Part one of the series: click here

Part Two of the series: http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=8079

By Steve Windisch (formerly writing under the name "jibbguy") 7-2008

This article, the two previous ones in this series, and those yet to come are dedicated to discussing the over one hundred year-old phenomena known as “Free Energy”; as well as the relatively new phenomena known as the Open Source Energy Movement. This world-wide loose association of experimenters, researchers, humanitarians, and inventors work to study, perfect, and promote devices that utilize new forms of energy that have been discovered or implied via empirical means alone: Where discoveries have been made in exciting and fascinating new areas that are often beyond the realm and understanding of mainstream scientific thought…. To places that would appear on a universal “map” of existing scientific theory labeled only by the equivalent of : “There Be Dragons Here”.

“Free Energy” is a buzz word for describing devices and technologies which often make use of “Open Systems”: Meaning that energy can freely enter the system via mainly unobserved means… Much as a sailboat merrily scuttling along uses the “open system” of unlimited energy from the wind as a “free” power source; yet the wind being mostly invisible to the eye of the observer. In this sense, devices that exhibit free energy characteristics are not in violation of the Laws of Thermodynamics (which actually relate to closed systems using traditional, observed energy sources): They are just perhaps “excused” from these Laws…. With or without a note from the Principal.

The anomalous events that sparked many of these research vectors in the world of free energy have often, and continue to be, found by serendipitous means while the inventors or experimenters were studying other phenomena (… A very surprising amount of important scientific discoveries throughout human history have been made this way). Usually, the discoverers did not seek to become “radicals” within the scientific community; but their startling discoveries made via empirical means soon put them into that category…. Simply because they uncovered a fault in mainstream scientific thinking.

There are now many well documented, researched, and carefully thought-out theories that could explain these “new” forms of energy (often called by such names as “Zero Point”, “Orgone”, “Aetheric”, “Negative” and/or “Cold” energy, “Energy from the Vacuum”; and others); but which are not yet accepted by mainstream science and physics. The over-awing complexity of these new and radical theories are daunting to many… It would seem a Post-Grad Degree in Physics and an I.Q. of 150+ are needed to even contemplate most of them properly. This is also true of most existing widely accepted theorems such as Relativity; and even those recently popular but not yet wholly accepted by the mainstream such as those relating to “Strings” or “Quarks”.

The important difference to note here is that the existing theories of electromagnetism or physics could not adequately explain many of the empirically-discovered and undeniable phenomena seen by the researchers of free energy; and thus new theories were required to model them…. Not because radicalism is the desired mode… But because the practices of proper Scientific Method clearly dictate the need. Therefore it is highly ironic that often in the mainstream scientific and academic communities; this fact seems to be often forgotten or deliberately ignored…. And so it is often unreasonable denial that triumphs the day; and not the sacred search for knowledge.

The articles of this series will only touch lightly on the many and complex theoretical aspects of free energy, and concentrate on the empirically- observed phenomena instead…. Leaving it up to the genius PhD’s to “fight it out” in the ring of scientific thought (…one that can often get rhetorically “bloody” as we shall soon see). Col. Tom Beardon’s excellent web site “www.Cheneire.com” is a great source for exploring these new, “radical” theories… And is highly recommended reading for those interested in the fascinating and often mind-boggling theoretical aspects of free energy.

In 1989, two well respected scientists working within the mainstream made an empirical discovery while experimenting on the energy-releasing characteristics of Deuterium: Setting off a firestorm of controversy that changed their lives, and the life of another prominent scientist… Beyond human measure.

Tragedies of Science and Humanity: Dr. Eugene Mallove, and Cold Fusion (LENR)

In past installments of this series, we have looked at the work of Nikola Tesla and Dr. T. Henry Moray…. Men of incredible intellect far ahead of their times who developed working free energy systems that were suppressed and/or forgotten by history. In this article we look only a few years back in time to examine a fallen hero of the free energy movement, Dr. Eugene Mallove; while exploring the phenomena known as “Cold Fusion”: A subject so ill-reported that it is hard to believe that the modern mainstream media could “honestly” relate a subject with such complete ineptitude.

Dr. Eugene Mallove was an engineer, writer, and scientist who was much respected by many in the scientific community. He had worked at Harvard, M.I.T., and several other prestigious organizations; and authored several well-received books. Moving over time towards the “left” of mainstream science, he gradually became involved in alternative or so-called “fringe” scientific study; and eventually became a co-founder of the Infinite Energy magazine dedicated to new and “Alternate” scientific research.

In 1989 when Dr.’s Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann working at the University of Utah made their monumental announcement that they had discovered what appeared to nuclear fusion at room temperature (quickly dubbed “Cold Fusion” by others); Dr. Mallove became very interested in this phenomena… And soon became the most visible and vocal proponent of Cold Fusion besides Ponds and Fleischmann themselves. In 1991 Mallove wrote a well-received book on the subject “Fire from Ice: Searching for the Truth Behind the Cold Fusion Furor”. This quickly alienated Dr. Mallove from the mainstream scientific community; which was adamantly opposed to accepting the validity of the new data and theories proposed by Pons and Fleischmann. Because of a minor error in the calculations used by the two scientists’ first paper on the subject (which did not change the outcome), and the inability of many laboratories to easily or immediately reproduce the experiments done at University of Utah; there was soon a carnival of controversy and media frenzy over the apparent “fraudulent” announcement…. Some of the outcries stemming from false and apparently carefully planted claims that the two scientists were only trying to get funding for a new building (there was never any connection to a new University of Utah building; and this was found to be completely fabricated). But…. Despite the news reports and media rumors repeated over and over, and the loud denials and accusations of “bad science” by many in the mainstream scientific community, the much-maligned experiments later did prove to be indeed valid and reproducible. Unfortunately, this vindication of the technology came after the media frenzy had died out… And no retractions of the “fraud” calling have ever been made by the mainstream media. In fact, none of the subsequent successful reproductions of the experiment have been reported on by the major networks… And the vast majority of people who remember the events of 1989 still believe that Dr.’s Pons and Fleischmann, and the phenomena that was popularly called “Cold Fusion”, were fraudulent or at the very least poorly executed science.

Via the Infinite Energy magazine which he founded and edited, his book Fire and Ice, and many media interviews; Mallove became the main spokesman for telling the truth about “Low Energy Nuclear Reaction” (LENR, what physicists prefer to call the “cold fusion” phenomena). What he quickly found was that although in 1989 there were thousands willing to repeat the “fraud” or “bad science” claims… Few were willing to retract them: Despite many Universities throughout the world later being able to reproduce the original experiment successfully (…over 100 to date).

What the LENR experiment of Pons and Fleischmann did was show that by using Deuterium as a fuel and with Palladium as a catalyst; the element “Helium-4” could be created. Deuterium is an isotope of Hydrogen having one neutron, while the “normal” H atom has no neutrons… “4He” being also the basis of what is popularly known as “Heavy Water”. In this “fusing” process, significant heat was released, and the Hydrogen isotope Tritium could also be sometimes produced. This was Earth-shaking news in the scientific community… Where since 1951 high-profile nuclear physicists in several countries had unsuccessfully used “hot” fusion reactors operating at extremely high pressures and temperatures to create a fusion reaction in an attempt to release amounts of energy greater than what was used to create the very energy-expensive reactions in the first place. Even today in 2008 ; no successes in “hot fusion” have ever been reported to be made despite many billions being fruitlessly spent on it over these many years.

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