Several mentions have been made of the unsuccessful use (null result) of a specialized meter at the Bologna, the one designed to detect positron annihilation.
The reason that someone at the demo (probably Celani) had the foresight to suggest using this kind of detector is that there was at least an expectation of Bethe-fusion, such as occurs in our sun: P + P --> D + positron + neutrino Obviously the neutrino in this reaction is not detectable, and it can carry away much of the energy - but if the reaction is the cause of the excess heat of the Rossi device, then positron annihilation should occur as well. That is the logical conclusion. The signature is clear and unambiguous, yet it did not happen at the demo. However, there are reports that this kind of meter has seen the signature in prior runs. Does the lack of a signal with this sophisticated detector then indicate that Bethe-fusion this is NOT the reaction of interest? Not necessarily, if what we are dealing with is purely QM based and divorced from the expectations of thermonuclear fusion. Of course, I realize that any rationalization of this lack of evidence at the demo is going to be suspicious, since the party making the excuses might appear to be promoting a pet theory - for whatever arcane reason. Nevertheless, if we base everything on Dirac, the epo field and some kind of ZPE force being utilized in the process which converts hydrogen to pycno, then the energy-deficit caused by the first step (densification) might force positrons into that vector (Dirac reciprocal space) as makeup for energy already extracted. OK, that is tenuous, admittedly and nobody seems to want to shoehorn too much QM in this experiment. Certainly we would expect to see some signal from the detector if p(p,d) was the prime reaction even if there was some kind of QM diversion (it could not be completely hidden). As more information leaks out, more will be known but obviously there is not enough now. We on vortex are fond of saying that *experiment rules* and that pronouncement is doubly true in this situation, since nothing seems to fit precisely, and Rossi has not been as thorough as some would like. To be truthful, I am still holding out hope for helium-3 turning up, since it would have the most interesting and possibly the most unambiguous story to tell. Even if deuterium shows up, skeptics will say it was natural contamination. Jones
