At 02:31 AM 8/12/2012, Jed Rothwell wrote:
I am having difficulty following the discussion from afar. Would
someone please summarize in a few sentences what has happened with
the Papp machine that brings it back into attention?
I gather someone claims they replicated it? Is there any evidence
they actually have? I don't quite follow who is claiming they have
done what (to whom). A little like an orgy seen from a distance.
The claims are coming from Roemer.
I have known some people who took Papp's claims seriously, such as
Gene Mallove, but I have never heard of an independent replication.
There was that horrible accident with Feynman. A lot of people,
including Gene, blamed Feynman for that. I have never heard what
happened to the motor after that. Nothing, as far as I know.
Feynman did a fairly obvious thing to do, and if the device was such
that loss of power could produce an explosion, I'd lay the blame for
that on whoever designed the control mechanism. I.e., Feynman could
not have anticipated that it would explode.
However, legally, Feynman was liable for the damage, equally with
Papp, and that is why, I'd guess, Cal Tech paid a settlement. The
theory of explosives having been planted is thin, pseudoskeptical,
and it kind of stands out as an inconsistency for Feynman. Feynman
was human, and, I'd assume, seriously chagrined about the death,
looking for a reason why it wasn't his fault.
Papp's story is *really weird.* The submarine?
Mallove's article is at
http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue51/papp.html
The Ansley newspaper article can be currently found at
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/comments/papparticle.html
You think Rossi is weird? Check out Papp.
Later, Papp was involved in testing of his engine, and disappeared
and showed up wandering about with a bullet wound in his shoulder,
telling of being kidnapped and shot. Some totally incompetent
kidnappers, to be sure! The story reminds me of the submarine.
Supposedly Papp admitted to concocting the submarine hoax because he
couldn't bear to tell people his submarine design didn't work. He
risked his life for that fraud. So might he shoot himself in the
shoulder? Maybe. He really was crazy as a loon.
Did the engine actually work? I have utterly no idea. A lot of people
saw convincing "demostrations." I've made the point, many times, that
demonstrations can *always* be rigged. There is no limit to human
ingenuity in creating a desired appearance. However, the mysteries
involved here are very strong. The power of the explosions. Papp was
able to convince a lot of people, quite cautious people, that the
engine was real. It's hard (though probably not impossible) to think
of an explanation that doesn't involve some major new phenomenon.
Message for whack-out inventors. The record of great results from
keeping it all very secret is a total disaster. If the engine was
real, Papp would have been wealthy many times over, even if a horde
of jackals and lawyers had tried to steal it from him. There is no
way he could have "just sold engines," as he wanted to do. Especially
not engines known to explode if something went wrong!
Papp guaranteed, by his behavior, the loss of the secret, it's highly
questionable if anyone will be able to resurrect this. But someone,
following up on the hints, might succeed. Or not.
We cannot say that an unknown reaction is impossible. Basic
principle. Unlikely? Sure, be my guest. That's always a judgment call.
