Walter Faxon wrote:
Unfortunately -- as I explained to Jed in a private email -- any evidence of "transmutation" introduces a problem: The counter-claim that the new elements were already somewhere present in the experimental apparatus before the experiment started.
I forgot to respond. In the Iwamura experiment, that is physically impossible. No such contamination exists in the universe. The starting material is carefully selected to ensure that the isotopes of the transmuted material will be completely unnatural. This makes the transmuted material easy to recognize, and it rules out contamination.
That is described in the papers several times, in detail. With all due respect, I suggest you read the papers more carefully before commenting on them.
- Jed
