From: Jed Rothwell
Brian Ahern is one expert who believes that the case for
helium is not made.
JR: Okay, that's one person. I was not aware that he is an
expert in mass spectroscopy.
Yes. Brian has had access to the very best MS devices which he believes are
superior to what is available at SRI, for instance.
There are others who are less vocal than Brian, or more
circumspect in public pronouncements, but equally in doubt.
JR: Why would anyone be circumspect about this issue?
McKubre is the short answer.
JR: The cold fusion researchers I know are not circumspect
about anything. They tend to be bold.
Everyone in the field, aside from Krivit, respects and admires Mike McKubre
to the max … and MM has staked out this particular territory of “helium
commensurate with heat.”
JR: Even outspoken and argumentative. If they were not bold
they would have left this field long ago.
Not really. There are a few who are downright laid back, but maybe they are
all in California. Helium is a case-in-point for giving utmost respect for
one expert opinion which overlooks potential problems. Rather than argue
with McKubre’s conclusions, many doubters have decided to wait-and-see. That
is probably the best choice, all things considered. In fact, Ahern fully
respects McKubre but thinks that in this particular case, he is relying on
equipment which is not suitable for the task and could be seeing mostly
noise and/or contamination.
Surely you do not think that Krivit came up with this notion
without plenty of ammo from real experts…
JR: So far you've listed one person. That does not sound
like "plenty of ammo" to me. It sounds like one person's opinion.
Then you should ask Krivit for his sources. They are probably more extensive
than you realize. This is not my argument, but I do know Ahern’s opinion.
If you are looking for other names now, I suspect that W&L may have
influenced if not coached Steve on this issue, but that is no more than a
guess.
In fact, several on Vortex are in the camp which differs with Brian to the
extent of believing that helium must certainly have been detected, but that
it is not proved to be commensurate with heat gain, and could even be
incidental or contamination. It is a sliding scale and Ahern is not the
extreme of negativity.
In fact, Brian thinks that helium seen thus far in cold fusion is unproved
and may have mundane explanations, and furthermore that SRI’s device is
subpar for that extremely demanding task. This is not the same as saying
that McKubre’s conclusion is wrong.
The issue is not settled.
Jones
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