2011/9/20 Horace Heffner <hheff...@mtaonline.net>:
> It seems with regard to the E-cat that one of the most basic scientific
> methods, known to every high school student who studies science, is
> overlooked.
> That is the importance of using experimental controls.
Uh. No way it is important!
What is required is that someone, who knows how to measure the
enthalpy tests the device in an over night run to exclude chemical
power sources. You are doing science here by the book, but it is even
more important to understand in what context methods from scientists'
guide book should be applied.
Control experiment would be necessary in the case where we do not know
the cause and effect very well. This would be the case e.g. with
traditional palladium-deuterium cold fusion experiment, where we do
not have clear understanding what is happening. Here however, we do
not need to study how electric heater works, because we have plenty of
theoretical knowledge about electric heaters. Therefore, we can just
calculate electric heater effect when we have measured the input, and
we do not need to use experimental setup to find out how electricity
heats the system.
I think that you are mixing here the need for control experiment,
because there was not made adequate calorimetry. But if you do make
calorimetry for the device (easiest way is to measure the pressure
inside), of course there is no need to make control experiment,
because electric input is known and controlled. If electric heating
power would be also unknown, then of course control experiment would
be necessary.
Rossi has several times ridiculed this demand for "control
experiments" as it would be same thing as testing well known internal
combustion engine by using sand instead of oil as a lubrication agent
in the control experiment. (this metaphor was not Rossi's, but you get
the picture.)
> In the case of the MW E-cat, which has an enormous thermal mass and is
> highly complex, a control experiment has the added importance of being a
> means to develop confidence in safe operating procedures and emergency
> procedures.
>
I am sure that for the last 24 months and last 4 months with the new
version, Rossi has done nothing but test runs!
–Jouni
