Alan Fletcher wrote:
A suspicious observer might say Rossi reduced his promised COP to 6 from
30 to give him an excuse for requiring an input; for why he can't close
the loop.
His problem isn't GETTING the COP -- it's CONTROLLING it. It has to be
unconditionally stable -- and the original eCAT wasn't doing that.
That is correct. Levi says they saw the cell run for a while with zero
input, and it seemed to be dangerously out of control. Rossi confirms
that a closed loop cell or a cell powered by anything other than
reliable mains electricity is not safe, and it will take some time to
engineer a safe version.
People who demand a closed-loop self sustaining demonstration are simply
going to have to wait a while. That's all there is to it.
I myself consider this demand absurd. If you do not trust power meters
and flow calorimetry, or you do not understand them, you will not
appreciate a closed-loop demonstration either.
From 1904 to 1909, the Wright brothers used a large launching derrick
to take off. They did that because there was not much wind in Dayton,
OH, and what wind they had often shifted. Also because the Wrights
launched from a wooden monorail which was a pain in the butt to lay down
and move around, so they wanted to keep the launch track short, and take
off in a short distance. (See photo here:
http://www.thewrightbrothers.org/1904.html). Since the airplane did not
take off on its own power during these years, technically, these were
not "flights" as defined by aviation experts at the time.
When Orville was preparing to fly in France, on August 8 1908, and the
experts arrived early. Some saw the derrick and were outraged, saying
this was a circus trick, not a real flight. Orville went on with his
careful, methodical preparations, which took hours. The experts' outrage
vanished that evening when Orville finally took to the air. They were
awestruck. They realized that their objection to the derrick was mere
quibbling. The derrick did not detract from the accomplishment at all.
It was obvious that the airplane could take off on its own, with wheels
instead of a monorails, and a sufficiently long runway. Some naysayers
continued to quibble, especially French aviators who wanted to convince
the world that they were the first to fly, and the Wrights had not
actually flown at all -- technically, at least. Orville eventually got
fed up with this nonsense. Toward the end of the year (or in early 1909
-- I don't recall the date) he equipped the airplane with wheels and
took off without the derrick. He also flew for an hour continuously at a
time when others could barely stagger off the ground in uncontrolled
flights.
People today who claim they will not believe cold fusion, and the Rossi
device in particular, until it is shown in self-sustaining mode, are
being ridiculous. They are as ridiculous as the French aviators who
refused to give credit where it is due, even after Orville flew in front
of huge crowds for an hour.
Frankly, I suggest you stop this idiotic carping, and accept the fact
that calorimetry works.
Also, by the way, people who say that cold fusion is "too hard" or
"anyone should be able to do it" should think hard about Orville on
August 8, 1908. He spent all day preparing to make one short flight.
Tightening wires, looking at the machine from all angles, running up the
engine several times, waiting for the wind to be just right. It was as
difficult as launching the SpaceShipOne X-prize winner is today. If
Orville had made a serious mistake, he would have killed himself. (He
did, in fact, make a mistake and he nearly did kill himself in that
flight, but only he knew it.)
I can look out my window to the airstrip here at PDK and see people
casually walking out to the airstrip, getting into airplanes and taking
off a few minutes later. You can do that with a mature technology, after
others have done it millions of times. You cannot do it with a newly
invented technology such as a cold fusion cell today. People who demand
that this be made "easy" or available to anyone at this stage do not
understand technology. They have no clue how difficult this is.
Conversely, people who say that because it is difficult today, it will
always be difficult, are equally misguided.
- Jed
