An Italian inventor, Andrea Rossi, has demonstrated a new kind of nuclear reactor. The event took place in February 2011, at Bolognia University. Several invited scientists participated in the demonstration. One university professor, Dr. Giuseppe Levi, performed measurements of rates at which energy was supplied to the reactor (about 0.4 kW), and the rate at which energy was removed from it (12.4 kW) by cooling water. The net difference, 12 kW, was attributed to unspecified nuclear processes taking place in the device. Rossi did not reveal the nature of the catalyst responsible for the reactions. But he claims that they amount to alchemy--conversion of nickel into copper, in the presence of hydrogen.
According to Rossi one such device operated constantly for six months, producing enough thermal energy to heat "a small factory," probably two or three rooms. An initial amount of nickel powder was said to be 100 grams; 30 grams of that powder was turned into copper, during the six-month period. Large industrial nuclear reactors use uranium fuel and produce highly radioactive "ashes." In Rossi's reactors, on the other hand, the fuel is nickel and the "ash" is non-radioactive copper.
Secrecy is not consistent with scientific methodology of validation of discoveries; it prevents other scientists from performing similar experiments. A claim made by one inventor cannot be taken seriously until it is confirmed by others. That is the essence of the so-called scientific method of validation.
Absence of general acceptance, and prevailing skepticism on the part of most scientists, does not stop Rossi from forging ahead with a practical application of the discovery. He is supervising the construction of a power plant in Greece. Fifty 20 kW units, similar to those he already tested, will be used to generate thermal energy at the rate of 1000 kW. The plant is expected to become operational in October 2011. Generating energy via nuclear alchemy reactions without producing radioactivity is incredible. It conflicts with our present understanding of nuclear processes.
Rossi is fully aware of this. But he is not a scientist; he is motivated by commercial success, not by science. A large number of satisfied customers would indeed be as important as independent replications. A single relatively inexpensive 20 kW reactor would be sufficient to heat a small house or apartment. The cost of heating, Rossi claims, could be about 30 times lower than the cost of heating with electricity from coal.
October 2011 is not very far away. Will the plant start producing thermal energy this year? Will it operate steadily over long time periods? Will nuclear energy without radioactivity soon become reality? If yes then Rossi will be recognized as great man, if not then his invention will be viewed as another case of self-deception. In either case he will probably be famous. The unfolding episode is worth watching.
Ludwik Kowalski (PhD)
1) Details about Rossi's incredible invention can be found in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossi_Reactor ] Wikipedia and in http://pesn.com/2011/01/19/9501747_cold-fusion-journals_warming_to_Rossi_breakthrough
2) Ludwik Kowalski is a retired nuclear physicist (see Wikipedia) and the author of a free online autobiography, http://csam.montclair.edu/~kowalski/life/intro.html entitled "Former Communist: Thoughts, Feelings, Reality." It is a testimony based on a diary kept between 1946 and 2004 (in the USSR, Poland, France and the USA).
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