From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Tue Mar 05 2002 - 15:33:12 MST
"Dickey, Michael F" wrote:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Lorrey [mailto:mlorrey@datamann.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 10:25 AM
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: Re: Cold fusion redux
>
> "How many years has this gone on for? At least since 1980, when it had a
> three times larger budget. Assuming an average annual budget of $500 million
> for 22 years gives us a 22 year budget of $11 billion dollars. Eleven
> billion bucks spent by thousands of energy depertment
> bureaucrats, scientists, technicians, administrators, support personnel, and
> janitors to fail to achieve something which virtually anybody could do on a
> desktop experiment. And you think there is NO vested interest? I rest my
> case."
>
> A vested interest as in intentionally not attaining a fusion reaction? No,
> I dont think so. In fact, Bussard started his own fusion project privately
> funded by the Owner of Omni magazine and Hustler, he was making a small
> tokamok reactor, had the expertise and the budgett, and just could not get
> it to break even. Was he just tricking everybody to keep himself employed?
> I doubt it, as he, and most of these other scientists and engineers, are
> pouring their hearts out to attempt to get this. Is it reasonable to
> suspect that all of them are involved in some kind of conspiracy to just
> keep the fusion budget flowing? I seriously doubt it, especially
> considering that real and consistent progress is being made. Maybe the real
> fact is that containing plasmas is a difficult and tricky endevour.
snip
>
> I think you are over simplyfying a complex issue.
I think that there are likely at least several technological ways to
achieve over unity sustainable fusion reactions. The government is ONLY
interested in discovering those methods which require large billion
dollar budgets, spent by highly trained individuals, at big government
owned facilities, and under the control of government bureaucracies.
Figuring out a way for the human race to free itself from the current
geopolitical system is directly in opposition to the self interest of
any government agency. Discovering a way that joe and judy sixpack can
take care of their energy needs without uncle sugar butting in and
controlling, taxing, or siphoning it in some way threatens the stability
of the current statist system.
I don't doubt that government scientists truly want to discover and
harness sustainable fusion with all their hearts and souls. Finding it
first is the key to the future of humankind.
>
> However, the field of research has been only limited to plasma hot fusion,
> various other methods are not government funded,
This says it all right there. The point is, that any efforts which are
government funded are ultimately under the control of the government.
Any projects which are not government funded which do prove successful
will be downplayed and discredited by the government.
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