Posted on 05/21/2013 2:24:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Back in October 2011 I first wrote about Italian engineer, Andrea Rossi, and his E-Cat project, a device that produces heat through a process called a Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR).
Very briefly, LENR, otherwise called cold fusion, is a technique that generates energy through low temperature (far lower than hot fusion temperatures which are in the range of tens off thousands of degrees) reactions that are not chemical. Most importantly, LENR is, theoretically, much safer, much simpler, and many orders of magnitude cheaper than hot fusion. Rather than explaining LENR in detail here please see my original posting for a more complete explanation.
My next post on this topic was here on Forbes a few days later and, as the labyrinthine and occasionally ridiculous saga developed, I tried to sort fact from fiction in a series of posts (see the list at the end of this posting) which covered everything from unconvincing demos, through an Australian businessman offering Rossi $1 million to show independently tested proof, to other players in the LENR market showing interesting results.
I haven’t posted about Rossi and his E-Cat since last August simply because there wasn’t much to report other than more of Rossi’s unsupported and infuriating claims that included building large-scale automated factories to churn out millions of E-Cats (the factories still have no sign of actually existing) through to unsubstantiated performance claims that sounded far too good to be true.
What everyone wanted was something that Rossi has been promising was about to happen for months: An independent test by third parties who were credible......
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
I would like to see it, but I am skeptical.
From the story...
“They were fed by a TRIAC power regulator device which interrupted each phase periodically, in order to modulate power input with an industrial trade secret waveform. This procedure, needed to properly activate the E-Cat HT charge, had no bearing whatsoever on the power consumption of the device...”
Misdirection is how the very best magicians pull off the largest tricks.
So.. somebody is working on a project to produce energy.
Good for them.
I note there are a few folks around here that get their panties in a knot about it.
Why is that?
It’s a controversial subject.
Some folks argue for the sake of argument.
I figure if it ever works out, we’ll know soon enough and enjoy the benefits.
Here’s Krivit’s take:
Rossi Manipulates Academics to Create Illusion of Independent Test
May 21, 2013 – By Steven B. Krivit –
On May 16, Hanno Essén, a theoretical physicist and lecturer at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, submitted a paper to arXiv, the physics pre-print server, and claimed that he and several co-authors performed an independent test of an E-Cat device that was built by Andrea Rossi. Essén submitted a revised version of the paper on May 20.
The authors of the paper did not perform an independent test; instead, they were participants in another Rossi demonstration and performed measurements on one of Rossi’s devices in his facility.
New Energy Times stopped counting the Rossi demonstrations after the 13th one on Feb. 12, 2012. (See Andrea Rossi Energy Catalyzer Master Timeline.)
The authors of the paper lack full knowledge of the type and preparation of the materials used in the reactor and the modulation of input power, which, according to the paper, were industrial trade secrets.
The authors didn’t perform any calorimetry and used a method to measure temperature to extrapolate output power that neither they nor anyone in the field of low-energy nuclear reaction research has ever used to analyze for heat power or energy.
In response to a question from New Energy Times about whether he had full knowledge of how to perform and operate the experiment, Essén effectively confirmed that he had not replicated the experiment.
“No, but I am sure that I could repeat it with some effort,” Essén wrote.
Essén is the former chairman of the Swedish Skeptics Association, and his co-authors are Giuseppe Levi (University of Bologna), Evelyn Foschi (Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics-Bologna), and Torbjörn Hartman, Bo Höistad, Roland Pettersson and Lars Tegnér (Uppsala University).
Andrea Rossi is a convicted white-collar criminal with a string of failed energy ventures. (Report #5: Rossi’s Profitable Career in Science) His most notorious endeavor was his effort between 1970 and 1990 to turn industrial waste into fuel. Rossi’s company produced only toxic waste and environmental damage to the land and groundwater in the Milan, Italy, area. (Rossi’s Italian Financial and Environmental Criminal History)
New Energy Times questioned Essén about the March 18-23, 2013, experiment that was, according to the paper, carried out by Essén and his co-authors.
SBK: In whose building/premises was the experiment performed?
HE: In Rossi’s facilities in Ferrara.
SBK: Who set up the experiment?
HE: Giuseppe Levi and Evelyn Foschi – within the constraints set by Rossi.
SBK: Who purchased or acquired the materials used in the reactor?
HE: Rossi.
SBK: Do you have full knowledge of the type and preparation of the materials used in the reactor?
HE: No.
SBK: Do you have full knowledge of how to perform and operate the experiment?
HE: No, but I am sure that I could repeat it with some effort.
SBK: Who acquired or supplied the instrumentation?
HE: Giuseppe Levi mainly, with some input from the Uppsala group.
SBK: Who tested and/or calibrated the instrumentation?
HE: Levi and Foschi did the main work, but several cross-checks were done by the rest of the participants. The temperature measurement cameras were checked on boiling water. The electric measurements were checked with standard resistors.
SBK: At any time during the 116 hours of the experiment was Rossi at any of the controls?
HE: Not that I recall. He showed us his ongoing projects in general but did not participate in the measurements.
SBK: Do you know of any other experiment performed in this field in which infrared measurements were made not just to acquire temperature readings but also to analyze for total heat enthalpy?
HE: No.
SBK: Do you know of any other experiment performed outside this field in which infrared measurements were made not just to obtain temperature readings but also to analyze for total heat enthalpy?
HE: No.
SBK: Is there any reason you did not use either mass-flow calorimetry or envelope calorimetry to analyze for total heat enthalpy?
HE: Yes, practical reasons. The current setup made it difficult. (Practical reasons determined by the reactor, its placement, and the available equipment.)
SBK: Who paid for the travel expenses of the Swedish participants in the test?
HE: All travel and living expenses were paid by Swedish and Bologna university sources.
or, the Pons-Fleishmann effect.
No idea.
Kevmo is that you?
TT
Rossi is a fraud and is deserving of scorn. Read about Rossi’s past if you’re so inclined.
KEVMO has moved on to hyping high speed rail.
There’s probably more money to be skimmed from that.
You should be. I actually know many of the people/organizations that Kemvo claims substantiate his positions. In fact, these are some of the most respected electrochemist in the world and EVERYONE I have talked with laughs at his assertions. In fact, one of the orgs that I have been associated with for years has BANNED the exploration of this technology because if the snake oil associated with this on-going sham. There is NOTHING here except for more calls for $$$$s and investment. I guess the AGW scam is losing steam and shysters are looking for new marks. BTW, I am a fellow or senior member with ACS, ECS, AICHE, AVS just to name a few.
We think he's lying.
IF it is proven to work, FR is going to have to order crow by the carload....
Something is going on. There is something to cold fusion. Too many entities are working on it, for there to be nothing there. I’m simply not going to classify everyone working on it as hoodwinked idiots.
Now, can Andrea Rossi successfully exploit the technique to profit from it? Maybe so. Maybe not. Some would say he already has. And you know what, ultimately that may be true. Even if his efforts are honest, and I’m not saying they are, that doesn’t mean that ultimately he won’t have led folks astray.
I believe in time this technology will be researched, proven, exploited, and very helpful to humanity.
Along the way I’m not going to hang on the words of anyone. I will watch at a distance and enjoy hearing the reports.
Pons and Fleishmann stumbled on something years ago. Eventually, they will be heralded for the field they opened up. And it won’t surprise me to see them ridiculed for years until that becomes our reality.
because people who post on anonymous political forums are really PhD scientists and have inside knowledge of the future, didn’t you know?
I read the report. It was pretty convincing.
Their measurement method and equipment were commonly used in other industries and their calculations were on the conservative side.
I’ve been reserving judgement up until now, but I’m tilting toward this being real.
If it is fake, it is a masterful fake that involved years of planning and thousands of hours of labor. Con men are usually pretty lazy.
If it’s real doesn’t it radically change almost everything?
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