I was thinking about this overnight and I think the right answer is probably somewhere in the middle. Suppose you are able to obtain a working LENR device containing e.g. powdered Ni or a Pd-coated cupronickel wire or whatever. You can certainly put the active material under and SEM and a spectrometer and determine exactly what it is, that's no problem. But you do not have access to the process that caused it to get that way.
The significance of this fact should not be underestimated. The processing may be extremely nontrivial, requiring very expensive equipment for e.g. vapor deposition of metals with precise control over process parameters. Consider semiconductor processing. How do you think Intel has maintained a lead over the rest of the world for decades? By investing heavily in the real crown jewels, their process technology. And by not talking very much. It's worked for them. It could work for others. At the very least, this situation poses a severe barrier to academic replication in the short term. Unless, of course, one or more of the leaders choose to share the precise details. Jeff On Sun, Aug 19, 2012 at 9:09 AM, OrionWorks - Steven Vincent Johnson < orionwo...@charter.net> wrote: > Jed sed:**** > > ** ** > > > There is nothing more ephemeral that a vitally important trade secret.** > ** > > > Trade secrets about unimportant technology sometimes last for decades.** > ** > > ** ** > > Stealing trade secrets is probably right up there with absconding with > military secrets.**** > > ** ** > > I wish I could find a brief You-Tube clip from the original Star Trek > series, where Spock plays a double agent. The Vulcan keeps the Romulan > captain preoccupied by wooing her while Kirk goes undercover. Kirk > teleports into the bowels of the Romulan vessel’s engine room in order to > track down and steal a new secret stealth device known as the “cloaking > device.”**** > > ** ** > > After an obligatory amount of running and jumping about Kirk manages to > steal the cloaking device. When the Romulan captain finally realizes the > fact that she had been had by the steely eye Vulcan she turns to him and > expresses her displeasure at having been played a pawn in a game of > espionage. (Never underestimate the scorn of a woman, no matter what the > species.) Spock's reply was something to the effect that: Military secrets > are the most fleeting of all secrets.**** > > ** ** > > BTW, by the time the Deep Space 9 Star Trek series rolled about the use of > the cloaking device had become regulated by various interplanetary > treaties. Initially only the Romulans were allowed to use the stealth > technology – legally, that is. Well… after all, since they were the race > that invented the device. But then, somehow, the Klingons managed to > negotiate a deal with the Romulans, or perhaps they made an offer the > Romulans couldn’t refuse, and now their own bird of prey craft were also > retrofitted with the same technology.**** > > ** ** > > I would imagine something just as messy will happen with the bulk of > so-called “CF” trade secrets. Where trillions of dollars are at stake don’t > bet on the underlying technology remaining cloaked for very long.**** > > ** ** > > Regards,**** > > Steven Vincent Johnson**** > > www.OrionWorks.com**** > > www.zazzle.com/orionworks**** >
