“I remember the fake fission story from Popular Mechanics back in the 80s.”
Yep, I’ll believe it when I have one running my home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klondike_Big_Inch_Land_Promotion
MY hero...
And no, it didn't send him my dirty underwear as a devoted fan, although it may look like it. >:(
If something like this actually worked, it would probably be good for neighborhood power. A huge percentage of electrical power in the grid is lost during transmission. If we could decentralize that, and have the generation facilities located close to those who would be consuming the power, much less actual generating capacity is actually needed than the standard grid.