LENR - Low Energy Negative Reports

Will Andrea Rossi's eCat prove to be the real thing to take the world by storm or will it be revealed that it was all an elaborate hoax? One person who thinks that Rossi does not have the goods is Steven Krivit, Editor of New Energy Times.

From January 14th when Rossi conducted his first public tests in Bologna until midway through June New Energy Times editor Krivit made a total of 16 posts on Andrea Rossi and his eCat, almost all of them benign scepticism.

Krivit then personally met with Rossi in Bologna, was totally unimpressed with what he saw and then presented his findings in a series of blog reports and that seemed to be the start of the hostilities between the two.

On 17th June Rossi retaliated and called Krivit a "SNAKE" and a "FAKE JOURNALIST" on his blog. Krivit said nothing and remained silent for a couple of days before writing, "I may continue to read some of his interesting messages for a little while longer, but not much longer. Research and interviews are over. The pen now hits the ink."

Since then, at least since June 16th 2011, New Energy Times writer Steven B Krivit had written a total of 41 separate blog posts in condemnation of the ecat and Rossi's credibility, and has also taken aim at the credibility of those who Krivit claims are "promoting" Rossi or his eCat. That works out at approximatelty one post every 4 days.

Krivits 41 Blog Posts Since June 2011 Slamming Rossi's eCat and Pro eCat Commentators

• The Failure of Rossi’s Energy Catalyzer, Caught on Video - 7th January
• The E-Cat Tribe Dec 23rd 2011
• LENR Real; Rossi and Defkalion Dubious - December 20, 2011
• Duncan’s Promotion of Rossi: A Tremendous Disservice - December 9, 2011
• The Physics of Why the E-Cat’s Cold Fusion Claims Collapse - December 7, 2011
• University of Bologna Clarifies Relationship With Rossi - December 1, 2011
• Rossi Story: A Conversation With Thomas Blakeslee - November 28, 2011
• Rossi: Declining Magnitude of Claims - November 27, 2011
• Rossi Story: Corriere di Bologna Gets it Wrong - November 26, 2011
• Rossi Declines Italian and U.S. Government Testing Offers - November 26, 2011
• Ny Teknik Chief Responds to Swedish Public Radio - November 21, 2011
• Swedish Public Radio Turns Spotlight on Lewan and Ny Teknik - November 12, 2011
• Rossi’s Mystery Customer Performs Disappearing Act, Twice - November 12, 2011
• University of Bologna Denies Faculty Involvement with Rossi - November 11, 2011
• NASA Engineer Explains Why Rossi Demos Failed - November 10, 2011
• Rossi Source for Fox and MSNBC: Obama Teleported to Mars - November 10, 2011
• The Big Lie Technique of Scammers, Courtesy of Adolf Hitler - November 10, 2011
• Sterling Allan: Arm-in-Arm with Andrea Rossi - November 10, 2011
• Poor Journalism by Fox News on Rossi Story - November 9, 2011
• Poor Journalism by Physorg on Rossi Story - November 9, 2011
• Poor Journalism by Wired U.K. on Rossi Story - November 9, 2011
• Scientific Critique Against Rossi Claim - November 5, 2011
• Noble Aspirations Are Not Enough - October 30, 2011
• Energy Catalzyer: Extraordinary Scams Require Extraordinary Claims - October 28, 2011
• Rossi’s 11th Test, 11th Failure - October 10, 2011
• E-Cat Test Demonstrates Energy Loss - October 8, 2011
• Wired UK Article on Rossi Today - October 6, 2011
• NASA Won’t Confirm Relationship With Rossi - October 6, 2011
• Rossi: The Scientific Verdict - August 28, 2011
• Physorg Review of New Energy Times Report #3 - August 26, 2011
• Sources that Support the Rossi Claim? - August 26, 2011
• Rossi’s Scientific Failure in Seven Steps - August 7, 2011
• Reviewing Ny Teknik Video: Did Rossi Play With Power Setting? - August 5, 2011
• New Energy Times Publishes Report #3 on Rossi Device - July 31, 2011
• Possible Low or No Levels of Excess Heat in Rossi Device - July 29, 2011
• New Energy Times Report #3 on Rossi Device Coming Soon - July 29, 2011
• Uppsala University Denies Rossi Research Agreement - July 12, 2011
• Report #2 – Energy Catalyzer: Scientific Communication and Ethics Issues - June 28, 2011
• Levi’s Response to “Preliminary Report” - June 19, 2011
• Rossi’s Responses to “Preliminary Report” - June 19, 2011
• Preliminary Report of Interviews with E-Cat Trio Rossi, Focardi and Levi - June 16, 2011

All of this was in stark contrast to Krivit's early 2011 comments on Rossi and his eCat.

On 19th January he wrote:

"The report I received on Jan. 17 from Francesco Celani, a physicist with the Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Frascati, Italy (National Institute of Nuclear Physics), gives me new confidence about the Rossi-Focardi device. If the data provided to Celani is correct and complete, the device is real and is demonstrating some excess heat – on demand, no less."

"Rossi has, to his credit, answered all of my questions."

"As far as Rossi’s story of a self-sustaining reactor, I am inclined to believe it. It is very similar to a story that Piantelli told me."

Read more...

When Two Tribes Go To War

In case you didn't know, World War 3 started this year.

Not China and America, but 2 much bigger foes who wouldn't last 2 seconds in a lift together without handbagging each other to death for simply exchanging glances. Yes, we are talking about the "special" relationship between New Energy Times's Steven B Krivit and Italian Cold Fusion supremo, Andrea Rossi.

Last week in the third episode of Shock and Awe, Krivit fired his latest salvo of tactical nukes at a defiant Rossi.  With all the anticipation of waiting for Duke Nukem Forever (It'll be ready when it's ready) I waited to see what delights it would contain.

When Krivit's imaginatively titled Report No.3 was released, the laser guided information bomb the size of War and Peace with a total of 37 (yes, thirty-seven) appendices strapped to it (I'm still only on number 8) made it's way to Rossi's Florida home where I'm told a mushroom cloud could still be seen days later.

But in the end, did Krivit deliver an ICBM that Rummy would be proud of, or was it just a damp firework stuck fizzing in the ground at the local park? To be honest, I got bored by page 3 of appendix 1.  Had I not been researching it in order to write about it, I would have maybe printed it off and simply used it to jam under shortest leg of my Chinese made (authentic mahogany) coffee table.

Looking at the report, all the same vaguely scientific arguments are in there from episode 2.  There are also a total of 11 separate reports on "steam analysis" by experts in the field of youtuberoscopy. To top it all off there is another stomach churning regurgitation of Rossi's less than saint like past which (not for the first time) looks like a cheap shot and nothing more. (Need we talk about the Pope's chequered past again?) Ed.

I wondered what the great unwashed had thought of Krivit's blockbuster sized epic, so I took a glance at the comments section underneath hoping to find the answer. It was just as I had feared, a cacophany of sycophantic praise from the Krivit choirboys liberally sprinked with some Rossi bashing and finished off with a caremelised jous of token pro Rossi crapola to make it "fair and balanced".

With all the charm and neocon grace of Bill O'Reilly there seemed to be no end to the Rossi condemnation and "scammer" talk, which in the end prompted me to write my OWN comment and perhaps introduce some other alternative theories that were simply not being discussed (even as a possibility).

Anywho - here's my comment and subsequent response I recieved.

Steven,

I don’t believe the “scam” hypothesis one tiny bit and I’ll explain why.

If he’s out to scam someone, then it’s not clear how this would be played out. You said yourself that no-one has seen “verifiable evidence of this “couple of hundred million Euros of investment?”.

Scammers will let the scenario play out for as long as possible, creaming as much money as they can from gullible people and this does NOT sit comfortably with the fact that Rossi has given HIMSELF a self-imposed deadline of end of October. There are a lot of high profile people who were at the Defkalion presentation and I don’t think they would take kindly to being scammed. And if Rossi is a scammer, then he should be getting an Oscar for his performance, as he has maintained a perfect performance which would be nothing short of miraculous.

Assuming for a minute that it is a “scam” leaves us with further problems where the logic does not fit the hypothesis. Prof Giuseppe Levi would have to be “in on it”, and as a respected phycisist at a very prestigious university with EVERYTHING to lose, it’s highly unlikely.

A scammer would certainly not agree to let ANYONE test ANY aspect of their device, let alone allowing one go to University of Upssala and Bologna and then PAYING THEM 500,000 Euros out of his own pocket for the privilege.

Rossi is not exactly hard-up for cash since he owns a few companies. He’s spent an awful lot of his OWN money, so money as a motivation seems absurd.

I think at worst, the eCat doesn’t produce as much power as is being touted. I think it’s easily possible that the eCat was not operating at “full steam” (if you pardon the pun) when you observed it, or that Rossi misconfigured it on the day, or that he was nervous of showing much for patent reasons, or any number of other technical issues that he’d rather not admit to.

Rossi may not have wanted to portray the eCat as unreliable and so the simple answer may be that he was simply embarrassed. Have you considered those possibilities instead of complex and highly unbelievable conspiracy scenarios?

Craig

***********************

My comment did not make it past the Chinese firewall, but generated this response instead. 

Sent to Craig  via e-mail

July 8, 2011

Hi Craig,
I’m considering publishing your post

I certainly don’t want to perpetuate any myths and I’m sure you don’t either.

Before I publish your post, I want to invite you support the following statements you made with your best factual evidence:

1. One of Rossi’s devices has gone to the University of Uppsala for testing.
2. One of Rossi’s devices has gone to the University of Bologna for testing.
3. Rossi has paid either of those institutions a single Euro.
4. Rossi is not hard-up for cash.

5. Rossi spent an awful lot of his OWN money.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

All the Rossi bashing posts and congratulatory back patting on a"job well done" seemed to make their way past the censors with unbridled ease. However, my own post was stopped at the border and asked to explain itself.

Now I don't pretend to know exactly what the heck is going on with this whole eCat thing.  It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma and dropped into a deep well full of confusion, but I DO know that the discussion needs to move beyond the confines of world championship steam debating and the Petroldragon saga.

And since I'm down under, my responses to comments and emails have their own unique form of jet-lag which results from the fact that I'm usually sleeping when the rest of the world is up and about.  Anyone who knows me will tell you that I reply to emails the way a sloth does the 100 metres.  And besides - last night was the third last night of MasterChef; Smoke bellowing down the hallway and the fire alarm shrieking itself to death would not have shifted my arse from the couch.

And what was my pennance for not being glued to the Rossi debate 24/7 ? See below.

***************************

[Brown did not reply.]

***************************

Yes, I would have replied, but was not given much time to do so. Apart from sleeping while most bloggers are active and taking my coffee table back to the shop because one of the authentic mahogany plastic legs fell off,  I have a life outside engaging in late-night discussions about steam. I can think of 437 better things I could be doing.

Now the questions I've been asked are lawyer's questions.  Krivit knows fine well I cannot prove any of these things about Rossi (yet), but to be honest people, it's only a comment on a blog, it's only a comment. No one's life depends on it. Do all comments on blogs now need to have accompanying documentation?

I can't prove that any eCats have been sent to any University yet, but what DOES exist is a written agreement on the University of Bologna's website (so are we to assume that the University of Bologna is in on the conspiracy)?  I think not.

I'm not Rossi's accountant so I couldn't tell you if he's paid the University of Bologna yet, or even if he's paid his subscription to Cold Fusion Weekly, but publicly he has comitted himself to these things - and why would you do that if you really don't need to? 

As for being cashed up, I'm sure the fact that he owns several companies must mean that he's not exactly down the dole office every week with the arse hanging out of his trousers. Do I need proof for that too?

And a blind, deaf and dumb dung beetle can see that Rossi has spent an incredible amount of his own time and money over the years on getting this to a commercial stage - this is supported by countless others testimony and documentation. 

But what really takes the biscuit is that my comment has to jump through more hoops than a nervous springel spaniel at Crufts while the the Krivit choirboys can make speculative and wild accusations WITHOUT backing up THEIR own comments.

 

The people shouting "scam" seem to have forgotten that Rossi did not instigate the public demonstration and attention.  That particular request came from Prof Sergio Focardi who urged Rossi to do so. If Rossi wanted to pull a scam and disappear with money, then it seems a crazy thing to start attracting attention to himself when he was ALREADY in talks with Ampenergo and Defkalion.

 

When people accuse Rossi of scam they don't realise that to do so also implicates Prof Giuseppe Levi, Prof Sergio Focardi, and Prof Christos Stremmenos and involves the duping of NASA, the Greek Deputy Minister for Industry & Energy, Defkalion, Ampenergo and the fooling of 2 world-class scientists, one of which decides Nobel Physics prizes. Not to mention another dozen or so dignitaries who attended the Defkalion announcement. I simply don't believe that this is a logical hypothesis and that not one, but THREE well respected scientists are part of a conspiracy to scam.

 

I'd sooner believe my Chinese slave goods table was made of mahogany.

Read more...

Steaming Mad: Krivit Infuriates Levi With Questions Of Competency

Steven B Krivit,of New Energy Times recently visited Bologna to interview the team working to commercialize the energy catalyzer - Andrea Rossi, Sergio Focardi and Giuseppe Levi. The sun may have been shining and the Italian coffee flowing, but in the end the Colosseum may have been
a more apt venue.

All Steamed Up

Krivit conducted interviews with Andrea Rossi's team and has obtained video footage of the e-cat in operation which he plans to publish in the coming days / weeks. His initial blog post describing the premises and facility where he met with Andrea Rossi and of his interactions with the team seemed to have quite a negative tone throughout.

Krivit's initial assessment describes how he took issue with the way in which the  water content of the steam was measured; According to Krivit, this would potentially have a bearing on the final power output figures. Krivit has suggested that Prof Giuseppe Levi (Prof Emiratus At Bologna University) and by implication Dr Galantini, an expert in his field of chemistry did not measure the steam properly. Roughly equivalent to telling Usain Bolt that his sprinting is crap.

Since that first critical summary blog post it has all went downhill between the two camps.

I asked Rossi to comment on Krivit's point and got the following response.

Dear Mr Rossi,

Can you respond to the recent assertions by Steven B Krivit that the method in which the steam may have been measured previously is potentially giving incorrect measurements of the power capability of the e-cat.

Krivit says in his blog post, “I discussed the crucial difference in steam enthalpy calculations by mass versus by volume with Levi on Wednesday afternoon. Based on his initial response, I could not be sure if he had previously understood the potential impact.” 

I am hoping you can assure us that his concerns are invalid.

Best regards,
Craig

*************
Andrea Rossi
June 17th, 2011 at 4:38 AM
Dear Craig:

Mr Krivit has understood nothing of what he saw, from what I have read in his ridiculous report… This guy has seen for half an hour an E-Cat in the factory where we make many tests, made some questions to Prof. Levi, Prof. Focardi and me. 

Evidently has understood nothing, perhaps for the short time we gave him, also because we have to work: maybe he is angry because we had to send him away from the closed boxes and because we had to say him good bye shortly because we have to make our work. Prof. Levi has explained very well to him how the measures have been made and the importance of the issue. He has explained very well that the percentage of uncondensed water in the steam has been measured in weight (in volume is impossible, for various reasons), and he also got confirmation of this from a specialist from whom he has taken indipendent counsel. Nevertheless, he has understood nothing, or wanted not to understand, for reasons he better knows.

Our tests have been performed by Physics Professors, who know how to make measures , and I am measuring the performance every day on 300 reactors.

In any case we will start our 1 MW plant in october and we will see how it works. Of course I assure his considerations are invalid, but I want to say more: our products on the market will confirm this. Probably this journalist has been sent by someone that wants to dwarf our work.

Warm Regards,
A.R.

Levi also responded to Krivit's post:

Dear, Mr. Krivit

I have carefully read <http://blog.newenergytimes.com/2011/06/16/preliminary-report-of-interviews-with-e-cat-trio-rossi-focardi-and-levi/>your preliminary report on your travel in Bologna. Your report clearly demonstrates that you have not understood anything of what you have seen and what we have explained you. First of all the story about the steam.

As the signature in my email says I got a PhD in Physics years ago. This means that I have totally understood the difference between residual water in steam as fraction of mass or volume. As I have unsuccessfully tried to explain you :

1) The plots you were showing are well known and you can find them in any manual of physical chemistry. They apply when you measure the quantity of steam present as % of VOLUME.

2) As I have told you many times, Dr. Galantini, the expert chemist that was in charge, has done a measure as percent of MASS. As Professor Zanchini has told you the same day we met, one of the crucial informations you have omitted from your preliminary report, a fraction of water in the steam, measured by MASS as we have done, would reduce the amount of measured energy in a linear way. So our calculation and our analysis is correct.

Because you:
Omitted part of information you had, insulted me (and my University) trying to say that I'm not prepared in my field, tried (just tried) to scare me and put me under psychological pressure in order to obtain so far undisclosed data, I will not send you any other information.

Regards,
Dr. G.Levi

Competing Theories

For the rest of us, the main problem seems to be trying to understand the nature of the disagreement. One cannot help wonder despite a generally good level of understanding, whether something was "lost in translation" due to a very small, but nevertheless important language barrier between the two parties.

It is also well-known that Rossi does not subscribe to the Widom-Larsen theory of LENR.  He has let it be known that his own theory of what is happening within his energy catalyzer is something else entirely and he is holding off from explaining his pet theory until November - presumably because it gives an unambiguous clue to what the secret catalyst might be.

Meanwhile, Krivit on the other hand is known to advocate the Widom-Larsen theory and has co-authored a book supporting this explanation entitled "Widom-Larsen Theory: Possible Explanation of LENR. Could there be an underlying friction because they both hold competing theories?

So, was something lost in traslation, was it two competing theories causing friction, or did Rossi want to get on with his work and had little time for a journalist in his already crazy schedule?

Whatever it was it's unfortunate that these things cannot be resolved amicably and not played out for an audience like a soap opera. I have a feeling the "steam issue" will rumble on for a bit yet, but hopefully not boil over.

Read more...

Demo, Interviews and Video: Steven B Krivit In Italy To See Rossi Energy Catalyzer

Steven B Krivit of New Energy Times, a leading researcher into LENR / Cold Fusion is in Italy And On His Way To See The E-Cat in Action And To Interview Andrea Rossi.

"Several months ago Andrea Rossi, inventor of the Energy Catalzyer (E-Cat) agreed to grant me an interview and to show me his invention. He agreed to show the E-Cat to me in operation, to take video footage of it and interview him on camera.

I am now in Milan and will be in Bologna in a few hours. Today I am to see the E-Cat, interview Rossi’s collaborator Sergio Focardi, professor emeritus from the University of Bologna department of physics. Giuseppe Levi, a researcher with the University of Bologna department of physics, who has claimed to be the first outside investigator to confirm the E-Cat, has also agreed to an interview. Tomorrow I will interview Rossi." - Steven B Krivit

 

New Energy Times Artcle

http://blog.newenergytimes.com/2011/06/14/solving-the-mystery-of-the-energy-catalzyer/

Read more...