-Caveat Lector-
Cold Fusion Is 100%
Real Says Physicist
By Connie Hargrave
San Francisco
4-3-99
Ten years after its disputed 'discovery', cold fusion is a topic shrouded in
embarrassed silence. But one physicist continues to insist that it's for real
-- and that he can prove it.
Russ George has worked steadily as an independent scientist to unveil the
mystery of the cold fusion reaction announced ten years ago by chemistry
professors Fleischmann and Pons.
Last year George presented the first paper ever to be accepted on the subject
of cold fusion by the prestigious American Physical Society. His photographic
evidence, along with experiments at Stanford Research Institute in
California, proved to the scientific community that cold fusion exists as a
controlled nuclear reaction. He is very close to developing simple and
practical applications using this reaction as a source of low-cost energy.
Here, Connie Hargrave interviews him for Share International.
Share International: If cold nuclear fusion can produce infinite amounts of
heat using easily accessible materials under normal conditions, why is there
not more interest in this potential new source of energy? Why do we not, for
instance, read about it more often?
Russ George: The concept of cold fusion does not fit into the existing
framework of modern science and threatens its most basic foundations.
The number of people working in this field around the world has in fact
declined from about 1,000 to around 100, because the reaction is very
elusive. Cold nuclear fusion is not an invention, but a phenomenon of nature
which is very energetic. Nature, however, does not seem to use it on a very
large scale, and the reaction is not normally seen as very robust or easily
reproducible. For this reason, producing scientific evidence has been
problematic.
Most scientists are narrow specialists and are trained in 'cook-book' methods
to alter the ingredients of known 'recipes'. The work with cold fusion is, by
contrast, classic frontier activity, where you are dealing wit h new, mostly
unknown territory. Perhaps it takes a generalist like myself, who has no
academic tenure, salary or reputation to protect, to make headway in this
field.
Before cold fusion, mankind had harnessed nuclear fusion only in nuclear
weapons. In order to cause a fusion reaction, as in the hydrogen bomb, it is
necessary to have temperatures equal to those of the centre of the sun.
Understandably, fusion scientists laugh at the possibility of a nuclear
reaction occurring at room temperature.
SI: If that is so, how did Fleischmann and Pons know that their discovery was
in fact nuclear energy, and not just a chemical reaction?
RG: The people observing these reactions for the first time were good
chemists who understood that the principles of chemistry did not apply. They
were seeing excess heat: they put in 10 watts of electrical power and things
would heat up as if they were putting in 11 watts. With normal chemical
reactions the production of heat ceases when the fuel is used up, but Pons
and Fleischmann knew that theirs was not a chemical reaction, because the
energy produced far exceeded anything known in chemistry, and therefore they
reasoned that the reaction was nuclear.
SI: Why do so many other scientists disagree? Why are these findings being
treated as an aberration?
RG: A nuclear reaction is considered synonymous with the presence of
radiation, and the scientific mind set does not allow for a nuclear reaction
which emits no measurable radiation.
Scientists have said: "Where there is nuclear fire there have to be nuclear
ashes," and everyone knows that the "ashes" of a nuclear reaction is
radiation. Cold fusion produces intense alpha radiation, which is totally
different: it takes only a few atoms to shield you from it, whereas it takes
three feet of lead to shield you from the nuclear radiation produced by an
atom bomb explosion. In sum, because cold fusion does not produce energetic,
penetrating nuclear radiation, scientists have disclaimed it " as not being
nuclear.
This view is now totally entrenched, a bit like the flat-earth concept was at
the time of Copernicus.
When science acknowledges cold fusion, nuclear and atomic physics will have
to be reconsidered. Scientists will have to ask themselves: "Have we made
other assumptions that are wrong? What else have we missed?" The discovery of
cold fusion pulls three legs out from every chair of contemporary physics, so
to speak.
SI: I thought scientists were in essence curious people and would be
delighted with such a possibility.
RG: Some are, but not the last few generations of scientists who are now the
leading authorities in physics. Consider the position of the individuals who
are at the top of their field, who have written the definitive text books,
who are in their 50s and 60s and have tenure at prestigious universities.
What these early cold fusion results are telling them is: "The text book you
completed 10 years ago, which is the 'bible' of nuclear physics, is mostly
wrong. In fact, you left out the most important nuclear data yet to be
discovered by mankind, which is that there is a whole other family of nuclear
reactions that proceeds without penetrating radiation."
SI: You have photographic evidence that cold fusion does exist?
RG: Yes. I presented a scientific paper to the American Physical Society in
the spring of 1998, which demonstrates at a microscopic level that a nuclear
reaction took place. The photos show that the metal palladium, when used in
cold fusion reactions, is covered with eruptions like micro volcanoes in it.
This indicated that something had gotten very hot and melted or vaporized the
metal, but only in tiny pinpoints. Since we know the melting point
ofpalladium, we calculated the amount of energy required to melt such a
pinpoint without melting the surroundings. The number we arrived at was so
astronomically high that it demanded a nuclear source of energy.
SI: How was your evidence received?
RG: Politely. Scientists said: "Yes, you have evidence of nuclear heat, but
there is no radiation, so the reaction cannot be nuclear." This is circular
logic, because these scientists are not open to the possibility of the
existence of any other type of nuclear reaction.
SI: What have you had to prove to demonstrate conclusively that a nuclear
reaction is indeed occurring?
RG: That helium is produced, as you would expect when you fuse two atoms of
hydrogen " or deuterium
<http://www.mg.co.za/mg/news/99mar2/29mar-coldfusion.html#note1* in this
instance. There was always evidence of the presence of helium, but skeptics
have dismissed this by saying that it must have "leaked in" from the
atmosphere.
SI: Have you been able to prove that this is not so?
RG: At the Stanford Research Institute in July 1998, I was able to use a
high-quality mass spectrometer for my experiments. This instrument can
measure atoms exactly, and it established that the concentration of helium is
above 10 parts per million as a result of the cold fusion reaction. I also
used hydrogen gas for the reaction instead of heavy water
<http://www.mg.co.za/mg/news/99mar2/29mar-coldfusion.html#note**. (Water is
the bane of spectrometers because it is 'dirty', making the results
inaccurate.)
My experiments using gaseous substances have been successful. As a result,
all scientists can now examine the procedure, which concludes that this
amount of extra helium could not have 'leaked in' from the surrounding
atmosphere, because it cannot 'leak' from a lower to a higher concentration.
The next step would be to have my findings corroborated by an independent
source such as the Pacific Northwest Laboratory of the US Department of
Energy, which is the world's top facility in detecting helium in nuclear
reactions. The cost of such testing is prohibitive to an individual like
myself, however, and needs financial backing.
SI: You have worked mostly on your own?
RG: Yes, I have no formal resources, but through my association with top
scientists and Nobel Prize winners I have been able to carry out my work
independently. For instance, I have been able to use the best available
spectrometers at Stanford Research International although I have no official
clearance to use the facility. They turned a blind eye, and I came in through
the back door every day to do the work. Similarly, I have done experiments at
the US Government Nuclear Research laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico.
SI: How close are we to having practical applications from this discovery?
RG: In my current experiments, I am using a regular gas cylinder filled with
hydrogen gas and some active materials, and it just heats up. The more volume
you use, the hotter it gets. This reaction will keep going indefinitely. The
cylinder is typical of any used for compressed gas, such as a tank used at an
amusement park for filling balloons with helium. The only difference is that
this cylinder will maintain a temperature of about 250C or 400F almost for
ever.
SI: The materials will not be used up, nor are they too expensive?
RG: No. A fusion reaction can produce heat for centuries without "using up"
the materials. The reaction uses 'heavy hydrogen' which, like hydrogen, is an
abundant element in the universe. This reaction also works with other
materials " some just work better than others " so no-one will be able to
monopolize the materials to make exclusive profits.
SI: I presume that electric companies are not interested in cold nuclear
fusion?
RG: No, because with cold nuclear fusion you have only the one-time-cost of
the mechanism and the materials. In fact, cold fusion is technology that can
in the future be used on a small scale by anyone who is inventive. It is so
simple that it will be impossible to build technological barriers around it.
SI: I understand large corporations are funding cold fusion research.
RG: Yes, Fiat, Mitsubishi and Toyota continue to fund research, but they are
very secretive. Their success has also been limited because of how the
reaction works. In addition the energy produced is "slow and steady", so that
it can for instance heat a home or a greenhouse, but it is not yet of the
intensity to power a fast-moving vehicle.
SI: What practical applications do you foresee for cold fusion?
RG: We should be able to develop applications which will benefit everyone.
Poor countries like Sri Lanka or Ghana, who do not have the wealth or access
to the technology to build nuclear power weapons, could certainly use this
new technology. Since the cylinder will just sit there and produce heat
indefinitely, you can, for instance, wrap coils of pipe around it to
circulate water and so create hot water. This will cause a huge breakthrough
in areas where the cost of energy has been prohibitive to date. Things like
the desalination of water and the large-scale heating of greenhouses will
become economical. With engineering, it could eventually be used on a large
scale to produce electricity.
Business interests who have the resources to pay teams of experts will soon
be able to make products for commercial uses. Applications for use in homes
will take longer because of more stringent safety regulations which require
lengthy testing.
* Heavy hydrogen, or deuterium, has an extra neutron in its nucleus.
** Heavy water contains heavy hydrogen. This form of heavy water is found in
abundance in seawater.
For further information, contact: Russ George <[EMAIL PROTECTED] Share
International <http://simedia.org/main.html
Share International is a free information exchange service. March 29, 1999.
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