When you have a black box, controls are valid when there is a double blind, that is, the experimenter and the subject don't know which one is true. In the case of humans, it is to filter the placebo effect. In the case of the e-cat, it is to avoid fraud, that is, slightly different designs to make the more efficient e-cat look as if it were true.
2011/10/10 OrionWorks - Steven V Johnson <[email protected]> > I'm reminded of something recently stated over at the PESN web site, > author, Hank Mills: > > See: > > > http://pesn.com/2011/10/08/9501929_E-Cat_Test_Validates_Cold_Fusion_Despite_Challenges/ > > http://tinyurl.com/6a7zcw2 > > Specifically: > > > No Control > > > > One of the most useful tools in the scientific method is a > > control. A control is an object or thing that you do not try > > to change during the experiment. For example, if you were > > giving an experimental drug to a hundred people, you might > > want to have a number of additional people who do not receive > > the drug. You would compare how the drug effects the people > > who consumed it, to those who did not receive the drug at all. > > By comparing the two sets of people, those who consumed the > > drug and those who did not, you could more easily see the > > effectiveness of the drug -- or if it was doing harm. > > > > In Rossi's test, a control system would have been an E-Cat > > module that was setup in the exact same way, except it would > > have not been filled with hydrogen gas. It would have had the > > same flow of water going through it, the same electrical > > input, and it would have operated for the same length of time > > as the E-Cat unit with hydrogen. By comparing the two, you > > could easily see the difference between the "control" E-Cat > > (that was not having nuclear reactions take place), and the > > "real" E-Cat (that was producing excess heat). > > > > If a control had been used in the experiment, the excess > > heat would be even more obvious. It would have been so > > obvious, that it could have made the test go from a major > > success (with some flaws), to the most spectacular scientific > > test in the last hundred years. > > Couldn't agree more. Hope someone suggests this to Rossi. > > Regards > Steven Vincent Johnson > www.OrionWorks.com > www.zazzle.com/orionworks > >
