(1) Eugene Mallove
H. Kozima, “Discovery
of the Cold Fusion Phenomenon --- Development of Solid State-Nuclear Physics
and the Energy Crisis in the 21st Century” (Ohtake Shuppan)
by Eugene Mallove, Infinite Energy 35, p.43 (2001).
“Professor of
Physics Hideo Kozima of Shizuoka University in Japan can rightfully lay claim
to having written the first “textbook” on cold fusion, so comprehensive is its
content. Written in English, this is evidently a labor of love by one who is
both a thoughtful observer of the history of science and a physicist who has
developed his own theoretical understanding of diverse cold fusion phenomena.
He calls this the “Trapped Neutron Catalyzed Fusion” (TNCF) model, for which he
has exhibited considerable passion at international cold fusion conferences and
in numerous technical publications.” (In the original sentence, TNCF is written
as TCNF by careless mistakes.)
The book blends some of the history of the cold fusion
controversy with extensive coverage of the experimental evidence for cold
fusion phenomena (including effects in ordinary hydrogen systems), how the
author’s TNCF model can explain these, and a perceptive review of many other
episodes in the history of physics that seem to have relevance to cold fusion.
He posits the existence of catalytic thermal energy neutrons, for which he
says: ”If we assume an existence of thermal neutrons in a material, almost all
the riddles of the cold fusion phenomenon disappear.”
Kozima’s
book is a mixture of highly technical content with very accessible historical
and philosophical discussions that illuminate the process of science in the
cold fusion controversy. Kozima’s work is not a thorough history of various
phases of the cold fusion saga, as are the positive cold fusion books, my own Fire from Ice (1991) and Beaudette’s Excess Heat (2000), which were clearly
aimed at more general audiences, though this book too in large measure is
certainly accessible to a wide audience. As mentioned, this is more like a
textbook of the subject, which offers a potpourri of diverse and expanding
areas, such as heavy element transmutation. It is a first work by a pioneer in
what are certain to be many more such texts. We understand that other cold
fusion scientists may be contemplating or preparing such books. There is a great
need for such works to cover the topics of cold fusion calorimetry, nuclear
instrumentation, material science, and theory.
It is noteworthy that Kozima’s book is the second
excellent cold fusion book from Japan (in English by Japanese cold fusion scientists),
the other being Nuclear Transmutation;
The Reality of Cold Fusion, by Dr. Tadahiko Mizuno (Infinite Energy Press,
1999). While the latter was expertly translated by Jed Rothwell from its
original Japanese, the slight difficulty with the Kozima’s book is its
“Japanese English” unevenness, which was not particularly bothersome to this
reviewer, and occasionally enjoyable. One very charming example (p. 296): “This
Huizenga’s conclusion is one deduced by a poor brain only working on an
extension line from muon catalyzed nuclear fusion where occurs surely d-d
direct fusion reaction.” It should be noted that Kozima’s book first appeared
in hardcover edition in Japanese in March 1997.
Some of the
extras offered by Prof. Kozima’s work are independent name and subject indices,
thirty-seven pages of cited references, generous presentation of pertinent
graphical data, and scientist contributed essays by Makoto Okamoto, Akito
Takahashi, Francesco Celani, Benjamin Filimonov, and Peter Glueck. All in all,
an impressive book that deserves to be read widely.”
(2) Dieter Britz (Excerpt)
Discovery of the Cold Fusion Phenomenon
Abstracts and review of:
Hideo
Kozima "Discovery of the Cold Fusion Phenomenon"
Copyright 1999, Dieter Britz.
I'll
deviate from my practice these days of not posting updates here, as I used to
do, and will post my latest updates of the Books file, having just read the two
Japanese books below. Here are the abstracts that went into the file:
Kozima
Hideo; "Discovery of the Cold Fusion Phenomenon". Subtitle:
"Development of Solid Stat-Nuclear Physics and the Energy Crisis in the
21st Century". Ohtake Shuppan Inc., Tokyo, 1998. 370 pπSBN 4-87186-044-2
Translation and partial revision of the earlier Japanese book of the same
title, Ohtake Shuppan Inc., Tokyo 1997.
**
Kozima is associated in the cold fusion area with his TNCF (trapped neutron
catalyzed fusion) theory, and this book focuses on the theory. Kozima was one of the first to attempt
a replication of the FPH paper, immediately he received a telefaxed preprint of
the FPH89 and the Jones group's paper in 1989.
He was fortunate also to get results at the first
attempt, in the form of neutrons. He soon realized that the process(es)
are/were stochastic, and therefore difficult to repeat at will. The early
history, starting with Paneth & Peters in 1926, is given, then moving on to
Fleischmann and Pons and on from there. The major groups and their
findings/claims are gone through, problem areas are identified, such as the
"riddles of cold fusion", summarized succinctly at the end of chapter
9.
Then in chapter 11, TNCF is outlined and all the
riddles treated with the theory. A
single parameter, the density of trapped neutrons in the reaction space, is
required to Quantitatively account for a large number of observations. The
neutrons come initially from cosmic infall, later from the reactions leading on
from the initial reactions of neutrons with various species. There is at last a
table of 53 cases, where TNCF explains observations reasonably well. Other
proposed theories are then also described, critically. There are hundreds of
references including close to 100 by the author himself.
Some
additional remarks:
It is
interesting (to me) to compare the two books. Kozima's is sharply focused,
being a long outline of how his TNCF theory fits most of the observations,
which are first listed in detail, followed by the problems (riddles) they throw
up. These are then solved by the application of TNCF, all by the adjustment of
a single parameter (different in the different cases).
Both
books are very persuasive in their different ways. Kozima persuades by the
seemingly universal applicability of TNCF; I did get a slight feeling of
unease, however, whether I was perhaps being lulled into acceptance by the
omission of problems with that. For example, TNCF does not explain how all
those nuclear products, most of them highly energetic, get away without giving
rise to a host of secondaries. Kozima acknowledges the problem and is working
on it. One thing that gives one an "Aha!" is Kozima's suggestion of a
reaction of neutrons with ^{6}Li; this immediately explains the sometime claim
that CNF works in LiOD electrolyte, but not in NaOD. Kozima is not uncritical
of others' work, although I wonder at his easy acceptance of Kervran's nonsense
- which seems to have a long history going back to 1799, and that is another
interesting aspect of Kozima's book. But he does appear to make a good case for
his theory.
Kozima's book was done by the man himself and the English was checked
later by someone else, I believe. There is a strong accent. Oddly, this makes the text quite punchy
in its rather informal way, not at all awkward to read.
We have
been told often that the Japanese are running away with cold fusion that the
USA is behind. Well, the Japanese seem to feel it's the other way around, and
Mizuno describes widespread skepticism in Japan and even some skullduggery to
prevent CNF research, heckling at a conference, etc., and Kozima mentions publication
problems in Japanese journals.
All in
all, a couple of interesting books, well worth getting and reading. I have been asked whether these books
change my opinion of CNF at all. I
am not sure about that; but that question, and reading these books,
crystallized in my mind the thought that the term "skeptic" is not,
and has not been, very appropriate to me. A better term would be
"agnostic"; I simply don't know, and I leave it at that.
-- Dieter Britz alias db@kemi.aau.dk; http://www.kemi.aau.dk/~db