This is a light-weight piece for the namephreaks out there (we miss you, Herb).
In a patho-sci mashup of LENR with Firesign Theatre ("beat the reaper") it's
about time to settle on a name for that "mystery radiation" which so charms the
alternative energy set. Is it toxic or simply a popular experiment with old men?
In the early days of cold fusion (early 1990s) there were dozens of papers on a
mysterious emission in the low keV range which happened merely from loading H2
or D2 in either nickel or palladium - often with no other input power. The
testing was done using x-ray film, and the positive result is a foggy film once
known as an "autoradiograph". In fact, Uranium decay was first discovered by
Henri Becquerel using the fogging of film as evidence.His cause of death was
unspecified, but he had developed a burn on his chest from a tiny amount of
radium carried in his vest pocket.
More recently, Holmlid has claimed the mystery radiation appears to be largely
muons - but that seems unlikely despite his continuing efforts at
identification. We need a better name which may help in getting a better
understanding - "nomen est numen" as they say. And don't forget the toxicity
issue - Holmlid has suffered from a malady which is probably unrelated, but who
knows?
A few of these names on the list refer to real phenomena which are partially
misunderstood... even if most are clearly influenced by an overactive
imagination. LENR has always been a mystery composed of truth mixed with
bogosity.
We can start the list with an obvious place-marker for the proposition of
deriving fact from fiction - but which is still not understood. Funny how they
all seem different but then bleed over into each other on closer examination.
Who will guess the true identity of symptom 7?
1) Neutrinos2) Scalar waves, longitudinal waves
3) Magnetic monopoles4) Tachyons, Hawking radiation
5) ZPE, vacuum energy, aether, EPO field
6) Dark energy or dark matter
7) Orgone, ormus, chi, superlight (magnetic light)
8) Plasmons, polaritons, magnons, spinons, holons, orbitons
9) Cold electricity, radiant energy10) Negative inertial mass, Casimir force
And the winner is ?
... probably the reaper...
