> For a starter, I think Mitsubishi should collect their
> million dollar check from Randi for their definitive work
> in collecting convincing evidence of transmutation.
Really! Where in the Challenge rules do you see that? Part of Rule 2 reads:
"Anecdotal accounts of previous events are not accepted or considered."
A peer-reviewed paper published in Japan's most prestigious journal of physics is not anecdotal evidence. It is the best scientific evidence you can ask for. See:
http://lenr-canr.org/acrobat/IwamuraYelementalaa.pdf
If you do not believe this, or you reject it as "anecdotal" then you would not believe an actual live demonstration, either, because a live demonstration is essentially no different from reading a paper. In both cases you have to understand some basic physics and you have to interpret instrument readings to reach a conclusion. This is true of all cold fusion results, even massive excess heat. In all experiments other than Mizuno's heat after death event and the 8 explosions, the researcher might have added the heat with the internal joule heater or with electrolysis. Even if you watched the experiment under way you would not know for certain it was not fake unless you use your own instruments, and that is not an option in most cases. You cannot start disassembling the calorimeters used by McKubre or Mizuno midway through an experiment.
The autoradiograph I referenced could also be fake, for that matter. It would not be difficult to expose x-ray film to an ordinary irradiated sample and claim that it was a cold fusion cathode. The only way to prove that all experiments are not fake is to ask yourself why on earth hundreds of professional scientists worldwide -- including some of the most distinguished on earth -- would engage in fake research for 17 years. If you cannot think of any reason why then you should dismiss the hypothesis. Frankly, I think it is about as plausible as the notion that the US government engineered the 9/11 attacks (which I do not for 1 nanosecond believe). Perhaps Randi believes such things, but I do not.
- Jed
