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To: monocle
If what you say is true about big business scuttling cold fusion research, how do you explain the large sums of money being spent on high temperature fusion which would have the same effect on business as cold fusion.

As a long-time skeptic when it comes to most conspiracy theories, I don't particularly want to buttress the theory that "big business is quashing new technologies". However, it's not unreasonable to argue that big business (especially big oil companies) would be much happier with high-temperature Tokamak-type fusion than "cold fusion".

High-temperature fusion will (at least initially) cost billions of dollars in capital costs for each giant power plant, even when it finally becomes economical (and that time is decades away). So big oil companies need not fear serious competition for quite a while, and then they would likely be the ones making the huge capital investments during a slow phase-over. High-temperature fusion follows the classic model of big government R&D expenditures which big business subsequently exploits.

Cold fusion, on the other hand, would be what is called a "disruptive" technology. It could happen relatively cheaply and quickly, possibly by new companies or ones not currently in the energy business, and it would obsolete much of the existing investment and energy infrastructure. So no, I do not think the giant corporations who currently dominate energy production and distribution would be too pleased with a technological breakthrough. That doesn't mean they could successfully scuttle cold fusion's development, but they would not be happy campers.

179 posted on 03/03/2002 10:57:54 AM PST by dpwiener
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To: dpwiener
What about the commercial consumers of energy? One of the largest consumers of electrical energy is the aluminum industry which at one time not too long ago consumed almost 10% of the electric energy generated in this country. Suppression of something as lucrative as low cost energy production boggles the mind as to how Wall Street or other profit seeking individuals or organizations could be prevented from entering the business. Our government, for better or for worse, has with all its legal and military powers tried to suppress the highly lucrative narcotics trade with only marginal success.
183 posted on 03/03/2002 11:19:47 AM PST by monocle
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