It may even be possible that I could come back, but for different reasons. For the last couple of years, I have had a health problem that causes me to miss work. It so happens that it flared up again yesterday. I've read somewhere that bloggers are a sickly bunch. Maybe you have nothing else to do with your time, so you come here and do this. If that happens to me, I suspect that it won't be a long career.
As I wrote yesterday, I went back and read Mallove's book. The first time through was mostly a skim reading, not a careful reading. Not only that, I didn't cover all the chapters. It so happens that Huizenga's book doesn't cover some of the areas that Mallove's book covers. Mallove gives it more of a human touch, whereas Huizenga is a bit remote.
I think it was a mistake to rely too much upon Huizenga, yet that is what the DOE report did. The public accepted the report as the last word, but not everybody accepted it. Work continued and it may be close to fruition, as a useful product could be in the pipeline with the Rossi Focardi device.
I set up another category to show my reactions to both books. Anyone interested can click on "Cold Fusion Debate- Mallove v Huizenga" in order to see all of the posts in response to the books. I'll include this post as a sidebar entry so that those of you who are interested can follow that thread more easily. There are now over 1300 posts on this blog. It has to have some sort of organization, you know.
Before I leave, which will be necessary, because I have other things to do, I want to write something brief about a phenomenon that I have noticed before. That phenomenon goes something like a question that was posed to me by another driver this past week. I think the question was, because I didn't hear it all that well, which can be paraphrased thusly: "Why do you suppose that things don't get built even though the capability exists to build it, and the benefits from building it are definite and clear?" The question was asked to me and my brother who was with me. Since he heard the question better than I did, he answered something along the lines that it has to be an idea whose time has come. I didn't have an answer there, but the answer has already been given in this blog.
The answer is this: the powers that be do not permit it. An example is thorium power. This is no exotic nor unproven method of generating energy. It is an abundant element, takes less effort to prepare it for generating energy, leaves less radioactive waste, and would be cheaper than all forms of energy now available. So, why wasn't it built? Because it wasn't wanted, that's why. Another example was the NERVA rocket, which was built in the Apollo days of the space program, was tested and found space worthy, but never got off the ground. Why not? Such a rocket could have taken a crew to Mars, and that is why it was built. But the powers that be didn't want it anymore. The USA won the race to the Moon and that's is all that mattered at that time. A third example could be "cold fusion". Imagine what it could have meant today if this was widely available now. It would be a different world.
An idea whose time has come? How might that come about in these cases mentioned above? A revolution? A suddenly enlightened leader who takes power? I believe that none of these things happen automatically. Somebody has to make them happen. It won't happen unless it gets strong support from someone who knows that it can work and will marshall the support needed in order to make it happen. This requires leadership, which is currently lacking in Washington, D.C.
2 comments:
There are several points I want to make about "an idea working when it's time has come". Look at the discoveries made by early man that are a part of everyday life. Fire for example.Was it discovered by one guy and then passed along throughout the world, or did several guys in several places discover it at roughly the same time? It's difficult for me to believe that the people in North America didn't have fire until some guy from Europe brought it over Look at the great inventions of our time. Many times Nobel prizes are shared by people unconnected in any way other than by the one new idea they seperately bring to fruition. I believe the ideas of Einstein would have come into being even if he didn't exist. Since it's Sunday,It could even be a religious phenomenon. If an idea can be quashed by the heavy hand of a ruling class, why didn't China stop the internet? There society was very regulated and the Communist party power undisputed and yet it came into being anyway. Why cold fusion or any other idea hasn't caught on could very well be because the interest necessary to make it happen just isn't in existence at this time. That doesn't mean it won't be there next week or next year, it's time hasn't come.
Thorium is easier to use for power than Uranium. That's a fact. In order to use Uranium, it has to undergo a lot of processing. A lot. Thorium requires little, or relatively little.
The attraction of Uranium? It is easier to make a bomb with Uranium. It isn't easy with Uranium, but you can make Plutonium with Uranium, and Plutonium is easier to make a bomb.
You can also make Plutonium with Thorium, but it is all but impossible to separate the isotopes and get what you need for a bomb. Therefore, the powers that be chose Uranium rather than Thorium.
Why do they not promote Thorium now? Hard to say. Maybe it may make the previous decision look bad and they don't want to look bad. But they already look bad to me. That's one of the reasons why I say "politics schmolitics".
These people have to be watched like a hawk.
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