Daniel Rocha wrote:
Oh, I see, only about Krivit's test. But I thought you'd like to go
visit Rossi even before that test.
Let me explain, briefly. Rossi invited me for a demonstration. We
discussed what it would consist of. I suggested he use a shorter hose
and a bucket to sparge the steam. I made a number of other suggestions
and I said I would bring my own instruments to confirm the measurements.
He said that would not be acceptable; he would only do the kind of
demonstration he showed to Lewan, using his own instruments. I concluded
there is no point to seeing that. It is inconclusive. It proves nothing.
I am not going to spend airfare and time to see a mere impressionistic
proof-of-principle demonstration. So I said "no thank you" and we called
off the trip, with no hard feelings on either side. I fully agree that
Rossi is under no obligation to do the kinds of testing that would
satisfy me. However, I advised him that it would be a good idea and it
would benefit him as well as the public. I still think it would. He
disagrees.
At about that same time, Rossi was also taking to Krivit. I had no
knowledge of this. I have no idea what he told Krivit beforehand, or
what Krivit expected to see. Rossi ended up showing him what he
described to me. If Rossi did explain to Krivit beforehand what he was
going to do, then Krivit and his friends might have written these "Rossi
#3" reports without going anywhere. I could have written the reports for
them. I can summarize them in a three points:
1. These results are inconclusive.
2. It is not known whether Rossi put the reservoir on a weight scale in
this demonstration, or if he did, whether Krivit observed this and wrote
down the weight before and after. If this was not done then these
results are so inconclusive they are meaningless.
3. It appears these instruments are owned by Rossi. You cannot do a
valid verification of a claim with only the claimant's own instruments.
That's absurd.
Expanding on #3, you have to use your own to confirm that the claimant's
instruments are working right. Getting on an airplane to go see
something like this, and not packing your own instruments is a stupid,
pointless waste of time. I have no idea whether Krivit brought his own
instruments, or if he was allowed to use them, but if he did not he is a
fool.
When I was preparing to visit the Patterson demonstration at Disneyland,
we discussed the matter beforehand. They agreed to let me bring my own
instruments. I would not have gone otherwise. When I arrived, they
changed their minds. Reding said "you can look but no touching and no
measuring with your own instruments." I said, "in that case I will leave
this hotel now without seeing anything, and I will tell everyone that
you reneged on your agreement and wasted my airfare and my time." He
thought about it for a while and then said "okay, you can use your
instruments after all." I did, and discovered that in the second test it
was not working, so it is a good thing I checked. They fixed that problem.
My instruments were crude. Patterson's were nothing to write home about
either. I do not understand why people go to all the trouble to do these
experiments using cheap, low precision instruments. I use low-precision
ones such as red-liquid thermometers myself because my only purpose is
to confirm the high-precision ones on site. I am not doing the whole
experiment. I am just doing a reality check.
Nowadays they have wonderfully precise and cheap power meters,
thermocouples and computers so there is no excuse for not bringing your
own stuff. I'll bet the $20 Radio Shack Kill-A-Watt meter is better than
a $1,000 model was 15 years ago. You can't use it in Europe, but you can
get something similar.
You do not need to bring your own weight scale, by the way. Just test
the one on site with a liter bottle of water.
- Jed
