Someone with the pen name "nextbigfuture" who I believe is Brian Wang
wrote an excellent response to Sharon Begley's article in newsweek,
which is here:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/labnotes/archive/2009/03/23/cold-fusion-at-20-hope-springs-eternal.aspx
I quote Wang in full:
20 years of ridicule and quashing this field and now the naysayers
have retreated to "this could be unusual new physics but won't be an
energy source". The quashing and ridicule was claiming that it was
complete fraud and pathological errors. Now it could be "unusual new
physics". Even if it was "only" "unusual new physics", that is
definitely a worthy thing to investigate. "Unusual new physics" is
valid science. Public apologies and mia culpas should be published if
that is all this has been. But it is "unusual new physics" with the
chance of effects which could lead to nearly unlimited clean energy.
You have been hearing it for years and years and now it is turning
out that those who have ridiculed and suppressed it were wrong to
varying degrees. It should be funded to figure out exactly what is
there. The ridicule should stop. At the very least this has been
proven to be valid science. String theory has been valid as science
and absorbed a lot of funding and many thousands of researchers, but
there has been no promise of any practical result.
If this does result in practical power, I will be among those who
will remind the Sharon Weinbergers of their role in surpressing valid
science and whatever benefits result from the truth finally being encovered.
I already think that if you Sharon Begley are agreeing with the
"level headed participants" that this is "unusual new physics". Then
if it is unusual and new, then how do they know that it will not lead
anywhere interesting or useful? It is new and unusual so they don't
know. It is a prediction. Science is you make hypothesis and then you
test it. You do not pre-judge the research before you do it. You can
choose not to research it but once you say that it is unusual and new
physics then it is valid and worthy of study and not ridiculed as
fraud and error.
