American “Cold Fusion” Authorities Exclude Colleagues’ Research
CHENNAI (India) – Two prominent American “cold fusion” authorities have excluded a proposed LENR theory from their public outreach presentation.
The Widom-Larsen Ultra-Low-Momentum Neutron-Catalyzed Theory of LENR received no mention by David Nagel, a research professor with George Washington University, and Michael Melich, a research professor with the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, when they spoke yesterday at the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras. A half-dozen professors and 100 students attended the program, called “A Colloquium on Cold Fusion.”
Nagel’s talk was “Cold Fusion: An Emerging Energy Technology?” and Melich moderated a discussion called “Cold Fusion: Future Prospects.” Nagel spoke extensively about fusion and compared thermonuclear fusion to what he called “cold fusion” research. When he discussed theory, he displayed a detailed slide showing more than a dozen theories that have attempted to explain low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR).
Absent from the list was the Widom-Larsen theory, which has been published in mainstream peer-reviewed journals. The theory explains LENR not as fusion but as a combination of weak interactions and neutron capture and requires no “new physics.”
Its authors are Lewis Larsen and Allan Widom. The duo also performed further work with a third researcher, Indian-born scientist Yogendra Srivastava, who now works in Italy.
Nagel explained why he and Melich had excluded the Widom-Larsen theory from their class presentation.
“They did not come to our conference,” Nagel told New Energy Times. “That’s why they don’t appear on that slide.”
The Widom-Larsen theory has been excluded by cold fusion researchers in the past. At a Defense Intelligence Agency workshop on LENR in San Diego on Aug. 4-5, 2009, Pat McDaniel, a professor with the University of New Mexico, said, “The Widom-Larsen theory is currently considered by many [people] in the government bureaucracy to explain LENR.”
The Widom-Larsen theory was also excluded from the DIA report that resulted from that meeting.
The invited colloquium was organized by professor Duraikkannu Loganathan of the IITM Chemistry Department. At the end of the colloquium, Loganathan announced that Nagel and Melich each would be awarded the title of honorary visiting associate professor.
[New Energy Times thanks Professor Loganathan for permission to videotape this program and for his gratitude for our effort. In response to his request, we are providing him a copy of the full video. Anybody interested in the full program should contact him directly.]
