Jones Beene <[email protected]> wrote:
> Lennart- simply because a large amount of energy ia applied to the fuel at > the start to achieve “ignition.” Yes, it is true that some devices which > are labeled as LENR also require plasmas which are relatively hot – at > least they cannot really be called “cold” (as opposed to small scale). > Mizuno’s glow discharge would be an example. > I agree. Perhaps as we learn more, this will turn out to be a false distinction, or an arbitrary dividing line. But based on current knowledge, I think there are fundamental differences between something like the Tri Alpha Device and LENR, and Beene has described the most important difference. This is not LENR, although it may be valuable. Still . . . I would hate to see any kind of plasma fusion succeed now if it meant the end of cold fusion. No matter how safe or useful the plasma fusion reactor may be, I expect it will still be expensive. I think cold fusion has many intrinsic advantages, so it would be a shame to abandon it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To change the subject, here is something I have been thinking about for some time. "It would be a shame to abandon it." You can say the same about solar energy. (Or wind, gas or coal I suppose.) If cold fusion starts to succeed, people who have devoted years of effort to solar will surely feel regret. They will say: "Let's hang on to this! There might still be a niche market for solar!" No, sorry, probably not. Those people will resemble sailing ship captains in the late 19th century, who saw the end of their era approaching. They understood, of course, that steamships were much better in many ways. But naturally they still had regrets, and a feeling of nostalgia. Around 1935 when my father was in the merchant marine on a freighter in the Atlantic out of New York, they came upon a full rigged sailing ship, probably one of the last. The captain of the steamship hailed the sailing ship, and then slowed down and down, and steered a course slowly around it, twice. Then he finally pulled out and headed to the destination. A romantic gesture. My father said the captain seemed sad, and lost in memories of his youth. I suppose he was in his 50s and remembered the late 19th century when the harbors at New York still had many sailing ships. See: http://www.shorpy.com/files/images/SHORPY_4a09256a.preview.jpg (I expect these had steel hulls and auxiliary engines. They were still in use because it was cheaper -- you did not need coal.) People usually invest a measure of emotion and love in their jobs and in the tools they use. You can't help it. I recall a bumper sticker on a big truck on the highway, "A man and his truck -- it's a beautiful thing." - Jed
