Jones Beene wrote:
Even today, some consider that the episode was a "bad rap" and that there was something to it - "other than" mineral-leaching at work. But like the Inquisition, the mainstream squeezed "confessions" out of the perps, to prove that they were in error ... go figure.
That is not my impression from the Franks book. (Franks, F., Polywater. Cambridge, MA, The MIT Press, 1981) As far as I know, in the end the researchers themselves concluded that their initial findings were incorrect, and they retracted. Science was more forgiving back then.
Several of the people who worked on probably water are still welcome in the establishment, and some still say it was one of the most fascinating and valuable experiences of their careers. Apparently, no mea culpa was demanded of them. No one in cold fusion would get away with saying something like that!
- Jed
