Phrak said:
There are two main theories on the Rossi claim. One is that an elaborate conspiracy is being perpetrated for mysterious reasons. The second is that Rossi has achieved what he claims to have achieved.
The evidence as I find it, gleaned from comments in the media, supports the latter to far better fit, than the former.
This isn't specifically a Rossi thread, but ok...
Poorly characterized options notwithstanding, that's
spectacularly naive. We see hoaxes like that all the time. They really aren't that hard to do and are often highly successful. It really shouldn't be much of a stretch to think it is possible to hoax.
And for the second - it's hard to imagine so easily dismissing a century's worth of hard science!
So, after so much smug dismissal as I’ve found here, I'd be happy to collect anyone’s money with a smile, no matter how painful the parting may be, from those that would bet against Andrea Rossi.
People making that bet are what keep guys like Rossi and the guys who run Steorn and the host of other perpetual motion hoaxster/frauds in business. Ever heard of Joe Newman? He's made a living for 30 years selling a non-existent magnet-based perpetual motion machine. He got his big break landing a CBS news interview in 1984 and you can parlay that kind of worthless credibility into a semi-prosperous career.
You don't have to bet any of us, you can bet it directly on Rossi or Steorn or Newman or any of the host of others (any would be happy to take your credit card info online). But please don't. Eventually, you'll regret it.
The physical science is not so mature that it can discount Rossi's claim off-hand.
Yes, it is, but it isn't just the maturity of the physical sciences that makes us suspicious, it's the attitude and secrecy. They
scream 'I'm a crackpot!' Rossi is following the crackpot manual perfectly.
In other circumstances, such as this, there would be a scramble by theoreticians to explain how theory could be made to fit evidence.
Not after the disastrous mistake with Pons and Fleishman, no. Scientists and the scientific community are smart enough not to get sucked-in by a circus ringmaster putting on a show for them again. So I don't think that that sort of thing is likely to happen again. They rightfully demand that science be done scientifically or it gets ignored. Rossi has chosen not to do his thing scientifically, so he is rightfully shunned.
Popular bias against cold fusion...
That's a negative characterization of a perfectly reasonable thing: yes, scientists are biased against things that their theories tell them are impossible and yes, they are biased against people who don't follow the scientific process. Those are
positive things that are critical to making science work.
This won't happen until either Rossi is forthcoming with the reaction ingredients or someone else comes close to duplicating it.
I know you won't accept this, but
that will never happen. That just plain isn't how these things work. Rossi can drag this out for decades, always being just a few months from releasing his research. That's how these things work. It's in the manual! Heck, this forum is littered with examples like Steorn. Even theoretically sound concepts that just have massive practical problems are good fodder for the exact same thing (perhaps even better - See: Bloom Box). There's a 1km solar power tower that's been a few months from groundbreaking in Australia for the past 10 years or so. And they have government funding! Despite nothing to show for their decade of work, they're expanding operations into the US.