for the cold fusion ping list
My guess is that NASA and the Pentagon have a lot more underway than they are admitting publicly.
A lightweight, safe space-borne nuclear reactor is pretty much the only thing standing between us and interplanetary commerce.
LENR would open the way for large amounts of electricity in space, which would open the way for large ion engines (which have been under development for about fifty years and are getting pretty good), which would open the way to much cheaper interplanetary travel.
Ion engines make about ten times better use of reaction mass than do chemical engines. Not to mention the fact that with space-borne LENR, ion engines could be supplied with reaction mass (i.e. “fuel”) from other planets and moons that have atmospheres. Immediately, the solar system is full of refueling stations.
There is an aspect of this scientific investigation and
discovery, that is easy to lose sight of.
When Ponds and Fleischmann announced their discovery to
the world, it was little more than pointing to a door, and stating
there was something important behind it. I think they were
a bit premature in their announcement, but people did start
looking into what had taken place.
Then there was that other segment of the scientific community
that operated with the same know it all attitude that has
sprung up from the midst of groups of friends, all the way
up to groups of the greatest scientific minds of the day.
“Oh, that can’t work. You’re wasting your time. You’ll be
seen as the fool you are.”
This group has reared it’s ugly head across centuries, and
I’m sure many thousands of years as well. It causes delay
in scientific discovery. It has probably prevented some
astounding discoveries, that faded out of sight because
someone became discouraged.
The point is this. The Earth is not flat. The planets
do not orbit the Earth. The sound barrier was not a barrier
to man’s ability to travel faster than it. Traveling
across the universe faster than the speed of light, can be
achieved in theory, with folded space.
One needs to be very careful with matters of science and
talking in absolutes. One’s beliefs are only as sound as
the yet undiscovered scientific realities just barely out
of sight of the best scientific minds of the day.
It’s okay to remind folks of current scientific concepts.
It’s not okay to close the door to new theories and the
resultant discoveries the sciences will always deliver.
New discoveries have a nasty habit of happening in chains.
You block one new theory, at the risk of closing the door
to every new reality that will come with it.
We see it here. Closed minds never discover anything except
undeserved personal contentment.
I enjoy these threads, and look forward to many more.