-----Original Message----- From: Harry Veeder > I think nuclear physicists reserve the term fusion for interactions involving the strong nuclear force, and the terms fission and neutron absorption are terms reserved for interactions involving the electro-weak force.
Harry, the electroweak is also involved in fusion, so that cannot be a major determinant. The further problem is that helium can be present by two routes: fusion of deuterium is one and it does involve the electroweak. The other is alpha decay. And it is not purely an electroweak reaction like beta decay. Therefore the distinction you are making vis-à-vis the W-L theory is probably not going to work for either or both reasons. If that is the aim. That is: insofar as an argument about a correlation between the existence of helium (from either source) and the electroweak force argument of W-L as being the prime modality as opposed to a strong force modality - this makes no real sense. An alpha decay, say from Pd having been activated by a cold neutron is a QM reaction - even if it involves an excited nucleus emitting an alpha particle, which is of course identical to a helium-4 nucleus, since both mass number and atomic number are the same. AFAIK, this is considered to be fundamentally a quantum tunneling process ... especially when it happens with intermediate atomic weight nuclei (non-alpha emitters). Perhaps it is always a QM effect at some level. If there is a major distinction that can be made between LENR and thermonuclear processes it is probably limited to this broad one: "QM vs. brute force". At any rate, IMHO, it is not possible to distinguish or correlate helium with an electroweak force in such a way that "fusion" is excluded no matter who's theory it benefits. Perhaps an expert in nuclear physics will correct me on that point. Jones PS: in a followup to really important scientific insight, such as your previous: "A Canadian is someone who knows how to make love in a canoe without tipping it." We should also add: "A Canadian is a fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling Swiss cheese, sitting at a Danish desk over a Persian rug, after coming home in a German car from an Italian movie... and then writes his Member of Parliament with a Japanese ballpoint pen on French paper, demanding that he do something about foreigners taking away our Canadian jobs." IOW pretty much like good ole 'Mercuns but with a funny accent, eh? Canada is like your attic, you forget that it's up there, but when you go, it's like "Oh man, look at all this great stuff!"
