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THE LEGACY OF COLD FUSION TRUTH, HISTORY, AND STATUS
By Hal Fox
From: NEN, Vol. 5, No. 5, Sept. 1997, pp. 4-5.
New Energy News (NEN) copyright 1997 by Fusion Information Center, Inc.
COPYING NOT ALLOWED without written permission.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
THE LEGACY OF COLD FUSION Truth, History, and Status
On March 23, 1989, the University of Utah hosted a press conference to announce the discoveries of Professors Pons and Fleischmann. After a flurry of media attention, cold fusion (as it was inadequately named) was attacked by an orchestrated effort led by the same scientists who were spending over $500 million per year on hot fusion. The end result of this effort by scientific lobbyists was the following:
- A biased recommendation of the Energy Research Advisory Board that the DOE not fund cold fusion.
- Demands for the U.S. Office of Patents and Trademarks not to allow cold fusion inventions to be patented.
- Phone calls from "Washington" informing Physics and Chemistry departments at major universities that no government grants would be made to any departments investigating cold fusion.
- With the denial of government funds, usurpation of inventors rights to patent protection, and warnings from "Washington", there was almost no corporate interest in funding cold fusion.
On August 26, 1997 several newspapers announced that the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry will no longer fund new hydrogen energy (euphemism for cold fusion) development. A quote attributed to University of Utah physics professor Owen W. Johnson, "It's been obvious to anyone who understands anything about physics, it's a blatant fraud."
Here is the truth and the legacy of cold fusion: The experimental work initiated by Professors Pons and Fleischmann, first in the U.S. and for several years in France (with Japanese funding) has provided the following subsequent discoveries and developments:
- BlackLight Power in Pennsylvania is developing an improved technology by which hydrogen gas, a catalyst, and nickel metal is used to produce high-temperature thermal power. The shares in this company have gone from $0.75 per share to $1200 per share.
- Jet Technology in Massachusetts offers cold fusion kits using light water and specially-prepared nickel electrodes that produce from 300% to 700% more energy out than energy input.
- Piantelli, an Italian inventor, has patented a cold fusion device using special electromagnetic features, hydrogen gas, and special alloys to provide a high temperature thermal-energy source. His work is being funded by Fiat.
- James Patterson, of Sarasota, Florida, has patented a cold fusion device which is now being marketed in kit form. In his laboratory, Patterson is working on the development of a kilowatt unit (now operating for several months) in which excess thermal energy is produced continually.
- The Cincinnati Group has invented, developed, and are now offering their LENT-1 (Low-Energy Nuclear Transmutation) Kit with a money back guarantee that the user can produce nuclear reactions if the directions are precisely followed.
- ENECO (located at the University of Utah Research Park) has recently announced a new invention which is expected to be developed into commercial thermal power units.
- Fusion Information Center (located at the University of Utah Research Park) has contracted to manufacture special power supplies for the LENT-1 and has a non-exclusive right to market the LENT-1 Kits.
Various Japanese companies are showing considerable interest in one or all of these technologies. With the forth-coming rapid development of this legacy from Pons and Fleischmann, it is understandable that the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry have decided to curtail funding of new hydrogen energy. The good news is that it has been predominantly U.S. inventors who have solved the problems of low-energy nuclear reactions and are now offering proven products for American industry to commercialize.
With an energy market that is approaching five trillion dollars a year, it is our forecast that America will not default on this opportunity to become the world's leading developers of new-energy devices and systems. The United States has the talent to be the world's leader in new-energy devices and systems. The United States has the capital resources. If the U.S. venture capital leaders do not get betrayed by their short-sighted view of next year's bottom line, then these leaders can greatly help U.S. industry to penetrate the world's largest integrated market: the energy market. We will either develop new-energy sources or give away the leadership to foreign companies just as we have done with the consumer electronic equipment market. Now is the time for leadership.
The opportunity to be the world's energy leaders is the legacy of Pons and Fleischmann!
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Sept. 10, 1997.