At 06:29 PM 4/26/2011, you wrote:
If it turns out Levi is really, really stupid then I can imagine some ways Rossi could commit a fraud. For example, if Levi shows up and Rossi gives him the power meter, thermocouples and other equipment and insists he use that equipment only, not his own, it would be easy to fool him.
Sure. But once you realize that any human being might possibly be, for enough money, corrupted, it's very simple.
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You can compare a flow calorimeter to a balance weight scale. Such scales have been in use since ancient times. They have utterly transparent operation. No expert can fool one. No expert could have fooled one used in Edo Japan in the marketplace, or in ancient Egypt.
I bet experts could, and did. Some were caught and died, I'm also sure. Some were not caught.
Jed, it's not the scale that would be fooled, but the customer, who is supposedly observing the weighing process. Perhaps an extra weight is palmed, can be added surreptitiously. The details would depend on the transaction. Magicians are highly skilled at this kind of thing, creating a false appearance, and con artists can use the same kinds of tricks.
