Cold Fusion Fiasco

A couple of days ago was the nano-students conference. I realized I didn't have to go because for the fist time in twenty-four years, I AM NOT A STUDENT. Woo HOO!

But then two days before the conference, Amit, who was on the organizing committee, comes into the lab and says "You can say no, but..." and so I ended up going as a judge for the poster session.

One of the plenary lectures was by this dude from Energetics, an Israeli company claiming to have observed cold-fusion. Since "cold-fusion" is now synonymous with "bad science", giving a talk on cold fusion to a room full of scientists is like giving a talk in your underwear: you either are A) very comfortable in your underwear, B) think your words will keep people focused on your face, or C) you have deluded yourself into thinking you are wearing pants. I am thinking that the presenter thinks it is A and B, but actually suffers a little from C.

The guy presented a very pretty little video, scads of data, and a clip from a 60 Minutes program. Basically you put a giant voltage across a flask of heavy water, the Deuteriums collect in the palladium electrode and whammo! They notice the water starts heating up.

I was unimpressed and remain skeptical. Since I only know the basics of nuclear chemistry and the issue, my skepticism has more to do with how it was presented than the science. Here's why:

1) The big difference between their set up and the one that famously got de-bunked and sent to the realm of science infamy is that they use a "super-wave" voltage pattern. When an audience member asked where this pattern came from, the guy started rambling about a medical doctor and hair on your arm and nothing that had to do with anything.

2) They observe lag times of around a day before anything happens. The guy didn't even try to guess why that would happen. I would never dream of presenting data like that without at least having an educated guess to suggest.

3) The dude didn't explain why their experimental set up would be able to overcome the super strong nuclear repulsions. This seemed like a key idea you would want to include for a presentation to scientists.

4) They haven't detected helium. "The mass spec isn't set up yet" he claims.

5) They have checked for possible chemical reactions that could be supplying the heat. But everyone involved was a physicist or electrochemist. I have seen physicists try and do chemistry. Not pretty. That is like asking the plumber to check the wiring in your house.

6) Why, oh, why would you try to pass off a 60 Minutes clip as an independent reviewer to 250 scientists?

Despite my cynicism on this subject, I am open to being proved wrong. Indeed, I HOPE I will be proved wrong. This would change everything. Energy where the only product is normal, boring Helium? Fan-stinkin-tastic. But somehow I still think it is about as likely as me seeing Elvis alive and well and selling felafel in the old city.