Jed said, "So far, so far, cold fusion has avoided any opposition from vested interests because it has such a low profile. It is like the airplane from 1903 to 1908. No one takes it seriously, and most people are completely unaware that it exists."
Jed, I think there is a distinguishing feature (in contrast to the techs you listed) of CF that makes me hopeful suppression will not succeed. The technology, despite the seeming delays to get to production, and the difficulty in coming up with a theory to explain it, does not look to be rocket science. This is not to diminish all the difficult work being done in the field by many who are working blindly to a large degree, but to emphasize the fact that once demonstrated in a way that even the skeptics will accept, and with the knowledge of how that system was put together going public, the genie will be out simply because, to a lesser or greater degree, it will be something that any decently qualified engineer will likely be able to cobble together - essentially a realistic proposition for the growing number of 'makers' out there. Yes, maybe this wouldn't be the safest of devices nor the most efficient, but it will likely work to a degree that someone in a country where the laws and governing forces are not in sync with those of the west, will be able to put one together. Once that happens, word-of-mouth will be unstoppable. That the current world still still shows such a wide gap between the rich and the poor will, in this case, be a positive factor in helping cold fusion gain traction. The more dire the economic conditions of a people, the more likely they will be to adopt this technology given the relative low tech needed to build a counter-top unit (the possibility of injury notwithstanding). -- Adrian
