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Mitchell_Porter comments on What information has surprised you most recently? - Less Wrong Discussion

11 Post author: FiftyTwo 09 December 2012 04:43AM

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Comment author: Mitchell_Porter 09 December 2012 06:13:28AM 0 points [-]

Cold fusion is supposed to be impossible because the energies of chemical and nuclear reactions differ by several orders of magnitude. Ron Maimon here provides a history of cold fusion's rejection and even a theory to explain how the process could work.

Comment author: RomeoStevens 09 December 2012 12:19:30PM *  0 points [-]

wait it blew a hole in the floor?!

the hell? I thought we were talking about tiny amounts of energy in the systems that were experimenting with.

Comment author: Manfred 09 December 2012 02:45:41PM *  1 point [-]

I believe you mean "supposedly blew a hole in the floor." And though the energy would have been plenty, the kinetics probably make blowing a hole in the floor impossible - you'd just get steam, and then end of reaction.