German Spiegel Online Features Rossi and E-Cat

The Spiegel, the top news magazine in Germany has a story on its website written by Ralph Diermann about of Andrea Rossi’s E-cat today titled “Cold Fusion: What Was Actually From Mr. Rossi’s Wonder Reactor?”

It is written in a familiar form when it comes to mainstream media, asking whether Rossi is either a genius or fraudester. Diermann covers the recent Lugano report and mentions the main results — the isotopic shifts in the fuel, and the excess heat measurements.

Comments on the test are sought from ‘experts’ in nuclear physics.

Stefan Pomp of Uppsala University in Sweden states, “The alleged isotopic variation is in this way – ie without emission of gamma radiation and with a virtually wholly owned transformation in just a nickel isotope – impossible.” Pomp says he believes that the testers were fooled by Rossi — presumably he thinks Rossi did a sleight of hand trick to replace the fuel with some new powder.

Karl Lackner, a professor at the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany says that the conditions required for nuclear fusion to occur are not met in Rossi’s reactor, saying temperatures of hundreds of millions of degrees are required. He states, “”I do not believe the story . . . the method of Mr. Rossi is very reminiscent of magic tricks.”

Overall, the article sheds plenty of doubt on the integrity of Andrea Rossi and the reality of the E-Cat, which is nothing terribly new.