Rossi Defends Hot Fusion Research

Hot fusion has been in the news lately, especially after the National Ignition Facility reported acheiving an ‘overunity event’, in which more energy was produced than consumed for a tiny fraction of a second. There have been some comments on the Journal of Nuclear Physics recently about the wastefulness and futility of hot fusion research in the light of the levels energy production and efficiency that can be achieved in LENR reactions — especially with the E-Cat.

In response to one comment on the topic, Andrea Rossi made some points yesterday that some might consider surprising given the work he is involved in and the results he has achieved.

I do not agree with your superficial comment for the following reasons:
1- the scientists who have dedicated their life to the hot fusion endevour are extremely good, for sure among the best nuclear physicists around
2- the ITER and the NIF have generated the development of technological applications in other fields, thanks to the research: paradigmatic example is the development in the field of the superconductors
3- the money invested has not been wasted, because it is gone in work made by workers, which means wages
4- the hot fusion is more difficult to obtain than the LENR.
5- I know a very high level scientist who has worked hardly for the ITER, and still is strongly interested to the LENR and has worked in experiments with the E-Cat. I have learnt much from him. We have much to learn from the hot fusion and I have a great respect for all the great scientists working for it
6- the hot fusion plants are also battlefields in which new generations of nuclear physics maintain their readiness for other applications; for example, NIF physicists are working on the decommissioning of nuclear weapons.

Rossi is sometimes quite a contrarian compared to many supporters of LENR, and his thoughts above will probably be unpopular to some readers here. He takes what I would call a pragmatic approach in many instances, and will look for information and knowledge from any source that is available, and if he benefit from the work of people involved in hot fusion he’ll use it, and give those people credit.