Jones Beene <[email protected]> wrote:
> I would say that an early LENR or fractional hydrogen converter could > provide the energy deficit (in heat or light) necessary to close the loop, > even if alone they are not robust enough to power the home. . . . > I do not think it is likely that cold fusion will work, yet not work well enough to provide all of the power you need for an application such as this. The power density already demonstrated in a few cases should be good enough. It might not suffice for something like an earth-to-orbit rocket engine. It should be fine for interplanetary engines, which I assume will be something like ion engines with cold fusion electricity. Hall Fox used to discuss similar half-measure implementations with low power density or low temperatures, assuming that is the best we can do in the first stages. I recall he suggested something like a hybrid cold fusion-electric automobiles with large battery packs, that charged even while the car is parked. Some people have disagreed with me saying we cannot expect to see the best power density ever achieved in experiments, because it only happens in one out of a thousand attempts. I do not buy that. In the book I wrote: "Cold fusion is difficult to replicate, and the reaction is often unstable. The heat flares up and gutters out, like burning wet green firewood. Poorly understood physical reactions in potentially groundbreaking experiments are often like this. From 1948 to 1952, transistors existed only as rare, delicate, expensive laboratory devices that were difficult to replicate. One scientist recalled that, 'in the very early days the performance of a transistor was apt to change if someone slammed a door.' By 1955, millions of transistors were in use, and any of these later mass produced devices was far more reliable than the best laboratory prototype of 1952." - Jed
