On Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 11:35 PM, Eric Walker <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 8:23 PM, Harry Veeder <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks. Take your time, but it would be nice to read the source. >> > > The headings that set out the three "miracles" in his book are (pp. > 111-13): > > 1. Fusion-rate miracle > 2. Branching-ratio miracle > 3. Concealed-nuclear-products miracle > > He goes into further detail on each of these, and I do not see a succinct > summary anywhere. For (1), he is referring to the problem of overcoming > Coulomb repulsion. For (2), he's talking about how you'd have to > significantly decrease the rate of the d+d→3He+p and d+d→t+n branches, > which are normally ~50 percent each, and increase the d+d→4He+ɣ reaction, > which is normally minuscule (on this point I think he's mistaken). For > (3), he's concerned about missing gamma rays, among other things. > > Eric > > Does he classify them as miracles because he considers them impossible or extremely improbable? It seems to me if he was certain they were impossible he would have explicitly mentioned violation of conservation of momentum/energy since modern physics considers that impossible in no uncertain terms. BTW, if a possible but extremely improbable event is miraculous, is an impossible event monstrous? Harry
