I wrote:
> So, there has never been the *slightest doubt* that cold fusion is > capable of producing useful levels of energy if it can be controlled. There > is not one reason to think that! > Per a suggestion by Jeff Berkowitz, I should clarify what I meant by that: It was established that cold fusion is real around 1991 or so, after it was widely replicated. In some cases, even the first round of replications produced power density, temperatures and energy density high enough for practical commercial applications. Although the actual power was too low for any application larger than a hearing-aid or wrist-watch battery. In other words, if you could scale up a coin-shaped cathode to something the size of a loaf of bread, it would easily be enough to power your house or your automobile. For as long as we have known cold fusion is real, we have also known that if it can be controlled, it will be useful for just about every application short of surface to orbit spacecraft. Incidentally, the dollar value of energy far below 0.1 watt, in the hearing-aid and wrist-watch battery scale, is billions of dollars a year. Even at present levels, controllable cold fusion would be worth a vast fortune, and that breakthrough alone would, in a few days, pay for all of the research conducted so far. Focusing only on large scale energy applications is another typical amateur mistake, made by people who know nothing about technology, business, or the energy market. - Jed
