For many years now we have seen various efforts to demonstrate clear LENR reactions in an open setting, and so far this has proven to be a rather elusive goal. The recent attempt by the Martin Fleischmann Memorial Project to test a reactor of Me356 is another disappointment which leaves many questions unanswered. My takeaway is that it was a valiant but inconclusive attempt from which we can draw some lessons.
1. The desire for secrecy makes things harder. I understand why LENR developers want to remain anonymous given the stakes. I also understand why people find this need for secrecy so frustrating. I think the MFMP does their very best to accommodate developers’ desire for secrecy and confidentiality, but it does make their job much harder. Live Open Science would be much easier if both sides were committed to being open, but one has to deal with the reality of situations.
2. LENR takes significant time and money. The MFMP is a volunteer-run organization with paltry funding when one considers the magnitude of their mission. I think they have done excellent work given the resources available to them, but they are limited in the amount of time they can devote to their projects. The support base for LENR research is still small. I would guess there are a just a few thousand interested observers around the world, and it’s hard to fund an important research institution by donations from such a limited pool of enthusiasts.
3. Things go wrong. We have seen in this latest MFMP venture that things get lost, things break, technical issues need sorting out. It is unrealistic to expect these kinds of pioneering efforts to go off without a hitch, and this illustrates the need for increased time and money. If the MFMP could have stayed on site for another couple of weeks, the end result could have been very different.
4. Perseverance is required — this is true for any worthwhile effort. Even though the new fire that we are seeking to find is difficult to ignite and hard to pin down, I am certain that it is real, of great importance, and worth the effort to try and bring it forward into the world where it can provide so much benefit. And I know I am not alone in that conviction.
So I thank the MFMP and Me356 for their efforts and cooperation, and for being willing to communicate their results with us; I hope that they can continue working together in the near future. I also hope that the work will continue on all fronts, and that we’ll get to a point before too long where the reality of practical LENR will be widely acknowledged and implemented.