A primer: Defkalion and Rossi and the strange tale of unlimited free, clean energy

Defkalion's LENR; Nine hours long live streaming video

Of course, like everyone else, I knew about the debunked "Cold Fusion" debacle by Fleischmann–Pons and have thought nothing of it for years, only occasionally glancing at various fringe articles that would barely illicit a yawn from me before clicking on to greener webby pastures.
Then, a couple of years ago my news sources kept pestering me with persistent fringey articles about a shady Italian guy called Andrea Rossi who claimed he was running a functional LENR reactor (Low Energy Nuclear Reactions). Rossi was claiming his device, which he called an "E-cat", (short for energy Catalyzer  - was putting out energy and sustaining itself, something that hot fusion scientists have been attempting to do for the past fifty years.
Some desktop contraption that ran on nickel and hydrogen? Ridiculous. Snorting in disbelief, I dismissed this charlatan who apparently had a brush with the law in the past, for environmental pollution created with some shady pseudo clean-up technology. I forgot about it again.
But Andrea Rossi's name kept popping up on the web, in blogs, gathering ever more faithful followers - some of whom seemed surprisingly lucid. I put it down to wishful mass delusion or quackery.
Then Andrea Rossi got together with a Greek company called Defkalion Green Technologies for some purpose or another; whatever they were doing didn't work out; Rossi and Defkalion parted company.

Now, this is where I found myself raising an eyebrow; rather than the Defkalion company continuing on their merry way, doing whatever they were doing before they were associated with Rossi, they were suddenly dabbling with some kind of LENR technology, claiming absurd energy output parameters, very much like Andrea Rossi. This was getting weird and I started paying more attention.

Rossi's company moved from Italy to the US, and Defkalion pulled up roots and moved to Canada. Rossi, ever the non-stop-run-of-the-mouth entertainer, did all he unintentionally could to make LENR seem absurd - except of occasionally running new versions of his device in front of seemingly sane people and sending them away scratching their heads.

Then, in May 2013, Rossi's company presented his E-cat device for a group of scientists from the University of Uppsala (Sweden), running the E-cat, supposedly sustaining high energy output without an external source of power -  and to my astonishment, the observers publish their results - and they were favorable.

On July 23rd 2013, in conjunction with a conference on cold fusion, Defkalion demonstrated their Hyperion device with live streaming video, watched by over a thousand individuals, including myself. This was performed with a neutral and qualified observer present, who placed his report online - again favorable.

From my own subjective point of view, this prompts several questions that I feel need answering, and if you have not heard of this extraordinary subject before, it might be of use to the reader:

• Why are both companies so shy about having their devices inspected independently by neutral, qualified scientists? Would this not go a considerable way for Rossi and Defkalion to patent their inventions so they could manufacture them for the public?
  The answers are fascinating and fantastic, but do not lack credulity. Incredible as it may seem, either company does not have a clear scientific idea of the physics this discovery - whatever is creating the heat largely remains a mystery, not only to the outside observer, but to the inventors themselves. This falls far short of scientific method and would be more aptly be categorized under the heading of alchemy.
  Consequently, Rossi and Defkalion are caught up in a vicious chicken and egg dilemma: They cannot get a patent, because they cannot explain the nature of the forces they are using to the satisfaction of the international patent office. Therefore, they have no protection from someone who might come forward and offer a clear, rational explanation for the process and thus beat them to the patent. If you think that is unreasonable, then consider the supposed binding contract that Defkalion was asked to sign by Andrea Rossi when the two companies temporarily got together - and after their estrangement, Defkalion completely ignored it. Rossi's company had no leg to stand on. How can you agree on a secret that has no substantial physical explanation?
  I believe to my own satisfaction that this is a very justifiable reason for both companies to be extremely cagey an secretive about the details within the guts of their mystifying devices. 
• Why isn't the mass media paying more attention to this seemingly astonishing development?I believe that at moments of sudden astonishing innovation, such as the invention of the light bulb or flight, such pronouncements are justifiably greeted by a skeptical media and public with a large measure of denial, a general refusal to believe that drastic change is about come upon society.
  Some have argued that energy consortiums might not too hot no the idea either, because LENR speaks to a decentralized energy grid.
• Why is the scientific world turning a blind eye to these developments?
  It's complicated. The Fleischmann–Pons cold fusion debacle of the '80's left a very sour taste in the mouth of the science community and any mention on a related subject brings with it the stink of heresy. As a scientist, your scientific career and be ruined if you are in any way found to be associated with cold fusion.
  One could also argue that there are powerful scientific interests at play. Huge resources have been poured into the search for a 'hot fusion' energy solution over the past fifty years with little to nothing in the way of results to show for that effort. I cannot imagine the scientists who's careers have been founded on this approach can look the the present goings on with any kindness, so asking a scientist about LENR, unless they are abreast of the VERY recent developments might be a little like eliciting an opinion on the heliocentric system from a trained pythagorean mathematician; you would not likely receive any enthusiastic nods.

This is a fast developing story, and what is written here will be history in mere weeks. I have placed some links below, pro and con that may help you determine if this is whole escapade is a hoax or some kind of mass delusion, or if society is on the cusp of a radical paradigm shift.

• From the live Defkalion video streaming, July 23rd 20130:
  http://www.e-catworld.com/2013/07/videos-of-defkalion-demo-available/
• Five reasons Cold Fusion is Bunk, May, 2013
  http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/5-reasons-cold-fusion-bunk-130528.htm
• July 2013, Forbes: "Cold fusion conference demo raises hope for tabletop energy supply"
  http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/24/cold-fusion
• More Ethics Questions: Uppsala University Hides Failed E-Cat Test:
http://news.newenergytimes.net/2013/06/04/more-ethics-questions-uppsala-university-hides-failed-e-cat-test/

You could hear a pin drop: 'Free Energy'?

"Interacting copper and Hydrogen"

Are you an investor? Well, this is serious stuff, and you ought to pay attention. If it's for real - and I give it a 30% chance that it is - you will not have long to act. Once the main media get hold of it, you won't be at the forefront of the wave.

I bring to your attention the murmurings in the shadowy world of 'cold fusion', or whatever it is the Defkalion company is up to. There is presently in an eerie lull in what is usually a lively output of information. Everybody 'in the know' are waiting. As yesterdays article in Wired Magazine article says about Dekalion:

"...What we do know is that according to the test protocol, one live and one inert Hyperion will be tested side by side for 48 hours, with the inert machine acting as a control. Then the active component will be removed from the live and placed in the inert one, and the test will be run again, so the complete test will take a minimum of four days.

Defkalion has confirmed that the tests will start on 24 February. According to Sterling Allan of Peswiki, who visited Defkalion a couple of weeks ago, the first round of tests will be carried out by a Greek government organisation...."

You could hear a pin drop. Not a peep from Defkalion on the web in days, which is highly unusual. It is now the 28th, and according to this article, the tests representatives with the Greek government may be concluded today - unless they took a break during the weekend. Depending on the caginess of the Greek authorities, and if a report is forthcoming to the media, we ought to know if something substantial is going on.

If the report provides a positive outcome, I seriously would consider adjusting your portfolio accordingly. Here are some off-the-cuff speculations:

• Immediately drop any alternative energy interests that deal with source energy. Hot fusion, Solar, tide, wind energy could become liabilities overnight. They are expensive and will not be able to compete.
• Drop oil stocks and put your dosh aside. Should news of a viable alternative energy source to come to light, many individuals will panic and sell off their oil stocks. When you think it has reached rock-bottom, buy all the oil stocks you can get your hands on. It will only take a while before it occurs to the dimmer bulbs that unlimited energy means a greater scope for plastics. Plastics are made from oil.
• Carefully watch how power companies respond. Investors may have a knee-jerk response. However, 'free' energy will not happen overnight, and these companies may well successfully adapt.
• Invest in energy-hungry pollution scrubbers. If energy prices drop, these become viable and very desirable.
• Mostly good news. Almost any viable manufacturing industries ought to thrive. Prices of manufacturing should gradually drop as energy prices decrease.
• The downsides that come to mind are market instability due to the implications an uncertainty caused by such a paradigm-shifting event.
  Ecologically, it will all seem to be good news, as pollution from 'old world' energy output decreases. However eventually - as energy devices become more and more powerful - the Earth's heat sink won't be able to cope with it, and temperatures will start to rise again. The solution will probably be to park industries in space - easier to do, because inexpensive energy will make leaving the Earth's gravity easier. But that, as it says in the "Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy" - will be somebody else's problem.

"Money for Nothing and your Chicks for free..." A new Energy Era?

* Update

Having monitored this unfolding energy drama, in a reverse for Andrea Rossi, the editor Sterling D. Allan of Pure Energy Systems News, has backed away from the creator of the E-Cat device and labeled him "Buyer Beware"
"Rossi Tells Florida Bureau He Has No U.S. Factory, No Nuclear Reactions"

Also, a summary of Andrea Rossi's somewhat spotty history.

Article
Chances are really good that you've never heard of Andrea Rossi or Defkalion. However, IF what they have to sell turns out to be the real goods, you certainly will get to know who they are.

So for the duration of this article, I ask you to suspend your sense of disbelief, because the content is so outlandishly ludicrous that it borders on the absurd. Nor would I be writing this, were it not for a persistent spike in my techno web tendrils that seems to demand attention. So. Here we go:

An Italian inventor called Andrea Rossi claims to have created a generator that produces six units of energy for every one unit expended. What's more, only 48 hours ago, Defkalion, the company that Andrea Rossi was formerly cooperating with - has announced it is ready to allow independent sources to test their generator, purportedly able to produce twenty units of energy for every one you put in.
These are claims that - if verified - would make nuclear fusion researchers drool uncontrollably, after which they would discover pink slips on their desks. A sad end after having ridden the cash cow for over forty years with little to show for it.

To date poorly controlled demonstrations have been performed before a reasonable amount of scientists. Some walk away convinced, others cry foul, claiming it to be a hoax or the feverish imaginings of the delusional. Obviously both can't be right, so what is the problem? Why can't the inventors/discoverers just hand over the device and let the scientists of reputable universities test these generators independently?

This is why: We are NOT talking science here. From all I have managed to read and piece together, these enterprises can best be described as modern alchemy. I'm not saying the generators do not work, no - what we may be seeing here is an individual that has stumbled upon something that does not fit within the parameters of known science. Sure, Andrea Rossi and his physicist supporter Sergio Focardi have an explanation but it holds no water with the international patent community.

Respectable scientists have been down this road before and have burned their fingers on the Pons and Fleischman Cold Fusion Affair of twenty years ago, which produced mixed to negative results. Simply put, they really don't want to go there again. Even at this juncture, respectable physics forums such as physicsforums.com refuse to even allow the subject to be discussed.

In a very real sense, one could accuse the science community of cowardice, in that they would rather stick with what they know than delve into the messy unknown, which - after all - is what science is really about.

In consequence, little to no research has been funded in this quarter and has therefore been relegated to the realm of garage tinkerers for the past two decades. Is it any wonder then, that if any progress has been made it must invariably hearken from this realm?

The Rossi/Defkalion competitors are in a quandary: If they don't have a patent and scientists nose around in their secretive generator, the cat will out of the box and they won't hold legal rights to their discovery/invention.
From the observations one can make based on videos available from the demonstrations, we are not talking rocket science here. Rossi and Focardi say the device works by infusing heated hydrogen into nickel and transmuting it into copper and producing heat. Hints of sonic oscillation circulate on various websites.
Fusion with no lingering dangerous radiation. If it melts down, you are left with a pool of hot lead. Hardly white overcoat and clip-board kinda stuff.

It is a guess, but my hunch is that a dedicated hobbyist could probably hobble something like this generator together if they knew how. - And if it is that easy, it would not take long before everyone and his monkey's uncle would be churning out energy devices similar to these and patents be damned. For this reason - if the principals for constructing such generators turn out to be sound - I would be very circumspect about investing in any company with a claim. Here today gone tomorrow.

Implications: Should these energy generators turn out to be the real thing, I cannot even begin to stress the mind-boggling impact this will have on the early part of the 21st Century. If the energy output at this early stage of research has increased from 1-6 output to 1-20 energy output in less than a year, well - you can see where I'm going with this. Residences, Industries, vacuum cleaners, computers, autos, aircraft, space ships - all running on clean, decentralized, non-polluting sustainable free energy. In mere years, the world society we knew will be utterly transformed. I don't want to sound like a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but once this stuff hits the main media, you can be sure the bad boys of our energy-starved world will not be sitting idle, twiddling their thumbs. Frankly, I'm surprised various elements of society let it get this far. There are fortunes to be lost, powerful who will become powerless.
However, if the principal for making these generators is as easy as it seems, chances are good the cat is already too far out of the bag for these vested interests to do any long-term harm.

Bottom line, the jury's out. The truth of it all can only be a matter of months away. Rossi/Defkalion are in fierce competition. Both have to put out or close shop. There is no Pons and Fleischman dawdling here, either it works or it doesn't. Exciting times.