blackje@sunspot.steinmetz (Emmett Black) (04/06/89)
This morning's issue of the Wall Street Journal carries an article which indicates that scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory has *tentatively* [ my emphasis ] confirmed the discovery of room temperature fusion by Jones, Palmer, et.al. at Brigham Young. "We're not absolutely certain" ... but they detected fusion generated neutrons that are consistent with the Brigham Young result. [ the Brigham Young group claims results that are significantly more modest than those claimed by Pons and Fleischmann... ] This represents the first reported U.S. confirmation of the cold fusion phenomenon; Csikai and Sztaricskai at Debrecen (Hungary) reported that they reproduced the phenomenon on 31 March 1989. To date, no US laboratories have reported replication of the more controversial Fleischmann-Ponds experiment. A researcher at Lawrence Berkeley Labs says that if the finding is confirmed "It would be the most significant discovery since fire." (of course the local news media will report it in their "Money" segment and complain that it might put a few people out of work :-) The Fleischmann-Ponds experiment remains controversial, and a good many reputable scientists are skeptical; one is quoted as saying: "Who knows, maybe Pons and Fleischmann have invented the worlds most interesting battery" The Wall Street Journal article is *must* reading (on page B4). --Emmett J.E.Black; GE Research/K1-3C26; Schenectady, NY 12345 blackje@crd.ge.com; ...!uunet!steinmetz!crd!blackje