What does this mean for the laymen among us?
From the little that I understand, it seems to verify by a legitimate source, that LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reaction)is real. It releases more energy than can be explained by a simple chemical reaction and the isotopes that remain say it is nuclear in nature, but not with radiation or high energy particles like typical nuclear. A clean economical ‘new’ energy source?
It means that this stupid $4!+ is back!
There is still work to do on theory and engineering to maximize potential but LENR (cold fusion) is confirmed as a real energy source.
It means the snake-oil salesman Rossi is running low on funds and trying to squeeze a little more funding out of his flagship hoax.
The transmutation of such light elements (In this case, Nickel to Copper) is thought to be impossible without a stellar mass to heat and squeeze the elements together.
A pretty big deal, if true. It could open up an entire new branch of physics, provide a new source of energy (not renewable, but clean, cheap and plentiful), and change how we think about the universe that we live in.
The abstract says that "The total net energy obtained during the 32 days run was about 1.5 MWh." At a conversion factor of about 33 kWh/gal, this is equivalent to the energy in about 45,000 gallons of gasoline, or about 1.3 million automobile miles at 30 miles per gallon.
The total fuel supplied was one gram, and not all of it was consumed/converted. There was no detectable radiation (other than heat and light) outside of the container. The "ash" remaining from the reaction was not radioactive.
Safe energy from almost nothing. What's not to like?