Terry Blanton <hohlr...@gmail.com> wrote: > Did the profs witness > > the actual setup of the equipment? > > The story is that the profs set up and ran the entire demonstration. >
That's what they told me. Celani said: "All the measurements were made, INDEPENDENTLY, from a Researcher (and Technicians) of Bologna University. Rossi made only supervision about key safety aspects." He did not actually mention setting up, but other people have. Anyway, the people who conducted the tests are writing up their work now. You can see that I got some preliminary notes from them. So you will get the story from them directly in a week or two. Have patience . . . say I, after spending the weekend hounding and hassling these people for information. I would like to point out how unlikely this "con-man" scenario is, for a couple of compelling reasons I have not enumerated -- Rossi is a strange dude. He is determined to protect trade secrets. But he knows that he cannot convince university profs. to do a test except on their own terms. I know many profs, especially elderly ones who used to be Presidents of the Chemical Society or the Indian AEC or what-have-you. Such people NEVER take orders from anyone. They never agree to do anything except on their own terms, with their own instruments and grad students and colleagues. They never take anyone's word for anything. They use techniques from 1943 even when electronic gadgets do it faster. They do not read computer manuals or learn how to use Microsoft Word. They wrote the book on measuring steam or OCV or neutrons, and they know that subject better than anyone else on earth. (Or they think they do.) You can't get them to write a memo, order lunch or tie their shoes except by methods they have fully investigated, tested, and confirmed. Reason two is pretty simple. Ask yourself, how likely is it that you persuade a professor to walk into a room, look at a few instruments, and say: "Hey, whaddya know! It works after all! Ha! Cold fusion may seem to violate theory and it is the biggest controversy in history. Dozens of people who replicated it had their reputations trashed . . . But what the hell, I'll just sign off on this and tell everyone in the audience here that I am sure it works." Do you really suppose that professors are unaware of academic politics and the biggest death-match fight in the history of physics? I have met some stupid professors, but two things they always know are academic politics and who has the best parking space in the staff parking lot. - Jed
