t heUn i te d Sta tes, a few rese archers du p l i c a t e d t h e e x p e r i m e n t a n d a n n o u n c e dpos i t i ve resu l t s , w h i l e o the rs l abe ledco ld f us ion a hoax .

Believers Vs. N onbelieversThe bat t le l ines in the sc ien t i f i c com

m u n i t y w e r e q u i c k l y d r a w n b e t w e e n" b e l i e v e r s " a n d " n o n b e l i e v e r s . " T h ebe l i eve rs i ns i s ted t ha t som e th ing un know n w as go ing on i ns ide t he pa l l a d i u m e l e c t r o d e ; t h e n o n b e l i e v e r s ,w e i g h e d d o w n w i t h t h e e s t a b l i s h e dlaws of phys ics and a f ra id of the unk n o w n , sa i d , " I f i t 's rea l , p rove i t . "

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B e s i d e s d e m a n d i n g t h e p r o o f , t h enon be l i e ve r s t ha t i s , sc i en t is t s be long i ng t o t he la rge , p res t i ge labo ra t o r i e s b e g a n p o o h - p o o h i n g t h e v a r i o u s r e p o r t e d e x p e r i m e n t a l f i n d i n g s asm e r e f i g m e n t s o f i m a g i n a t i o n . T h e ya l s o d e m a n d e d p r o o f s t o b e p r e s e n t e dq u i c k l y .

The charge was led by sc ient is tsf rom t he Massachuse t t s I ns t i t u t e o fT e c h n o l o g y , Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y , C a l t e c h ,and some o f t he na t i ona l l abo ra t o r i es ,w h e r e r e n o w n e d e x p e r i m e n t a l i s t s u s i n g t o p - n o t c h d ia g n o s t i c e q u i p m e n tf a i l ed t o dup l i ca t e wha t F le i schmannand Pons had do ne i n t he i r m ode s t lab o ra t o ry a t t he Un i ve rs i t y o f U t ah .These sc i en t is t s repo r t ed f a i l u re t o ob se rve a s i gn i f i can t am ou n t o f hea t o rgen era t i o n o f ne u t ron s a t a leve l t ha tcou ld j us t i f y t he f us i on p rocess .

A l t h o u g h t h e r e a re a m p l e r e a s o nst ha t t he exper i men t canno t be eas i l yd u p l i c a t e d a n d P r o f . R o b e r t H u g -g i n s , an e lec t rochem i s t a t S t an f o rdUn i ve rs i t y has sa i d so pub l i c l y t hesc i ence es t ab l i shmen t has been mo rei n t e r e s t e d i n t r y i n g t o k n o c k d o w nwha t eve r exper i men t a l resu l t s havebeen va l i da t ed by t he d i f f e ren t g roupsw o r k i n g o n c o l d f u s i o n .

Irrational CriticismTh i s p rocess u n leas hed a se ri es o fi r r a t io n a l s t a te m e n t s f r o m m a n y p r o m

i nen t sc i en t i s t s . Some, l i ke D r . MosheGa i o f Ya le Un i ve rs i t y , t ook recourset o suppress i ng f ac t s t o j us t i f y t he i ra b r u p t c o n c l u s i o n s . G a i , w h o s e e x p e r i men t (under h i s name and t ha t o fmany co l leagues ) was pub l i shed i n Na ture mag az i ne Ju ly 6 ,1989 , s t a t ed ca te go r i ca l l y , " no s t a t i s t i ca l l y s i gn i f i can td e v i a t i o n f r o m t h e b a c k g r o u n d w a so b s e r v e d i n e i th e r g a m m a - r a y o r n e u t ro n de t e c t o rs . " Ye t , a t l east one sc i en t i s t w ho kne w wha t was go i n g on w i t hGa i ' s exp er i m en t has repo r t e d tha t Ga id i d o b s e r v e n e u t r o n b u r s t s b u t c h o s eto suppress th is fact in h is ar t i c le .

W h e t h e r M o s h e G a i w a s a c t i n g i n s t i nc t i ve ly as an " es t ab l i s hm en t sc i en t i s t " o r was mere ly t r y i ng t o pub l i sh apape r i n a j ou r na l t ha t does n o t wan t t op u b l i s h a n y t h i n g p o s i t i v e a b o u t c o l df u s i o n e x p e r i m e n t s is a m o o t q u e s t i o n . I t is c lea r , how eve r , t ha t Naturemagaz i ne , wh i ch de f i nes i t se l f as se tFUSION REPORT

A computer graph at the Metallurgy I,um electrode almost three wee ksburst contains about 7 million joules

Photos are by Ramtanu Maitra. unless otherwise noted.fa ,which shows a heat burst from a palladi-

aker the cell was activated. The peak of theof energy.

t i ng t he t rends i n sc i ence , i s unhap )ya b o u t c o l d f u s i o n . E d it o r J o h n M a d d Xed i t o r i a l i zed i n t he same i ssue i nwh i ch G a i ' s a r t i c le appea red t ha t " T leen d o f co ld f us i o n i s i n s i gh t . "

C i t i n g v a ri o u s e x p e r i m e n t s i n c l u d i n g G a i ' s , M a d d o x c o n c l u d e d , ' i tseems t he t i m e has com e t o d i sm ssco ld f u s i on as an i l l u s i o n . " The Y ; leg r o u p , M a d d o x s t a t e d , " h a s d o n e t sbes t t o rep l i ca t e t he cond i t i ons o f t i eo r i g i na l exper i men t s , bu t has f a i l edrep l i ca t e t he i r resu l t s . " The whct h i n g , M a d d o x d e c l a r e d , s e e m shave been "a brave leap o f the iman a t i o n . "

W h y Such Ac r i mony?I n o r d e r t o e x p l a in w h y t h e r e i s s u : h

a c r i m o n y c o n c e r n i n g c o l d f u s i o n , o i ehas t o look h i s t o r i ca l l y a t o t re rg r o u n d b r e a k i n g r e se a r c he s o v e r t i eyears. Estab l i shment sc ient is ts , hav i igmade t hemse lves accep t ab le by we i r -i ng b l i nde rs t ha t a l l ow t hem t o loakon l y a t wh a t a re con s i de red " accep t ?dt he o r i e s , " w i l l obs t i na t e ly and ar o -gant ly re fuse to look at new f ind ing ; .

Ac co rd i n g t o D r . A . John App le Dyand Dr . Supraman i am Sr i n i vasan o fT e xa s A & M , t h e p r o b l e m is t h a t t i e

21st CENTURY

co ld f us i on resu l t s emerged f rom t he" Th i rd W or ld un i ve rs i t i es i n t he Un i t ed S t a t es . " I n o t he r wo rds , t he i n i t i a lf i nd i ngs were no t made a t t he" d e v e l o p e d - s e c t o r I v y L e a g u e " t h eun i ve rs i t i es and research cen t e rswhere t he h i gh p r i es t s o f Amer i can sc ience res i de and f rom wh i ch c i t ade lst h e y m a k e t h e i r p r o n o u n c e m e n t s .

There i s no doub t t ha t t he Texasteam is par t ia l ly r ight , but , there i smo re t o i t . Mo s t i m po r t an t i s t he f ac tt h a t t h e f i n d i n g s e m e r g i n g f r o m c o l df u s i o n e x p e r i m e n t s h a v e b e g u n se r i ous ly t o ques t i on t he va l i d i t y o f manyex i s t i ng nuc lea r phys i cs t heo r i es . Thew e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d q u a n t u m m e c h a n i c s ,w h i c h d e a l s w i t h t h e m i c r o - u n i v e r s e ,co u ld ve ry we l l a l so bec om e a casua l t y .

Such an upheava l w i t h i n t he sc i en t i f i c es t ab l i shmen t i s ne rve -wrack i ngto most estab l i shed sc ient is ts . I tmeans ge t t i ng i nvo lved i n new wo rk ,shedd i ng t he o ld be l i e f s , and re n o u n c i n g t h e o r i e s f r o m w h o s e m a s t e ry many had wo n f ame and a u t ho r i t y . I t is any one 's guess at th is po in th o w m a n y f o r m e r N o b e l p r i z e w i n -

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What the Experiments Have Produced

Dr. Kevin W olf at the Texas A&M Chem istry Laboratory, explaining the highlevels of tritium found in eight electrolytic cells. These findings are expectedto make the nonbelievers squirm.

Here are highlights of some of theexperiments carried out around theworld to explore the Fleischmann-Pons findings. * * *

Neutron DetectionBrigham Young University. In a pa

pe r da t ed March 23 , 1989 , S t evenJones and associa tes at Br ighamY o u n g U n i v e r s i t y ' s D e p a r t m e n t o fPhys ics and Ch em i s t ry and j Rafe lsk if rom t he Depar t men t o f Phys i cs a tt h e U n i v e r s i t y o f A r i z o n a r e p o r t e dt h e o b s e r v a t i o n o f c o l d n u c l e a r f u s i o n i n c o n d e n s e d m a t t e r (Nature,Apr i l 27, p . 737) . Using a sensi t i ven e u t r o n s p e c t r o m e t e r , t h e r e s e a r c h e r s d e t e c t e d n e u t r o n s o f a p p r o x i ma t e ly 2 .5 MeV energy . The exper i m e n t c o n s i s t e d o f a p a l l a d i u m e l e c t rod e d i pp ed i n heavy wa t e r p lusva r i ous me t a l sa l t s ( f e r rous su l f a t e ,n i c k e l c h l o r i d e , l i t h i u m s u l f a t e ,sod i um su l f a t e , and so on ) .

T h e n e u t r o n s p e c t r o m e t e r d e v e l oped a t B r i gham Young cons i s t s o f al i q u i d o r g a n i c s c i n t i l l a t o r c o n t a i n e din a g lass cy l ind er 12 .5 cm . in d iam et e r , in w h i c h a r e e m b e d d e d t h r e eg lass sc i n t i l l a t o r p la t es doped w i t hl i t h i u m - 6 . N e u t r o n s g e n e r a t e d d u r i n g t h e e x p e r i m e n t d e p o s i t e n e r g y i nt he l i qu i d sc i n t i l l a t o r v i a co l l i s i ons ,and t he resu l t i ng l i gh t y i e lds ene rgyi n f o r m a t i o n .

These neu t ron s a re t hen cap t u redb y l i t h i u m - 6 n u c l e i e m b e d d e d i ng lass p la t es f o rm i ng t r i t i um and h e l i -u m - 4 . T h e e x p e r i m e n t e r s , w h o o b s e r v e d a l o w - l e v e l n e u t r o n g e n e r a t i o n , c o n s i d e r e d t h a t " t h e d i s c o v e r yo f co ld nuc lea r f us i on i n condensedmat t e r opens t he poss i b i l i t y o f a newpa t h t o f us i on energy . "

Bhabha Atomic Research Center,India. T h e F le i s c hm a n n - P o n s e x p e r i me n t was co n f i rm ed a t t he B habhaAt om i c Research Cen t e r i n T rombay ,one o f t he la rges t nuc lea r researchc e n t e r s i n t h e w o r l d . D r . R. C h i d a m b a r a m ' s p h y s i c s g r o u p , e q u i p p e dw i t h a labo ra t o ry an d sc i en t is t s as

g o o d a s t h e b e s t in t h e w o r l d , o b s e r v e d n e u t r o n g e n e r a t i o n .

" W e su re ly have seen n eu t ro nshere and some co ld f us i on i s ce r t a i n l y g o i n g o n , " s a i d C h i d a m b a r a m ." The p rocess seems t o depend on som a n y p o o r l y u n d e r s t o o d p a r a met e rs i t i s no t a s t ra i gh t f o rwarde x p e r i m e n t . . . . If t h e p r o c e s s w a ss i m p l e a n d s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d , w es h o u l d h a v e s t r u c k g o l d b y n o w . W ehaven ' t . On t he con t ra ry , we a re s t i l lt r y i ng t o f i nd ou t t he bas i c pa ramet e rs o f t he exper i men t . . . . Bu t l i kec e r a m i c s u p e r c o n d u c t o r s , w e m a ybe on t o so me t h i ng t ha t may be a longway f rom p rac t i ca l use . "

University of Hokkaido, Japan. Exp e r i m e n t s e v a l u a t i n g n e u t r o n s f r o man anne a led pa l la d i um ca t h ode i n aL i O D - D 2 0 so lu t i o n , ca r r i ed ou t bys t ude n t s o f D r . )oh n Bock r i s o f Texas

A & M , i n d i c a t e g e n e r a t i o n o f n e u t r o n s t h a t " c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e e n e r g yo f n e u t r o n s e v o l v e d f r o m t h e d e u t e r i u m - d e u t e r i u m n u c l e a r f u s i o n r e a c t i o n . "

T h e e x p e r i m e n t w as c o n d u c t e d i na n u n d e r g r o u n d r o o m , a b o u t 5 m e t e rs be low t he g round leve l and su r r o u n d e d b y t h i c k c o n c r e t e w a l l s , t os h i e l d s o m e o f t h e b a c k g r o u n d n e u t r o n s . T h e n e u t r o n d e t e c t o r w a ssh i e lded by lead b r i cks (2 i nchest h i c k ) a n d b o r a t e d p o l y e t h y l e n ebr i cks (4 i nches t h i ck ) . I n add i t i on ,t h e f r o n t o f th e n e u t r o n d e t e c t o r w a scov ere d w i t h a 1 .0 cm cap o f me t a l l i clead.

The Un i ve rs i t y o f Hokka i do t eamused a pa l la d i um rod o f 99 .9 pe rce n tpu r i t y , 0 .3 cm i n d i amet e r and 10 cml o n g . The e lec t ro l y t e used was 0 .5m o l a r L i O D w i t h D 2 0 .

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The experimental setup at the Chemistry Laboratory at Texas A&M. The trit ium factory found here indicates that asignificant amo unt of neutron s is gene rated in the palladium cells.Excess Heat Production

The National Cold Fusion Instituteat the University of Utah. Research e rs i n eng i nee r i ng and me t a l lu rgyhave recorded at least n ine heatsu rges i n t he i r e lec t rochem i ca l ce l l s .These range f rom one i n wh i ch a ce l lp r o d u c e d s e v e n ti m e s as m u c h e n e r gy as that p ut in to the ce l l to a mor erecen t even t i n wh i ch t he energy ou t pu t was abou t 100 pe rc en t h i ghe rt han energy i npu t .Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India. The Tata Inst i tu te inB o m b a y r e c o r d e d a p h e n o m e n a lt e m p e r a t u r e r is e o f 1deg r ee Ce ls i usp e r m i n u t e w i t h t h e i r F l e i s c h m a n n -Pons t ype o f appara t us . Acco rd i ng t oD r . K.S.V. San t hanam, head o f t heC h e m i c a l - P h y s i c s D e p a r t m e n t , " W ede t ec t ed t he p resence o f neu t ronsand g amma- rays a t a leve l above t ha to f n o r m a l b a c k g r o u n d r a d i a t i o n . I e s t i ma t ed abo u t 2 i n eve ry 50 ,000 d e u t e r i u m a t o m s w e r e f u s i n g . "

Tritium ProductionTexas A&M. T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f

C h e m i s t r y a n d t h e C y c l o t r o n C e n t e rr e p o r t e d p r o d u c t i o n o f t r i t i u m f r o mD 2 0 e lec t ro l ys i s a t a pa l la d i um c a th ode . The exper i men t cons i s t s o f p a l l ad i um ca t hod es o f d i amet e rs 1 t o 6m m d i p p e d i n aD2O-0.1 L i - O D e l e c t ro l y t e . Samp les o f l i qu i d e lec t ro l y t ewere measured us i ng l i qu i d sc i n t i l l a

t i o n c o u n t i n g .In al l11ce l ls u n d e r g o i n g e l e c t r o l y

sis, m e a s u r e m e n t s w e r e m a d e o f t h eac t i v i t y o f t r i t i um i n so lu t i on , and i none ce l l t he gases evo lved were re -co mb i ne d e ; t e rna l t o the ce l l us i ng0 .5 pe rcen t p la t i num on a lum i na ca t a l y t i c beads . The resu l t i ng l i qu i dwas analyzed in the same way as thee l e c t o l y t e s a m p l e s . T h e p a l l a d i u mca t hodes used were o f 99 .9 pe rcen tpu r i t y and 99 .9 pe rc en t pu r e n i cke lw i re was used f o r t he anodes , spo tw e l d e d t o p a l l a d i u m w i r e s .

T h e m a x i m u m t r i t i u m c o u n t o b serve d in one ce l l was 4.9 x 106d i s i n t eg ra t i ons pe r m i nu t e pe r m i l l i l i t e r( d p m m l 1 ) o f samp le . The samp lessen t t o va r i ous o t he r labo ra t o r i esshowed t he t r i t i um coun t o f 2 .13 x10 6d p m m l ' 1 , one week a f t e r the h i ghc u r r e n t d e n s i t y t r e a t m e n t . T h e t r i t i um coun t was 1 ,157 be f o re t he h i ghc u r r e n t d e n s i t y t r e a t m e n t . T h e d e n s i t y o f cu r ren t was va r i ed du r i ng t hee x p e r i m e n t p e r i o d , a n d a t l o w c u r r e n t d e n s i t y n o t r i t i u m p r o d u c t i o nw a s o b s e r v e d .

Theoretical ResultsUniversity of California at Santa

Barbara. S .E . Koo n i n and M . N aue n-be rg repo r t t ha t t heo re t i ca l ca lcu la t i on o f co ld f us i on ra tes i nd i ca t es t ha tthe ra te fo r D-D fu s io n is 3 x 10"64pers e c o n d . The t heo re t i c i ans a lso f o un d

t h a t t h e r at e f o r p r o t o n - d e u t e r i u mfus ion is faster . B o th resu l ts are repo r t ed i n t he i r paper " Co ld Fus i on i nI s o t o p i c H y d r o g e n M o l e c u l e s . "

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Dr. E. Paul Palmer: S omething is surely happening. Palmer worked with Dr.Steven Jones at the Departm ent of Physics, Brigham Young University, wherethey recorded a low-level production of neutrons using the setup shown here.He is now w orking on the physics of what's going on inside the electrode.Continued from page 7n e r s ' work in these areas may tu rn ou tto be mere "a lso- rans" in the searchfor phys ica l laws.

Th en th ere is a lso the n agg in g issueo f M a l t hus ian i sm . D u r i ng d i scuss ionsw i th D r . Hug o Ross i , Dean of Sc ienceat the U n ivers i ty o f U tah and recen t lyappo in ted d i r ec to r o f t he un i ve rs i t y ' snew Cold Fus ion Research Center , hepo in ted t o w ha t he ca l l ed t he " s i n i s t e r " s ta tem en to f Je rem y R i f k i n . R i f k i n ,a ha rd -co re M a l t hus ian m asq ue rad ingas an env i r onm en ta l i s t , t o l d t he LosAngeles Times tha t i f co ld fus ion becom es a rea l i t y , t he resu l t i ng abun dance o f i nexpens i ve ene rgy w ou ldcause a po pu la t i on exp l o s ion onMother Ear th . I f R i fk in or h is f r iendsin t he sc ien t i f i c com m un i t y have the i rw ay , i t w ou ld be sa fe t o p resu m e tha tt hey w ou ld t r y t he i r bes t t o shu t dow nthe deve l opm en t o f such a po ten t i a lene rgy sou rce .

Ano the r r eason tha t co l d f us ion hasbeen sc o rned is t he pe rce i ved th rea tfe l t by those sc ien t is ts who have d e d i cated the i r careers to genera t ing hotf us ionfus ion ene rgy c rea ted i n t hel abora to r y by hea t i ng up hyd rogen t o

h igh t em pe ra tu res and h igh dens i t y .Some of these sc ien t is ts a re so obsessed w i t h t he i r ow n w ork t ha t t heyhave r i d i cu l ed co l d f us ion expe r i m en ts . M any such reac t i ons a rep rom p ted by t he f ea r , a l be i t no t un re a l is t ic , tha t in the wake of the co ld fu s i on exc i t em en t , t he a l r eady m eage rfunds f o r t he m agne t i c and i ne r t i a lc o n f i n e m e n t f u s i o n e x p e r i m e n t s w i l lbe f u r t h e r cu t back .

Wha teve r t he p r im a ry o r seconda ryreasons a re beh ind t he i r r a t i ona l a t t i t ude o f t he sc ience es tab l i shm en t , i ti s nonethe less c lear tha t the be l ieversare not ye t ready to th row in the prove rb ia l t ow e l .

The New FindingsAt the Un iv ers i ty o f U tah in Sa lt LakeC i t y , o p t i m i s m r u n s h i g h . In spi te of a

nega t i ve d ra f t i n te r im repor t o f t heU.S. Depar tment of Energy 's EnergyR esea rch Adv i so ry Boa rd on co l d f u s i o n , the s ta te of U tah has a l loca ted $5m i l l i on i n seed m o ney t o se t up a co l dfus io n resea rch cen te r a t t he u n i ve rs i ty 's Research Park in Sal t Lake City.(The adv i so ry boa rd repor t , w h i chm any th i nk w as p rem a tu re , s ta ted t ha tt he ev idence o f co l d f us ion i s uncon

v inc ing and the re fo re "no spec ia l p rog ram s to es tab l i sh co l d f us ion research centers or to suppor t new efo r t s t o f i n d co l d f u s ion a re j us t i f i ed athe p resen t t im e . " )

The w ork o f t he new cen te r , acco rding to i ts d i rec tor , Hugo Ross i , i s trep l ica te and va l ida te the F le ischm a n n - P o n s e x p e r i m e n t a n d t o w o ron the t heore t i ca l phys i cs i n o rde r texp l a in t he phenom enon ( see i n te rview, p. 18). Rossi c lear ly stated thaaf te r these present ob jec t ives arach ieved , new tasks w i l l f o l l ow .

A t the un i ve rs i t y ' s M e ta l l u rg i ca l Labo r a t o r y , D r . M i l t o n W a d s w o r t h a nD r . S i va ram an G u rusw am y w e re pe rp lexed by the asser t ive negat iv ism othe es tab l i shm en t sc ien t i s t s . Th i s t eamhas obs e rved a s i gn i f ican t am ou n t ohea t ene rgy gene ra t i on f r om pa l l adum ce l ls ba thed i n deu te r i u m hyd roxi de . In cer ta in ce l l s they have w i tnessed energy burs ts in the form osharp sp ikes , genera t ing a t leas t1 m i ll i on jou les of energy a t peak (seepho to , page 10 ) .

Ye t , t he p rocess o f ene rgy gene rat ion is not s teady and the heat burs tsw e re no t i c ed on l y once ove r a sevenor e igh t -w eek pe r i od i n t hese ce l l sM or e i n t r i gu ing pe rhaps is t he f i n d ingo f t h e W a d s w o r t h - C u r u s w a m y t e a mtha t 99 .295 pe rcen t pu re pa l l ad iumrods f unc t i o n as be t t e r hea t gene rators than the 99 .5 percent pure pa l lad ium ones. I t i s th is mater ia ls par t thab o t h W a d s w o r t h a n d G u r u s w a m y a ri nves t i ga t i ng , and r i gh t now they f i ndi t exc ruc ia t i ng l y puzz l i ng . N o ne th eless, t he re i s no qu es t i o n t ha t t he t eamhas w i t ness ed gen e ra t i on o f su rp l ushea t ene rgy f r om the F l e i schm annPons se t -up .

At Brigham YoungAt B r i gham Young U n i ve rs i t y (BYU )

in Pro vo, Uta h, Dr . E. Pau l Pa lmer , w how o rk ed w i t h D r . S teven E. Jones onthe l ow - l eve l gene ra t i on o f neu t ronsus ing a F le ischmann-Pons se t -up , isc o n v i n c e d " s o m e t h i n g is s u r e ly h a pp e n i n g " t ha t phys i cs m us t exp la in .Pa lm e r , no t ye t a "be l i e ve r , " does n oexpec t t ha t t he co l d f us ion p rocess w i lbe ab l e t o hea t w a te r f o r com m erc iapu rpo ses w i t h i n a decade o r so , bu t heis aw a re t ha t ca re fu l expe r im en ta l i s t shave a l r eady repo r ted f i nd ing s t ha t t he

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p r e s e n t u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p h y s i cs c a n n o t e x p l a i n .

As S t even Jones po i n t s ou t , howeve r , on t he bas i s o f the co nce p t i o n o ff us i o n as dev e lo ped t o da t e by nuc lea rphys i cs , it w ou ld be i naccu ra t e t o ca llt h e F l e i s c h m a n n - P o n s e x p e r i m e n t s" f us i on . " Jones i s no t ready t o c loset he doo r on co ld f us i on ; l i ke Pa lmer ,he agrees that i t i s t ime to take a f reshlook at the phys ics. Jones a lso po in tsou t t ha t i n o rde r t o do t h i s , however ,we need t o do some ve ry ca re f u l ex pe r i men t s and use t he f i nd i ngs t o se tp a r a m e t e r s o n w h i c h t h e n e w u n d e r s t and i ng o f phys i cs has t o be based(see in terv iew, p . 15) .

The Texas StunnerThe exper i men t a l f i nd i ngs a t Texas

A & M C o l l e g e S t a t i o n a r e e x p e c t e dto pu t a lo t o f pres sure on the s kep t ics .The ea r l i e r wo r k i n th i s un i ve rs i t y b yi ts Cen t e r f o r E lec t rochem i ca l Sys temsa n d H y d r o g e n R e s e a r c h a n d t h e D e pa r t men t o f Chem i s t ry , p resen t ed a tt h e W o r k s h o p o n C o l d F u s i o n P h e nom ena a t San ta Fe , N . M . , j us t t w omon t hs a f t e r F le i schmann and Ponsh a d a n n o u n c e d t h e i r s h o c k i n g f i n d i ngs , i nd i ca t ed obse rva t i on o f excesshea t genera t i on . Even mo re s t a r t l i ng ,t h e e l e c t r o l y t e , a D 2 0 - L i O D s o l u t i o n ,la t e r showed p resence o f t r i t i um (seei n t e rv i ew , p . 12 ) .The f i nd i ngs , a l t hough s i gn i f i can t t ot h o s e w h o w e r e w o r k i n g i n t h i s a r e a ,f a i l ed t o make much i mpac t on t hosew h o r e f u s e d t o b e l i e v e .

Later , a team at Texas A& M 's Dep art m e n t o f C h e m i s t r y a n d t h e C y c l o t r o nC e n t e r c a r r i e d o u t a n e x p e r i m e n t u s i ng a pa l lad i u m e lec t ro de ba t he d i nD2O-0.1 L i OD. The ob j ec t i ve was t og e n e r a t e t r i t i u m t h e h e a v ie s t k n o w ni s o t o p e o f h y d r o g e n , w h i c h c o n t a i n st w o n e u t r o n s a n d o n e p r o t o n i n its n u c leus . T r i t i um do es no t ex i s t i n na t u re ;i t is f o r m ed wh en t he l i t h i um p resen ti n t he L i OD cap t u re s a f ree ne u t ro nre leased t h r ou gh nuc lea r reac t i ons .

The resu l t t u rned ou t t o be a s t u n n e r . T h e t r i t i u m p r o d u c e d d u r i n g t h ee x p e r i m e n t s i n11e lec t ro lys is ce l ls was100 to 100,000 t imes m or e than tha t exp e c t e d f r o m t h e n o r m a l i s o t o p i c e n r i chmen t f rom e lec t ro l ys i s . The Texasresearchers have sent the i r samples toes t ab l i shed labo ra t o r i es such as Ba t -FUSION REPORT

Palmer also obtained a low-level p oduction of neutrons while experimentingwith sett ing concrete under pressuie. The pennies are used as insulation.t e l l e , A r g o n n e , L o s A l a m o s , a n d Gera l Mo t o rs f o r ana lys i s , and t he t r i t i um c ou n t o f t hese no t e d labs was nod i f f e r en t f r om t ha t t he Texas - researph -e r s ha v e t h e m s e l v e s c o u n t e d .

The Floodgate AheadW h at do a ll t hese f i nd i ngs meanI t i s too ear ly to pred ic t because so

l i t t l e i s kn ow n abou t a wh o l e gam u o fphys ics assoc ia ted wi t h th e exp ; r im e n t . T h e t r i t i u m w o r k , u n d e r D r.Kev i n W o l f , N i ge l Packham , e t a l a tTexas A&M w i l l be ha rd t o i gno re o rd i sm i ss as i r re levan t . The wo r k i str o ro u g h , a n d p r e v e n t i v e m e a s u r e s w ; r eu n d e r t a k e n t o p r o t e c t t h e e x p e r i m ; n tf r o m a n y p r o b a b l e c o n t a m i n a t i o i t r i t i u m c o m i n g f r o m b a c k g r o i n ds o u r c e s .

St i l l , i t w ou ld be na i ve t o be l i eve t ha tt he d i scove ry o f t hese t r i t i u m f ac t o i esw i l l change t he bas i c be l i e f -s t ruc t j reo f t he sc i ence es t ab l i shmen t . The rea r e r u m o r s t h a t t h e " t r i t i u m c o n t a m i na t i on " accusa t i on was leve led aga ns tthe Texas A & M p eo ple as a p loy to d isc r e d i t t h e i r f i n d i n g s .

The Texas A & M wo rk w i l l ope n i p af loo dga t e . A l ready t he wo rd i s o i t r i g h t n o w p r iv a t e c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t ween sc i en t i s t s rema i ns t he mos t e f f i c i en t way t o pass i n f o rma t i on ha tG le n Schoessow a t t he Un i ve rs i t ' o fF lo r i da i n Ga i nesv i l l e has done c losedca lo r i me t ry and l i t a g lo w lamp u ; m g

t he F le i schmann-Pons t ype o f a r rangement . At the Santa Fe Research Centeri n C o l u m b i a , T e n n . , J oe C h a m p i o nhas obs e rve d 40 t o 600 pe rc en t su rp lushea t f rom a la rge s i ng le c e l l . A t theUn i ve rs i t y o f M i nneso t a , D r . R i cha rdO r i a n i i n t h e C h e m i c a l E n g i n e e r i n gand Met a l lu rg i ca l G roup has a lso ob se rved a s i gn i f i can t amo un t o f su rp lushea t genera t i on . And one o f t he f i r s tt o success f u l l y rep roduce t he F le i sch mann -Pons expe r i me n t is D r . R ober tHugg i ns , an e lec t rochem i s t a t S t an f o r d Un i ve r s i t y , w ho has obse rved su r p lus hea t i n h i s exper i men t s .

The l i s t i s g ro w i n g long er eve ryw e e k , a l t h o u g h i t d o e s n o t g e t p u b l i c i zed by t he na t i ona l med i a o r event he sc i ence med i a .

Ou t s i de o f t he Un i t ed S t a t es , p os i t i ve resu l t s have been repo r t ed f romI n d i a , Japan , Ch i na , I t a l y , and e lse wh er e . I n I nd i a , t he sc ien t i s ts wo rk i ngon co ld f us i on a re repo r t ed ly i n t hep rocess o f sca l i ng up t he i r exper i men ts i gn i f i can t l y .

I n Japan , 80 sc i en t i s t s a re wo rk i ngu n d e r a n e w l y f o r m e d u m b r e l l a o r g a n i za t i on , t he I ns t i t u t e o f Fus i on Sc i enc e , t o de t ec t neu t ron s i n de t a i l f ro mc o l d f u s i o n e x p e r i m e n t s , t o f i n d t h em o s t a p p r o p r i a t e c o n d i t i o n s i n d e u t e r i um e le c t ro l y t e s , and t o s t udy t he t he o re t i ca l phys i cs t ha t cou ld exp la i n t hec o l d f u s i o n p h e n o m e n o n .

21st CENTJRY N o v e m b e r - D e c e m b e r 1 98 9 11

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A N INTERVIEW W IT H TEXAS A & M RESEARCHERS

How We Discovered We Had TritiumRam tanu Maitra had a wide-rangingdiscussion with the Texas A&M coldfusion group, Dr. A. John Appleby, Mr.Nigel Packham, and Dr. SupramaniamSrinivasan, about their experiments.Here we excerpt only a small part oftheir discussion, the remarks of NigelPackham on how the Texas group discovered that some of their cells w eretritium factories. The next issue will

cover more of this discussion.

Fle ischmann and Pons 's f i rs t s ta tem en t t ha t t he i r expe r im en t can bedo ne o n a k i t chen tab l e w as qu i t e m is l ead ing and ve ry w rong . C e r ta in l y t hee lec t r o chem is t r y i s qu i t e i nvo l ved . I fy o u d o n ' t k n o w w h a t y o u a r e d o i n g ,the re is no way you w i l l ge t any resu l ts .

W e c o n c e n t r a t e d . . . i n [J o h n ]Bockr is 's lab on t ry ing to ge t the heatand any rad ioac t i ve pa r t ic l es w e co u ldm ea su re . A t t ha t t im e Kev in W o l f w asno t con nec te d w i t h us . H e no w does al o t o f w ork w i t h us .The eas ies t poss ib le rad ioac t ive par t ic le you can look a t is t r i t ium. I t 's ave ry qu i c k , ve ry easy , som e w o u ld sayv e r y f o o l p r o o f , m e t h o d o f d e t e r m i n a t i o n . N ow , I say f oo l p ro o f , bu t t henw h en yo u go a l i t t le b i t f u r t he r do w nthe l ine , tha t has come back to hauntu s ,w i t h t h e w o r d c h e m i l u m i n e s c e n c eattached to i t . . . .

W e have a pape r pu re l y on t he p ro duc t i on o f t r i t i um . I t has now been ac cep te d by t heJournal of Electroanalyti-cal Chem istry an d Interfacial Electrochemistry. W e d id subm i t i t t o Natureand i t w as re jec ted a t t he t im e , p roba b ly for very good reasons, because theb lanks w e ren ' t t he re . N ow , o f cou rse ,I d o n ' t t h i n k Nature is go in g t o pu b l i shanyth ing pos i t ive . . . .

I t h i n k [ ed i t o r John ] M ad dox 's p ieced id in f lu enc e a lo t o f pe op le , in fac tt he re w on ' t be any pos i t i ve pape rspub l i shed the re , I 'm su re .

G e t t i ng back t o t r i t i um , w e had a

Texas A&MNigel Packham: The big question is,where are the neutrons? You have toimagine a mechanism where you don'tproduce neutrons, or very, very smallamou nts of neutrons, which the physicists obviously cannot accept.coup le of dead ce l l s . We had se t up 24e lec t r ochem ica l ce l l s and w e dec id edth i s w as a f t e r t he f i r s t b i g pushtha t as w e w e re a ve ry f unda m e n ta le l e c t r o c h e m i s t r y g r o u p , w e s h o u l dt rea t i t l i ke any o the r e l ec t r ochem ica lp ro b l e m tha t w e have . An d tha t w o u ldbe a r i go rou s t r ea tm en t o f t he su r face ,o f t he e l ec t r o l y te , and so on . And sowe d id tha t .

W e t r ea ted t he su r face .W e l l , we le f tone l i ke Pons and F l e i schm ann w hod idn ' t do any th ing t o t he su r face . Sowe said OK, let 's take i t as i t is and puti t in to the ce l l .

We annea led som e fo r 8 hou rs a800 degrees at 10"6t o r r , w h i c h s h o u lc l ea r any th ing ou t o f t he re . We ac id i p p e d e t c h e d s o m e e l e c t r o d e sW e d i d s o m e e l e c t r o c h e m i c a l c l e a ning o f t he su r face . The e l ec t r o l y te w eu s e d w a s li t h i u m d e u t e r o x i d e . W e d ec ide d to use a 0 .1 mo lar [m oles pel i t e r ] so l u t i on o f l i t h i um deu te rox idso l u t i on an d a lso one w i t h an a dd i t i vo f 0 .1 m i l l i m o l a r o f s o d i u m c y a n i d e .

Bulk Process or Surface Process?So d ium cy an ide is a go od po i son f o

h y d r o g e n e v o l u t i o n , s o i t w o u l d t e nt o d r i v e d e u t e r i u m i n t o t h e e l e c t r o d eA t t ha t t im e , and m aybe even now , iw as t hou gh t t ha t i t 's a bu l k p rocessno t a sur face re ac t io n . So we se t upthe 24 ce l ls , 8 o f w h i ch w e re 1- m m d i am e t e r p a l l a d i u m , 8 o f w h i c h were 3m m p a l l a d i u m , a n d 8 o f w h i c h w e r e6 .3 -m m pa l l ad iu m , and pu t t hem ona cha rg ing cu r ren t dens i t y w h i ch w edee m ed to be 50 m i l l i am ps pe r squa recen t im ete r ( th is is wh at Pons andF le i schm ann to l d us ) .A f te r abo ut 16 days a t th is c ur re ndens i t y , w e pu t t he 1 -m m e lec t r odesup t o h igh cu r ren t dens i t y , w h i ch w as500 m i l l i am ps pe r squa re c en t im e tefo r pe r i ods o f up t o abou t 12 hou rs .W e w an ted t o see if t he re w as any th ingbe in g g i ven o f f .

I n t he f i r s t p l ace , w e w e re l ook ingfo r n eu t r ons . So w e t o ok a ce ll ove r t othe C yc l o t r on C en te r and pu t it i n f r ono f t he neu t ron coun te r . We d idn ' t seeany t h ing a f t e r12 ho u rs , and na ive l y w esa i d , O K , t he re i s no th ing t he re .

T h e n e u t r o n b a c k g r o u n d , r i g hno w , i s do w n to abou t 0 .6 ne u t ron spe r m inu te . So any th ing above tha t iss i gn i f i can t . I m ea n w e a re se e ing them a x im um w e eve r saw w as 4 t o 5 t im esabove b ack g ro un d , w h i ch is s ta t is t i ca ll y i n f o rm a t i ve , and ce r ta in l y i s t he reand w e do r - squa red tes t s , w h e re w etake the ce l l away f rom the counter [ toa d is tance of r ] , and the count goesd o w n b y r2, so w e kn ow i t ' s com ing

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f r o m thece l l .A f t e r d o i n g the n e u t r o n c o u n t on

t h i s ce l l and not f i n d i n g a n y t h i n g ,thea n o d e c o n n e c t i o n to ourn ic k e l a n o d eb r o k e o f f w e usen i c k e l a n o d e sin allcases so we s a id , OK,w h a t can wedo w i t h t h i s ce l l? We d e c i d e d to testt he e lec t ro l y t e , and see wh a t t he re wasin it.

O n eofthe ea s iest ways ofdo i ng t ha tis to l o o k w i t h a l i qu i d sc i n t i l l a t i onc o u n t e r . So wec a l l e d a r o u n d c a m p u st o f i nd out who had a l i qu i d sc i n t i l l a t o r . The p e o p l e r u n n i n g it s a id , ce r t a i n l y , b r i ng some samp les ove r . Weh a dno ideaat allt ha t t he re was g o i ngtobea n y t r i t i u m .

I t ook the samp les o ve r t he re on aF r i d a y e v e n i n g , and p ic k e d t h e m upo n M o n d a y m o r n i n g ,and the p e r s o nw h o a c t u a l l y ran thetestson thes a m p l e s c a m e up to me and s a id , " w h a tk i n d of s o u r c e s did you put in th ist h i n g ? "

I s a id , " t h e r e is no s o u r c e in t h e r e ,a l l t he re was ,was an e l e c t r o c h e m i c a lc e l l . "

H e r e p l i e d , " t h e r e c e r t a i n l y m u s th a v e b e e n something in t h e r e , bec a u s e y o u ' v egot 1.6 x 10 6c o u n t sperm i n u t eof t r i t i u m . "

Thiswas in twoce l ls in the o r i g i na lcase.So we th e n l o o k e dat the o t he rce l ls that we'd had r u n n i n g , and wea l s o f o u n d t r i t i u m in o r i g i n a l l y 6 outo f 8o n e - m m c e l ls . Them a x i m u m wed e t e c t e d w a s 4 . 9 x 10 6 d i s i n t e g r a t i o n sp e r m i n u t e per m i l l i l i t e r of s o l u t i o n[ d p m m l " 1 ] . Now if you put it in t e r m so f ar a t e ,you aret a l k i n g a b o u t s o m e t h i n g l i k e 1010a t o m s of t r i t i u m b e i n gp r o d u c e d pers e c o n d .

Wher eAre theNeutrons?T h e bigq u e s t i o n is,w h e r e are the

n e u t r o n s ? Ifyou have 1010 a t o m sof t r i t i u mpersec ond , you s hou ld a lso have10 10 a t o m so f n e u t r o n s .

W e w e r e not m e a s u r i n g h e a t at thet i m e . In fact the 1-mm ce l ls are sos m a l l in p a l l a d i u m v o l u m e , t h a t youw o u l d n ' t be ab le to dete ct that hea t .Bu t we a lso d i d n ' t de t ec t any ne u t ro ns ,and 2 .4 Me V ne u t ro ns a re easytom e a s u r e .Youcan ' t m akeam i s t ake .

So , t h e yare nott h e r e . So you havet o i m a g i n e a m e c h a n i s m w h e r e youd o n ' t p r o d u c e n e u t r o n s ,or ve ry , ve rys m a l l a m o u n t s of n e u t r o n s , w h i c htheFUSION REPORT 2 1 s t C E N T L R Y

k n o w w h o c a n . M a n y c r i t ic s s a id , w h a ta b o u t t r i t i u m in y o u r D2 0 [heavywat e r ] , or in y o u r l i t h i u m d e u t e r o x i d e ?A g a i n , we check eve ry ba t ch of D2 0a n d L i O D , and t h e y c o m e out ve ry ,ve ry low . So t he re wasnoq u e s t i o nbutt h a t the t r i t i u m c a m e f r o m the e lec t r o d e .

LookingforContaminationN o w , t h e r earest i l l afewq u e s t i o n s .

C o u l d it h a v e b e e n in the p a l l a d i u mb e f o r e y o udid thee lec t ro l ys is? Co u ldt h e p a l l a d i u m h a v e b e e n s t o r e d s o m e w h e r e , w h e r e t h e r e was a h u g ea m o u n t of t r i t i u m ? We l o o k e d at thatt o o . We s e n t p a l l a d i u m m e t a l to LosA l a m o s and s a id , p lease f i nd out ift h e r e is anyt r i t i u m in it. Andt h e r e isnone.

A n d l i k e w i s e w i t h then i cke l a nodest ha twe u se . N o w ,in ane l e c t r o c h e m i ca l sense, even if t h e r e w e r e t r i t i u mi ns i de the p a l l a d i u m , it w ou ld s t ayt he re . S i nce it is c a t h o d i c , it w o u l dd r i ve t r i t i um i ns i de , ra t he r t han evo lvei t f rom the i n s i d e . But in any case,t he re wasnot r i t i u m i ns i de thepa l lad i -

N o v e m b e r - D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 9 13

Two other fusion reactions in solving deuterium have been hypothesized.One combines two deuteri jm nuclei to produce helium-4 and energy; the other is a reaction between deuterium and lithium-6, producingtwo helium-4 nuclei and energy.

So far cold fusion results indi< ate closer resemblance to the first tworeactions. However, the heat observed in these experiments exceeds theenergy levels demanded by the: e two reactions. The excess heat measured by various experimenters :annot be explained away by citing anyknownchemical reaction. But nc other known nuclearreactions can explain the amount of heat generaled.

It is not surprising that Fleischinann and Pons believe that reactions (1)and (2) above are only a small )art of the overall reaction scheme andthat the bulk of the energy relea e is due to a hitherto unknown nuclearprocess or processes.

Deuterium in NuclearFusion Reactk>nsThere are two known fusion re; ctions of deuterium nuclei that produce

the following products at the spe :ified energies:(1)D + D-> T(1.01MeV + H (3.02 MeV)

Tritium Proton(2)D + D-^ He-3 (0.82 MeV) + n(2.45 MeV)

Helium-3 Neutron

phys i c i s t s obv i ous ly canno t accep t .W h y s h o u l d t h e y a c c e p t a n y t h i n g

t ha t goes aga i ns t eve ryday mode nphys ics? The re ares o m e m e c h a n i s n st h a t ar e b e i n g p r o p o s e dtoa c c o u n tf )rw h y you d o n ' t see n e u t r o n s . The em a y be s o m e o r i e n t a t i o non the e lec t r o d e i t s e l f i n thee lec t r i c f i e ldof tl ied o u b l e l a y e r , w h i c h m a y m e a n t h a ttl iem o s t o b v i o u s c o l l i s i o n w o u l d be tow a r d p r o d u c i n g t r i t i u m , r a t h e r th ; nn e u t r o n s . T h a tmay bea case.

B u tIt h i n k t ha t needs to bel o o k e dati n m u c h m o r e d e t a i l . It's av e ry y o u iigs c i e n c e . . . .

O K . T h e r e w a snodo ub t t ha t we h .idt r i t i u m . In f ac t , to c o n f i r m t h a t , v esen t samp les to B a t t e l l e - C o l u m b isl a b , to A r g o n n e N a t io n a l Lab, and :oG e n e r a l M o t o r s , and I took a samp let o Los A lam os Na t i ona lLab.

T h e r e is at a b l e in the pape r whi

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um o r t he n i cke l .C ou ld t he re have been t r i t i um onthe glass cel l that we used? These ares t range ques t i ons t ha t w e had t o an swer over the course of the pas t twoand a ha l f m on ths : Was the t r i t i um i nthe rub be r s to ppe rs t ha t w e had i n ou re lec t rochemica l ce l l s? Was i t in thecut te rs tha t we used to cu t the p a l l ad ium ?

A g a i n , w e have ano the r t ab l e he retha t shows the resu l ts o f tes ts on d is so l ved shav ings f r om the spo t w e lde r ,f r o m t h e v a c u u m c h a m b e r , f r o m t h ec a r t o n s , f r o m r e c o m b i n a t i o n I ' l lc o m e b ac k t o t h a t f r o m t h e r u b b e rs toppers . They are a l l zero. So there isnothing in ou r se tup tha t co u ld havep r o d u c e d t r i t i u m , a p a r t f r o m a n u c l e arr e a c t i o n .

W e a lso de c id ed tha t i f there is th isam oun t o f t r i t i um i n t he so l u t i on o ft he e l ec t r o l y te , t hen w e a re p robab l yven t i ng a ve ry la rge am ou n t o f t r i t i umin to t he a tm osphe re , and i t w ou ld bein te res t i ng t o see how m uch i s go ingou t . The easies t tes t is to rec om bin ethe gases ex terna l to the c e l l . We d id

tha t us ing 0.5 pe rcen t p l a t i nu m on a l u m ina beads .

W e co l l ec ted t he o ff - gases , conve r t ed t hem back t o a l i q u id , m easu red thel i qu id an d the re i s a r a t i o o f a bou t100 t o 1 : O ne hu nd red t im es h ighe r i nthe reco m b ine d gases t han the re i s i nthe e l ec t r o l y te .

Five t imes 108 is on e o f ou r cou n ts ,in fac t . I t then came down to 5 x 107co m p are d t o t he e l ec t r o l y te at 5 x 105,so be tw ee n 50 and 100 t imes mo re inthe gases than in so lu t io n . That is rea l l yt he ex ten t o f ou r t r i t i um resu l t s .

Chemi luminescenceB u t t h e n ,o f cou rse , a m a jo r c r i t i c i sm

t h a t c a m e u p w a s c h e m i l u m i n e s c e n c e .That was a very d i f f i cu l t one to dea lw i t h , and i t s t il l is , even tho ug h w eknow w e a re n o t se e i n g c h e m i l u m i nescen ce ; ne i t he r d i d Los A lam os , n o rA rgonne , no r Ba t te l l e . Bu t t he D epa r t ment of Energy's ERAB [Energy Resea rch Adv i s o ry Boa rd ] com m i t t eet h a t c a m e a r o u n d o n e o f t h e i r b ig gest c r i t i c isms was, "You say tha t youa r e n o t s e e i n g c h e m i l u m i n e s c e n c e ;how can you say tha t?"

A g a i n ,we d id a tes t o f wha t happ enw h en you l ook a t h i gh co ncen t ra t i ono f L iO D . A t one m o la r t he re i s a huga m o u n t o f c h e m i l u m i n e s c e n c e , a nth i s w as d i scove red en t i r e l y by accden t , because D r . O l i ve r M u rphy the Center for E lec t rochemica l Sytem s and H y d ro gen R esea rch gave ma sam p le w i t hou t t e l l i ng m e w ha t was .

I pu t i t in to the l iqu id sc in t i l l a t iocoun te r and go t 10 5, 10 6, and I wenback t o O l i ve r and sa i d , " I t h i nk yoa re go in g t o be ve ry p l eased . " An d hsa i d , "N o , I 'm no t ; becaus e a ll I gavyou w as 1 m o la r o f l i t h i um hyd ro x idand l i t h i um deu te rox ide t ha t had neer even seen a c e l l . "

So w e sa i d ,O K , t ha t is a p rob l em .W e d id a p ro f i l e and f ou nd tha t rea

l y be l ow 0 .3 m o la r , you have no p rolems a t a l l . The ins t rument tha t we ushas go t ve ry go od chem i l um in esce ncm on i t o r i ng on i tin f ac t on a l l t h reins t ru m e n ts . I f you check t he che m i l um inescence on each i ns t rum en t , t he rw as none du r i ng t ha t t im e f o r w h i cw e ob ta ined those resu l t s .

So the c r i t i c i sm o f chem i l um inescence is real ly inval id. But i t seems be the one tha t m os t pe op le a re haning on to , as we l l as say ing , OK, yoa re add ing D 2 0 a l l the t ime in to thesc e l l s ; th is D 2 0 has to have t r i t iu m in iA n d i t d o e s w e k n o w t h a t .

The c r i t i cs th en say , so i t 's jus t go into bu i l d up and bu i l d upw h ich i s nor i g h t . O n e o f t h e b e s t - q u a l if i e d p e o pin t he w or l d s i t t i ng ove r t he re [DSr in ivasan] w i l l te l l you tha t because othe sepa ra t i on f ac to r am ong hyd rog e n , d e u t e r i u m , a n d t r i t i u m , i t wonbu i l d up t o t he l evel s t ha t w e o b ta in edIn fac t we found tha t i f you have 20dpm [d i s i n teg ra t i ons pe r m inu te ] pemi l D 2 0 to start w i t h , you w i l l on l y i ncrease as muc h as the separa t ion fator . S ince the separa t ion fac tor is on ltwo or th ree , i t w i l l on ly increase two r t h r e e t i m e s , m a x i m u m . S o t h e m a xm um tha t you cou ld assum e to ge t tis 400 to 600 w i th ou t ha v ing any f us ioo c c u r r i n g .

N ow , if the re is any fus ion occur i n g , any th ing above 600 is s ign i f icanO b v i o u s l y 1 06i s h igh ly s ign i f ican t , b uI w o u l d say even so m e th ing a t the l evo f 1, 000 dpm w ou ld be s i gn i f i can t .

14 N o vem ber -D ece m b er 1989 21st C EN TU R Y FUSION REPORT

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AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. STEVEN JOZIES'The Excess Heat Is Interesting, ButNot Fusion'

Ramtanu Maitra interviewed Prof.Steven Jones of Brigham Young Uni-versity Aug. 23. Jones pioneered research in muon-catalyzed fusion. H ebegan work on cold fusion last year,independent of the work of Fleisch-mann and Pons. Based on reports ofgeologists that helium-3, very rare onEarth's surface, is found near areas ofgeological activity, he theorized thatfusion must be taking place in the interior of the Earth; he set out to test thistheory by passing an electric currentthrough various combinations of elements. His cold fusion work producedneutrons, although on a much lowerlevel than the Fleischmann-Pons apparatus.

Maitra toured J ones's lab in Utah,met with his colleagues there, andthen interviewed Jones by telephoneat Yale University. Jones w as at Yale tohelp Dr. Moshe Cai set up a cold fusionexperiment to measure neutrons.* * *Question: What is your view of the coldfusion results?

Fi rs t o f a l l , I th ink i t i s important tod i s t i n g u i s h l o w - l e v e l c o l d f u s i o n , i nw h i c h w e se e neu t rons a t a ra t e o fabo u t a t en t h o f a ne u t ro n pe r sec o n d t h a t ' s a s o u r c e r a t e a n d c o n t rast that w i th the excess heat c la ims.For the la t ter there i s no corre la t ionqua n t i t a t i ve ly , ce r t a i n l y by 13 o rde rs o fm a g n i t u d e , w i t h n e u t r o n s .

A n d e v e n t h e t r i t i u m t h e T e x a sA & M t r i t i u m , f o r e x a m p l e . T h e y o b se rved t r i t i u m b u t no t i n t he same ce l l st h a t p r o d u c e d h e a t . I n o t h e r w o r d s ,t he ce l l s t ha t p roduced hea t d i d no tshow t r i t i um , and t he ce l l s t ha t p ro duced t r i t i um d i d no t show hea t .Tha t ' s ve ry i mpo r t an t . The re ' s noco r re la t i on . . . .Question: W hat do you make of thisdif-ference?

I th ink the excess heat may be real,FUSION REPORT 21st CENTURY

X-rays as the atoms are exc i ted.Bu t t he re a re no co r re la t ed X - rays .

Tha t has been checked . They ' vel o o k e d i t ' s n o t h a r d w i t h d e t e c t o r sl i ke a so d i u m i od i d e de t e c t o r . I 'm n o tsu re wh i ch k i nd o f de t ec t o r t hey used ,bu t I kn ow t ha t K ev i n W o l f sa i d t ha tt hey had looked and had no t seen anyev i dence o f rad i a t i on t ha t mus t be as soc i a t ed w i t h a h i gh -e nerg y pa r t i c le .So i t' s rea l ly a pu zz l e . I t jus t doe sn ' t f i t .I t can ' t be fus ion i f there i s no t theene rgy assoc i a t ed w i t h i t .Q u e s t i o n : Bu t somet imesI 'm speakingof th is par t i cu lar D-D react ionsomet imes i t cou ld be t r i t ium being fo rmedand somet imes just neut rons fo rmed. I sthere such a poss ib i l it y o f branching?

I f t he re is t r i t i u m f o rm ed w i t h t heenergy assoc i a t ed w i t h i t s f o rma t i on ,y o u k n o w h o w m u c h t r i t i u m a n d h o wmuch energy . Then you ' ve go t t o seet wo t h i ngs . You ' ve go t t o see hea t ,wh i ch t hey don ' t see i n t he t r i t i um-p roduc i ng ce i l s . Bu t t he ma i n t h i ng i s ,you ' ve go t t o see rad i a t i on . I t ' s no tt he re , and t hese are sens it i ve cou n t e rs

N o v e m b e r - D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 9 15

bu t t he re i s no ev i dence wha t soevert ha t i t ' s du e t o f us i on . I t h i n k t ha t ' ; ave ry i mp o r t a n t p o i n t . The re is s t i l l and he re w e a re f ive