James Bowery <jabow...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Close. It is the most widely-accepted *interpretation* of currently > accepted physical theory that was falsified. The theory itself is subject > to many interpretations, otherwise known as "*conjectures*" in more > rigorous fields such as mathematics. > Correct. Although I think everyone agrees that conjecture was solidly based. Even F&P themselves were astounded at the results. In a sense, cold fusion disproves this conjecture, or this instance of it. But most theoreticians I know prefer to say it shows the limitations of present theory. It shows that the theory does not extend from plasma to the solid state lattice. That does not mean the whole theory goes down the tubes. It means the theory applies to a special case, rather than begin universal. Along the same lines, special relativity did not "disprove" Newtonian physics; it showed that at a significant fraction of the speed of light you have to modify Newtonian physics. The difference is not observable at ordinary speeds, and you cannot discover it until you know that the speed of light is invariant. So it makes no sense to say that Newton was "wrong." You can't be "wrong" about an observation no one has made yet! - Jed
