MetaFilter posts tagged with Focardi

After years of dodging outside assessment... Rossi and Cold Fusion

Just Another Entity — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:30:15 -0800

"Against all probability, a device that purports to use cold fusion to generate vast amounts of power has been verified by a panel of independent scientists . . . The cold fusion device being tested has roughly 10,000 times the energy density and 1,000 times the power density of gasoline. Even allowing for a massively conservative margin of error, the scientists say that the cold fusion device they tested is 10 times more powerful than gasoline — which is currently the best fuel readily available to mankind." After a few years, Rossi has returned with "his E-Cat project, a device that produces heat through a process called a Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR)." Earlier, Rossi has kept his technique secret, but now an independent panel of seven scientists has reviewed and published a research paper on Arxiv. Although the paper remains to be peer reviewed, "the tests suggest that the reactor managed to produce just under twice as much energy as consumed in the first test and more than four-and-a-half times as much energy after a few problems were addressed in the latter exercise. Rough estimates of the low-end energy density and power density of the reactor put them at 10,000 times and 1,000 times that of gasoline, respectively" Skepticism remains. Previously. Previously

Hell or Cold Fusion

Brian B. — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:03:42 -0800

New Italian documentary updating Rossi's cold fusion claims (subtitles), featuring most of the scientists vouching for the process. Additionally, it was recently announced that Francesco Piantelli, the discoverer of the nickel-hydrogen low-energy nuclear reaction, has resumed progress in the wake of Rossi's patent and planned industrialization of the process. Focardi was Piantelli's former collaborator, who is now working with Rossi. Only Rossi knows the secret catalyst that raises the heat output of Piantelli's invention from modestly low to explosively high (reportedly). NASA has acknowledged Rossi's visit and their full attention. Additional updates: E-cat news which features background and current progress. Sign-up for bulletins. Nytechnic's test of the device. Someone's blog with lots of other links. Rossi's own Journal of Nuclear Physics, where he answers questions, with warm regards. An Italian blogger who has followed the device from the beginning and interviews the key players. (The current page addresses a counter-claim. See translate button.) Note that the controversy is currently white hot in the comment sections. Naysayers can view critic Steven Krivit's video, to see the steam coming out of a tube that wasn't dry enough to convince him. On the other hand, hope is free for awhile, and if we're lucky, gasoline will once again become a cleaning solvent on the shelves of hardware stores. Previously discussed on Metafilter (follow the tags or see below).

Rossi and Focardi's energy catalyzer (aka cold fusion)

Brian B. — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:33:02 -0800

Rossi and Focardi's cold fusion claims update. As a followup to a previous post in January, Rossi will chat live tomorrow about his invention, sponsored by Sweden's Ny Teknik. According to Rossi, the University of Bologna is set to announce a one-year program to study the phenomenon, perhaps related to a February 10th closed demonstration where the device ran successfully for 18 hours. Apparently, nobody claims to know how this thing happens, except that it was a serendipitous discovery and is theorized to involve hydrinos. A secret catalyst may be required, and a patent has not been issued. Focardi has been experimenting since 1995.

ha ha cold fusion

Brian B. — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 13:26:41 -0800

Cold fusion returns to the debate over itself. Rossi and Focardi say that, when the atomic nuclei of nickel and hydrogen are fused in their reactor, the reaction produces copper and a large amount of energy. The reactor uses less than 1 gram of hydrogen and starts with about 1,000 W of electricity, which is reduced to 400 W after a few minutes. Every minute, the reaction can convert 292 grams of 20°C water into dry steam at about 101°C. Since raising the temperature of water by 80°C and converting it to steam requires about 12,400 W of power, the experiment provides a power gain of 12,400/400 = 31. As for costs, the scientists estimate that electricity can be generated at a cost of less than 1 cent/kWh, which is significantly less than coal or natural gas plants. Fantastic claims aside, it is worth noting that cold fusion (aka "low energy nuclear reaction") has been quietly under experimentation for years.