WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 5 May 1989 Washington, DC
1.
THE CORPSE OF COLD FUSION WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE TO TWITCH
for
awhile, even after two nights of unrelenting assaults at the APS
Baltimore Meeting. Perhaps the most devastating paper was by Cal
Tech chemist Nathan Lewis. Scientists attempting to replicate the
Pons-Fleishmann experiment reconstructed the Utah "fusion" cell
from press photographs, calibrating by the width of Pon's wrist.
It is at the same time amusing and outrageous. The details have
presumably been shared only with companies that sign a contract
with the University of Utah. Pons and Fleishmann said they were
too busy preparing for a Congressional visit
(WN 28 Apr 89) to
speak in Baltimore. However, Pons was rumored to be in Washington
this week to meet with White House Chief of Staff John Sununu. A
call to Sununu's office to check out the rumor produced one of
those exquisite exchanges that make life in Washington enjoyable:
"Is Gov. Sununu to meet with Professor Pons?" we asked, "I cannot
confirm that," the voice replied, "since the meeting is private."
But when the time came, Sununu stood Pons up. Fortunes change.
2
. THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY WILL PROVIDE THE IDEAL PULPIT
for
Pons and Fleishmann at its meeting in Los Angeles on Monday. Not
since the trial of Galileo has science seen anything like the
special evening session the electrochemists are arranging on the
topic of "Electrochemically-Induced Cold Fusion." According to
the announcement, Pons and Fleishmann are the featured speakers,
followed by Steven Jones. "Afterward, research groups who have
verified the initial reports of Professors Fleishmann and Pons,
or Professor Jones, are invited to present short (approximately
10-minute) summaries of their work. To make arrangements for a
brief presentation of confirmation results, please contact Elton
Cairns, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory." Was this a forgery by
some evil prankster bent on discrediting the Electrochemical
Society? A call was placed to the organizer, who explained with
perfect logic that "since the subject of the session is fusion,
papers that don't report seeing fusion would not be relevant."
3. GERALD CASSIDY ARRANGED LAST WEEK'S COLD FUSION HEARINGS
at
which the President of the University of Utah asked for $25M to
develop the new discovery
(WN 28 Apr 89). Cassidy, the Washington
lobbyist who invented "pork barrel science," was hired by the
University just two weeks earlier. The Cal Tech team that so
thoroughly debunked Pons and Fleishmann at the APS meeting met
with stunned members of the House Science, Space and Technology
Committee this week. But Rep. Robert Walker (R-PA), reportedly
annoyed at what he took to be arrogance, refused to withdraw his
amendment to move $5M from magnetic confinement to cold fusion.
4. A HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARING ON "FREE TRADE IN IDEAS"
yesterday heard testimony on behalf of the APS warning that the
prime function of the university as a creator and transmitter of
knowledge is being threatened by commercial entanglements.
|
