Popular Mechanics August Issue - H-bombs and Cold Fusion

[Jeffrey Leavey <leaveyja@us.ibm.com>]

The August issue of Pop Mechanics has a rather sensationalistic cover

proclaiming that cold fusion "enables anyone to build a nuke from commonly

available materials".  The article inside, however, spends most of it's

words mashing several somewhat related topics together: low DOE stockpiles

of tritium, a process called TCAP for separating H-1 and H-2, a positive

history of Fleischmann and Pons, and the deaths of two people at SRI from

exploding experiments and of Gene Mallove, founder of the New Energy

Foundation and proponent of cold fusion, who died 4 days after the

interview, apparently from a robbery. The article also says the DOE has

quietly re-opened cold fusion as a source of H-3 as a backup to TCAP and

Savannah River; the explanation is a bit lacking in the article.



The article then ends with an overview of U separation processes and

finally with the statements:   "that scores of cold fusion experiments have

revealed the production of enriched uranium, plutonium and tritium. If, as

much of this research suggests, cold fusion can be used to produce

weapons-grade materials...."  Can someone please explain how cold fusion

can enrich U and Pu?  The article has no references and sites several

sources that can't be checked (the Pop Mech web site didn't have any

additional info or references I could find).



Overall, IMHO, the article portrays cold fusion as a real energy generating

process that also enriches U and Pu while, as a bonus, making the H-3 you

need to grow your own H-bomb - right in your very own backyard!  Just what

we need now.....



Thanks,

Jeff

------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff Leavey, CHP

leaveyja@us.ibm.com



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