This is an interview well worth watching. Michael McKubre, Director of the Energy Research Center and SRI International is interviewed on the Lip.tv Buzzsaw program by Sean Stone (son of filmmaker Oliver Stone) on the topic of nuclear fusion. Its a fascinating interview for anyone wanting to get a background in both cold and hot fusion, and nuclear energy in general. They discuss both cold and hot flavors of fusion energy and look at the current picture in the field of cold fusion in particular.
Dr. McKubre as always demonstrates his prodigious knowledge of the science, history and business surrounding the topic, and has an interesting perspective on the topic. When Sean Stone asks him about the reasons why we are not using cold fusion technology, McKubre gives two reasons: palladium is extremely expensive, and we don’t yet have the capability to control the nuclear reactions generated in cold fusion. I think Stone was looking for a more conspiratorial reason. McKubre holds that the oil companies are “smart and pragmatic”, and will not be too concerned if cold fusion emerges as an energy source, but will adapt.
McKubre seems to think that Rossi is not able to completely control his reaction yet, but puts him in the group of companies that are on the verge of commercialization along with Brillouin energy (whom he has worked closely with), and Defkalion. He also puts Blacklight Power in the LENR category, and mentions their upcoming demonstration as something worth keeping an eye on.
I think McKubre is one of the most credible independent voices in the LENR world, and I hope he’s consulted widely by media people as cold fusion begins to emerge on the world stage.
