-----Original Message----- From: Abd ul-Rahman Lomax > However, given that MCF as an explanation for palladium deuteride CF is a very, very long shot, and seems generally contradictory to the evidence ...
No, no - I think this is a slight misinterpretation - if I understand what you are implying. There is no contradiction that MCF occurs. Almost everyone in the mainstream and even in LENR agrees that MCF is happening, and indeed is proved beyond reasonable doubt, but the problem is the *statistical probability* of occurrence in a spatial context is very, very low ... fine point of distinction. With the only common source of muons being cosmic rays - that limitation makes it extremely rare and variable by location, and with no chance of improvement (except moving to higher elevation). If there was another way to actually make muons, it would be a different story. In fact in 1990, when labs in other areas near sea level had problems with replication - the high altitude of SLC was mentioned as a contributing factor to their success, due to MCF as a possible trigger having greater probability at 5000 ft above sea level. ... IOW muon fusion is ongoing but rare. Small but important distinction. Therefore, I think it is safe to say that MCF *always* occurs in palladium deuteride CF as a matter of course, in fact it would be difficult to restrain it from occurring, but the number of fusion events is so low over any given time span that it cannot explain the excess heating ... or rather it can explain only a small fraction of the excess heat - probably far less than one percent. It could, however, serve to explain a small diurnal variation. As for a larger diurnal variation, or as a real triggering event, that would be where the difficulty lies. The only way that I can imagine that MCF could actually be instrumental in a larger sense is in the enhancement of a "probability field" for fusion. That would be the way a trigger effect would be realized. IOW the small effect of real fusion increases the overall probability of a larger fusion effect from some other source, if that source is supplied (electrical current, or in the case of Arata - pressure). On the subject of probability fields, there is much disagreement, but the hypothesis is falsifiable. One possible way to falsify this would be to move on of two identical experimental setups to a deep mine, where there would be far less cosmic ray contribution, and then to compare that with an identical experiment at high altitude. Jones
