He said, to his knowledge, quite frankly, that there were never any tests performed when the cell had reached equilibrium. He said some people came in during the show, measured large amounts of power (not energy) but these were not integrated over time.
I presume you spoke with Cravens.
I observed the cell for an hour or more. The flow rate was rapid, and the thermal mass of the cell was small, so the response time was quick compared to most calorimeters. I am confident that I watched it long enough to see integrated energy far above the limits of chemistry, assuming the calorimetry can be trusted all. It was Woolworth-grade instrumentation, which baffled and upset me, George Miley and others. It seemed to be designed to leave doubts in people's minds. Years later someone told me that was actually the case! Reportedly, they told Cravens to make it cheap, shoddy and unconvincing. I can scarcely believe that even now, but it sure seemed that way.
I had some difficulty staying long enough to watch it for an hour. They wanted to throw me out and escort the next batch of gawkers in, but I insisted on staying to keep an eye on it -- for the reasons indicated above. This was after my first run-in when I threatened to leave without even looking at the thing. In other words, they repeatedly tried to prevent me and others from evaluating the machine properly. This was annoying and suspicious, to say the least. I should have described their shenanigans in my report. I would if I were writing it now, but back then I tried to keep it strictly factual and devoted to the technical claims only.
As a scientific breakthrough it seemed brilliant. As a public relations exercise it was a shambles, and a nightmare, and it must rank as one of the most appalling and inscrutable lost opportunities in the history of commerce.
- Jed
