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Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by nazgulnarsil on Sunday July 10, 2011 @04:43AM (#2747352)
Yes, thorium is huge. I don't know what it has to do with the rossi e-cat though, which smells like a scam. I'm flagging this article for being a terrible source on information about either separately, and being a confusing jumble trying to combine the two topics.
Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by fleitz on Sunday July 10, 2011 @04:49AM (#2747365)
I'm definitely skeptical of the e-cat but it sounds simple enough to build at home. But yes, the whole 'unexplained scientific pheonmena' combined with we can't show you the design because we don't have patents, combined with we can't get patents because the science is unproven sounds like the typical scam.
Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by nazgulnarsil on Sunday July 10, 2011 @05:08AM (#2747399)
I just looked into it and it is a claim of cold fusion. They say they've been running successfully for two years now. fucking bullshit. Thorium is too important to be associated with this crap.
Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by fleitz on Sunday July 10, 2011 @06:33AM (#2747506)
The really weird thing is it's at the end of the energy producing fusion chain, eg. nickel to copper / iron.
Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by starwed on Sunday July 10, 2011 @04:46AM (#2747358)
Lest you be lured into trusting Josephson's word because he is a Nobel laureate, be aware that he holds a number of views that are waaay out of the mainstream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_David_Josephson#Parapsych...

Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by fleitz on Sunday July 10, 2011 @04:54AM (#2747372)
He actually sounds somewhat reasonable that we should examine the evidence more closely.
Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by static_cast on Sunday July 10, 2011 @04:54AM (#2747375)
Re:Are We On the Verge of an Energy Breakthrough? by InclinedPlane on Sunday July 10, 2011 @04:39AM (#2747347)
I found this bit a little jarring: "Thorium reactors would not melt down, in part because they require an external input to produce fission."

As we should all know by know, this isn't the only risk for meltdowns. The Fukushima reactors scrammed almost instantly after the earthquake, well before the tsunami, but it was the continual heat production of the fission products in spent fuel which was the real danger.