Popular Science Covers Cold Fusion

Christy L. Frazier

he November 2012 Popular Science “The Future Now” about everyone at that conference has seen the cold fusion T cover includes “Cold Fusion: A Special Investigation.” effect first-hand, including me. We have no doubt at all that The story by Steve Featherstone, “Andrea Rossi’s Black Box,” cold fusion itself is real. We also think it is likely the Ni-H focuses on the tumultuous past few years of effort and set- version works. A lot of us (including me) respect Piantelli backs by Italian inventor Andrea Rossi. Those familiar with and Focardi. Based on that, it is reasonable to conclude that the Rossi story might expect the story to be entirely negative Rossi’s claims are probably true. His tests have been ludi- toward the cold fusion field. However, Featherstone seems to crous as everyone knows, but convincing nonetheless.” be an eager, open-minded journalist who wants to dig into Many in the field have proposed better protocols to Rossi, the layers of a story. directly and indirectly, including how to make proper meas- Rossi seemingly burst onto the cold fusion/LENR scene in urements and how to protect intellectual property while 2010. His affiliation with Sergio Focardi made many scien- doing open demonstrations. Most believe that Rossi is not tists in the field take notice. His first public demonstration of trying to scam the public, rather that he suffers from “inven- the energy catalyzer (E-Cat) took place in January 2011 in tor’s disease,” which has the awful “side effects” of paranoia Bologna, Italy. The internet immediately exploded with E- and disillusionment. Cat enthusiasm and cold fusion began experiencing a surge Rossi’s questionable behavior carried over to July 2012 in interest. Meanwhile, those closest to the field began a when Featherstone touched down in Italy. He had been lengthy journey of discovery to ascertain whether Rossi’s invited by Rossi to a private demonstration of the E-Cat. claims were real and whether the work Most researchers in the field would be would catapult the field into a new era honored to have a reporter interested of research, investment, development in their work, but could of course be and acceptance. hesitant due to the unfair treatment Many were aware of Rossi’s tar- the field has received in the press over nished past, which included an envi- the years. Featherstone was shocked ronmental nightmare created by with Rossi’s lack of courtesy and busi- attempting to transform garbage and ness acumen—he was left to navigate industrial waste into oil and an eventu- himself around a foreign city, and al acquittal on gold trafficking charges. when arriving at his hotel, found a This history may have concerned some new email from Rossi cancelling the in the field, but Rossi was given atten- meeting. After venturing out to Rossi’s tion because his LENR claims seemed business, being turned away and an valid and intriguing, especially in the evening of emails back and forth, context of past work done by Focardi Featherstone was once again granted and Francesco Piantelli. access to see the E-Cat and conduct an Since January 2011, Rossi’s behavior interview. has clouded the hope that the E-Cat Featherstone is skeptical about can become a successful LENR technol- what he saw—an E-Cat module with ogy. He has had falling outs with most three stainless steel reaction chambers of the individuals and companies he containing 100 grams of nickel pow- has worked with, while at the same der, a small amount of hydrogen gas time posting inconsistent, unverifiable and Rossi’s catalyst. Featherstone and sometimes false content on the internet and via email. wrote, “The E-Cat is essentially a boiler, but the mechanism When Featherstone attended the International Low Energy that drives it is as mysterious as the warp core on the Nuclear Reactions Symposium in Williamsburg, Virginia this Starship Enterprise.” He wrote about one valid critique: “The summer, he spoke to many of the leading LENR researchers module was plugged into the wall. Critics have slammed and “couldn’t find a single person willing to call Rossi a con him for not unplugging it during live demonstrations...Some man.” He wrote, “The consensus was that he had something, even suggested that Rossi juiced the E-Cat through hidden even if he didn’t understand why it worked or how to con- wires.” During Featherstone’s visit, Rossi “circled the table, trol it.” Jed Rothwell, director of lenr-canr.org, is not sur- methodically clamping a handheld ammeter around every prised by the field’s response to Rossi’s claims or behavior. wire.” The display showed 0 amperes on every wire; then He said, “It is no great leap for the people at that conference Rossi unplugged the module. Featherstone concluded, “It’s to accept that Rossi is probably right. It is no big deal. Just impossible to say what produced the heat [140°C peak, with

1 INFINITE ENERGY • ISSUE 106 • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 module unplugged, for about an hour]. Even if Rossi was gen cell in lab notebooks, including not only results but showing me an accurate calorimeter reading, it wouldn’t be material preparation details. Celani was one of the first to see enough to conclude that his machine contained a nuclear Rossi’s E-Cat, attending the January 2011 demo with spec- reaction.” After the initial problems Featherstone faced with trometer in hand. Celani has successfully demonstrated his Rossi, he ultimately was given unprecedented access to device twice in August, at NIWeek in Texas and ICCF17 in Rossi’s lab and E-Cats for taking photos. Korea. A number of Celani replications are currently under- Featherstone is less skeptical about the possibilities that way, including at major U.S. national labs. LENR holds. It appears that he did a great deal of research Whatever wrong turns Rossi may have taken (and it and spoke to a number of people in the field. The story accu- remains to be seen what comes rately portrays how some work produces excess heat, neu- of the E-Cat), it can be argued tron fluxes, alpha particles, transmutation and other signa- that the cold fusion field is in a tures of nuclear activity. Saying that the field has an “identi- better place at this time than it ty crisis” seems to minimize the issues facing the field, but in has been in years. Part of this a sense is true. Featherstone wrote, “The field has more alias- can be credited to the attention es than P. Diddy,” referring to the many names being used that Rossi has brought to the for the field (LENR, CANR, CMNS, etc.). He highlights the field. Other possible devices and pertinent issue of theory when he writes that the “identity advancements have come to the crisis stems from the simple fact that cold fusion researchers forefront (including Celani’s cell don’t understand how these reactions work.” A sidebar on and Defkalion’s Hyperion) as a theory describes the Fleischmann-Pons effect, Hagelstein’s result of Rossi’s efforts. phonon theory and Widom-Larsen’s theory. Rossi’s efforts have now not Since the story focused on Rossi’s claims, Featherstone only garnered the interest of Andrea Rossi sought out skeptics in Italy, including Ugo Bardi (who new energy enthusiasts online attempted, but failed, to replicate the Fleischmann-Pons but serious journalists and mainstream media. Without the effect while at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in 1989). Two past two years of promotion by Rossi, it is very likely that other skeptics, Giancarlo Ruocco (Director of Physics, Popular Science would not have done a cover story (or any University of Rome) and Antonio Polosa (Associate print story, for that matter) on cold fusion, at least not until Professor) were so indignant with their responses that it further advancements are made. The November 2012 issue almost seems to have convinced of Popular Science is the first time since Featherstone to be skeptical about August 1993 that the magazine has skeptics. When Featherstone referred had a cover story on cold fusion. The to LENR scientists, Ruocco took 1993 story, “It Ain’t Over Till It’s offense. He insisted that cold fusion Over...Cold Fusion,” by Jerry E. Bishop researchers should not be referred to as was generally positive. Fred scientists, rather that they are mostly Abatemarco, Popular Science editor in “garage research men” and Polosa sec- 1993, wrote in his editorial: “Despite onded this by calling into question the frustrations of believers and the “the quality of the people.” Clearly claims of fraud by detractors, cold neither skeptic had read any of the fusion research is gaining new support thousands of cold fusion papers, and and funds...Bishop’s report on the both were unaware of the esteemed fact-or-fantasy debate over cold fusion careers of most in the field. should convince you that in science, When Featherstone received test as in baseball, it ain’t over till it’s data from Rossi after returning from over.” In his editorial, current Popular his visit, he sent the report (with iden- Science editor Jacob Ward directs read- tifying information removed) to an ers to Featherstone’s profile of the expert at NASA experienced in con- “inventor and showman” who is ducting third-party validation tests. He Rossi. Ward notes, “It’s a fascinating wrote, “While the NASA expert didn’t world, both because it promises some- entirely refute the report’s findings, thing so spectacular, and because it the test protocols and conclusions did- tends to produce such fraudulence.” n’t meet the standards of a credible third-party evaluation.” He would be hard-pressed to find many real cases of fraud in Featherstone admitted, “The outcome wasn’t surprising, but the cold fusion field (unlike, say, the new energy field). I was disappointed nonetheless. Some small part of me want- Jim Dunn (Energy Technology Consultants), in a letter to ed Rossi to prove my suspicions wrong.” Popular Science, encourages the magazine to continue to fol- A redeeming part of the story for the field is near the end low the field, focusing on the results of tests taking place of the ten-page story, where Featherstone recounts his meet- around the world and “the impact that LENR technology ing with physicist Francesco Celani and the NIWeek invita- could have upon the planet and our lives.” We are hopeful tion to the field. His description of the courtesies extended that 2013 will bring with it many developments that will to him by Celani presents an obvious dichotomy between require the attention of not only mainstream media, but the the two very different Italian personalities. Featherstone was government, entrepreneurs and scientists in general. duly impressed that Celani detailed tests of his nickel-hydro- ❑ ❑ ❑

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