I propose a simple design for a Rossi controller:
A diode in series with the resistor.
This will draw a small AC component at 60Hz, combined with a large DC
component. So any kind of power meter using clamp on ammeters will
register some power, but nowhere near the full power consumed. Simply
short out the diode for the calibration run, and voila. Rossi does not
need to know the exact type of power meter to be used in advance.
I should point out that this design is not original. At Cambridge
University Engineering Department, as undergraduates we were shown a
baffling demo of two light bulbs in series. If you unscrewed one bulb,
the other one still worked! It was built using thick copper wire on a
plexiglass base, very baffling. It was done using concealed diodes in
the light fixtures and also in the bulbs themselves. A 'scope would have
given the game away immediately, but of course one didn't "happen to be
available". They liked to train us for real-world scenarios such as this
one!
Here is a light bulb illusion on YouTube, not quite as good (no
plexiglass, unfortunately) but better showmanship and nice music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkfdN3QfQIY
I should also point out that the guy on You Tube calls it a "Light Bulb
Trick", qualifying himself as an illusionist. Anybody claiming that the
effect is real would, of course, be a charlatan.
Challenge: Can anybody perform this trick using a plexiglass base, solid
copper wire connections, and a glass table?
Duncan
On 5/24/2013 1:00 AM, Robert Lynn wrote:
This has only just occurred to me, but in my mind is a bit of a red flag:
The reactor vessel is a sealed metal container, no electrical or
magnetic signal of any frequency will penetrate it (It is a faraday
cage). And all of the resistive heating elements are positioned
around it, so they do nothing but deliver heat to the reactor contents
- no special magnetic or electrical excitation can pass through the
reactor vessel. All of these configurational details were revealed to
the testers by Rossi.
So why did Rossi feel the need to prevent detailed analysis of the
input power to these resistors that are no more than resistive
heaters? We know he ran it in at least a partially pulsed 35% on 65%
off mode with period of about 6 minutes from the thermography. So
what possible harm could have come from allowing continuous
measurement of voltage drop and current flow through the resistors?
As such preventing that measurement serves no sensible purpose that I,
or any other engineer/scientist could see, it is a pointless
obfuscation. All it achieves is raising suspicion about just what
electrical power is really flowing through those resistors.
