[Here is a message from John Fisher to me.] Hi Jed, The following recounts an exchange between me and Rossi on his web site. It was sent to the CMNS group, and in response to your request to keep you posted on my writings on this subject I pass it on to you. John.
Colleagues, Rossi has gone public with his claim of 100-fold energy amplification by means of hydrogen-nickel fusion. In consequence those among us who doubt the claim have a duty to speak out. His claim is motivating researchers to drop their current research and to apply time and resources toward duplicating or extending his work. If Rossi is mistaken their time and effort would be wasted. Silence of the doubters would encourage the waste. The worst outcome would be that Rossi’s modular megawatt machine concept might gain support, then later fail in a very public way, which could set back our field of research for another decade. I would not want any part of this on my conscience. I have posted the following note to Rossi on the Journal of Nuclear Physics blog. John Fisher Dear Prof. Rossi, Flow of heat in nickel powder permeated by hydrogen is carried from particle to particle largely by hydrogen molecules across the gaps between particles. Direct flow via metal-to-metal contact is small owing to the small areas of contact. If the space between particles is shorter than the hydrogen mean free path, thermal conductivity of the powder is roughly proportional to pressure. When pressure is increased thermal conductivity is increased, and energy flows more rapidly out of the nickel powder to the calorimeter. By continually adjusting the pressure, the power to the calorimeter can be stabilized and held constant for a period of time until the energy initially present in the powder has been depleted. It is understandable that you could come to believe that hydrogen pressure was responsible for increasing the rate of a nuclear reaction; that output energy to the calorimeter was equal in magnitude to the nuclear energy being generated; and that in consequence startup energy could be neglected when making an energy balance. However I believe that you are mistaken in this belief, and that output energy is simply withdrawal of startup energy. The question can be settled by a single experimental run in which total input energy, including startup energy and machine operation energy, is measured from a cold start. Because others are considering efforts to duplicate or extend your work, I encourage you to perform this experiment and to make the result public. If output energy exceeds input energy I will be embarrassed, but all interested parties will be encouraged to accept what you have done and to build on it. If output energy is less than startup energy the interested parties will take that into consideration in their research plans. Either way you will have performed a useful service. I am sharing this note with members of the CMNS community. Sincerely, John Fisher Colleagues, Rossi has responded to my comment on his web site. His response is reproduced below for those who may not have seen it. He states that his machine has been working for years, but he does not tell us the duration of an experimental run, which is probably in the range 1 to 1.5 hours as stated for methods A and C on the web site (nothing was mentioned there for method B). He clearly states his belief that the startup energy put into the machine (even when it exceeds the output energy withdrawn from the machine) can be neglected when comparing input and output energies. Having done my duty as a skeptic I now feel free to turn my attention to other matters. Caveat emptor. John Fisher Dear Sir, Our measurements have always been done starting cold. Besides, I remember you that I am talking of a device which has not worked for some hours, but of a device which is working from years now. The effect of the starting period upon the energy balance is of no relevance anyway. I want also to say that I am building a 1 MW generator, based on my invention, in a very important site in the USA, and my presentation, with all the necessary information, will be made at that point. Warm Regards, Andrea Rossi
