Jed, All what is required is that in the first experiments the trick used was different. In the first experiments calorimetry was based on how much vaporization was achieved. When people demanded a different way of calculating heat production the trick changed and now the access to the inner core was denied.
Conspiracy theories are such when a simple explanation is the best way to explain a relatively simple event and instead a much more complicated explanation is given. >From wiki: "A *conspiracy theory* explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover-up> to the general public". " Conspiracy theories are based on the notion that complex plots are put into motion by powerful hidden forces". Usually one can "sniff" such theories because they require the involvement of several people, sometime apparently disconnected from each other, to work in cooperation, a lot of orchestrated, just in time behavior, the silence and secretive actions of unlikely individuals and so on. In the case of Rossi, a conspiracy is not really necessary. It is mainly one individual acting in a strange way. There are few side characters (the greek "friends" of Rossi, the military engineer of the end of October test and so on). But these are so few and not at all beyond any possibility of corruption that is not inconceivable at all that they are working under the direction of Rossi. You maybe can call it a conspiracy, fine. But strangely enough this conspiracy theory is actually, in this case, the best explanation of what is going on and this tells volumes about the scientific quality of this story. Giovanni On Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 2:35 PM, Jed Rothwell <[email protected]> wrote: > Mary Yugo <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> I suppose one could hypothesize that the previous ones were real and this >>> one is fake >>> >> >> Straw man hypothesis. Nobody claims that. >> > > Actually, several people have claimed that. Perhaps you are not. > > The point is, we know the cell is a small object. If you do not know that, > you are not paying much attention. > > As I pointed out before, we know the volume of the cell with the cooling > fins is small because they fulled the reactor vessel with water, dumped it > out, and measured the volume. And because it took 2 hours to fill at 15 L > per hour. > > - Jed > >
