Okay, I spoke with one of the people in the project about the calorimetry. Then I typed up the notes from our conversation as a brief report (400 words). I e-mailed the report to the researchers so they can confirm I got the numbers and other details correct, and also add the name and model numbers of some of the instruments.
They are exhausted so I do not expect to hear back before tomorrow. I will post the information as soon as they clear it. I do not want to circulate dumb mistakes that I made writing down a phone conversation. Most of what I learned you already know. I confirm the blogger's description, that the calorimetry is mainly based on the heat of vaporization of water. Here are a few other details: * They measured the relative humidity of the steam to confirm it is dry. * The person who designed and implemented the calorimetry is a distinguished expert on that subject, and former president of the Italian Chem. Soc. Several other professors took part in the test. * They are writing a detailed report covering the calorimetry and nuclear measurements. My guess is that these people know what they are doing. I suggest that people here should stop harping on the details of Rossi's personal life. That subject strikes me as increasingly irrelevant. To change the subject -- Rossi told me months ago that he intended to do a public demonstration. I hinted at this here, but he told me no specifics so I could not say more in any case. I confess I began to doubt that he would follow through. I am delighted to be proved wrong. He did follow through, and for that he and his co-workers deserve a big round of applause. I cannot understand Italian but I got the impression that press conference was a serious exposition with detailed questions and answers. I hope they continue to reveal technical details and they follow through on their plans to build a 1 MWh reactor. Assuming the measurements in the January 14 test were accurate, I think they will be able to do this quickly, perhaps within months. Again, assuming there is no mistake, and that the thing can be replicated, I agree wholeheartedly with Cousin Peter that this is what we have been waiting for all these years. Although it is best to reserve judgement, and you cannot be sure of a claim until it is independently replicated . . . this reaction is so large that I think a mistake is highly unlikely. I think the likelihood of fraud is vanishingly small. There is no way you could fool the professors involved in this, and I am sure they are not all engaged in a conspiracy to fool the rest of us. Sometimes, a single test in isolation is so convincing it reduces or eliminates the need for independent replication. The most dramatic example in history was the Trinity atomic bomb test. This test is not quite as convincing as that, but in my opinion it is far more compelling than any other cold fusion test in history. - Jed
