Product Description
The announcement of cold fusion in March 1989 at the University of Utah was greeted with astonishment worldwide.Drs. Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons had claimed that an electrochemical cell with heavy water electrolyte and a palladium cathode gave rise to so much excess energy that the mysterious phenomenon had to be nuclear, and was probably a process related to nuclear fusion.Many scientists quickly took sides for or against cold fusion--mostly against.By the end of the summer the experts claimed cold fusion didn't exist.They said it was an experimental error and could not be reproduced.Actually, the story had barely begun.Provocative research had never ended.Cold fusion was and is very much alive.IN THIS BOOK, Dr. Mizuno describes both the dark and bright sides of the cold fusion story: the frustration, the boredom, the endless guerrilla war with scientists who wanted to stop the research, science journalists who appeared to thrive on the outpouring of supposedly negative results, fruitless battles to publish a paper or be heard at a physics conference, but then also the triumph of dramatic experimental results in the production of huge excess energy and the paradigm busting discovery of the low-energy transmutation of heavy elements found on cold fusion electrodes.It is impossible for one book to encompass the now expanding worldwide effort to understand the cold fusion enigma, but for those who want to learn about the rest of the story, this account of one scientist's experience on the frontiers of knowledge is an excellent beginning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good interesting read
I enjoyed reading this. I felt a little overwhelmed at times with the equations, but most of the book is very easy to comprehend, even for the average student interested in nuclear transmutation.

Valuable for Anyone Interested in New Energy
This English translation of Tadahiko Mizuno's Japanese book on cold fusion served as a valuable introduction to significant research and progress in a scientific process many have written off as unachievable.In recountinghis personal research with electrochemical cells designed to produce apractical source of energy, Dr. Mizuno tells a story of many failures and afew successes.Clearly, reproducibility and consistent power productionhave been significant problems in producing energy by cold fusion. ThoughMizuno was forced to work under conditions that would be regarded asdifficult and unacceptable in much of Europe and the U.S., this perseveringresearcher slowly learned important factors that relate to the goal ofachieving a sustained, controlled, and repeatable cold fusion.Theobstacles faced by Mizuno were not limited to poor laboratory equipment orthe expense of crucial materials, for he also was required to perform thetime-consuming teaching duties of a professor and direct or restrict hisresearch and publication efforts as required by authorities. Dr. Mizunoseems to understand what engineers know quite well: a valid theoryfacilitates the design of a device by proceeding with a design based uponthe knowledge of electrical, chemical, and physical properties ofmaterials.I quite enjoyed those parts of the book that revealed thehuman qualities of Dr. Mizuno as he struggled towards his personal goal ofdemonstrating cold fusion.At times, he shares a moment of philsophicalreflection, showing delightful sides of his personality and character. For a novice in cold fusion research, the glossary proved indispensable. Here, terms are carefully defined, instrumentation functions are described,energy relationships are listed, chemical reactions are explained, andacronymns are expanded.Most readers can learn a lot of basic material oncold fusion by just reading the glossary.The book includes abibliography of references, an index of topics, and an eight-page coldfusion chronology describing key events from 1967 to 1999.Experiencedcold fusion researchers will want to read this book to see if they arenamed in it and to follow the path to knowledge taken by one of theirgreatest colleagues.Novices interested in this subject will find thatthis book tells a readable, event-driven story that teaches as it informs. ... Read more

Product Description
I started this writing project after attending the 10th International Conference on Cold Fusion in August 2003 in Cambridge, Mass. It was there that I met over 100 researchers from around the world and realized that they were on to something.

They were real scientists, credentialed, with long and respectable careers. They employed the same instrumentation and methodologies used in "normal" science. According to them, there was strong evidence for a new source of clean nuclear (no, this is not an oxymoron) energy. At first, it didn't make sense why their research had been ignored. As I dug deeper, the complex scientific and human drama, perhaps the greatest of our time, revealed itself.

The goal of this book is to provide everything you might want to know about the first period of cold fusion's history. What happened? Why? Who was responsible for the successes? The failures? Who knew what and when did they know it? The book is written for the nonscientific reader and provides a unique glimpse into the inner and sometimes ugly process of new science. You'll learn that scientists can be surprisingly unscientific when threatened with new ideas that challenge their funding, stature and careers. You will see how science really works - or doesn't.

The opponents of cold fusion (now known technically as low energy nuclear reactions) tried their hardest to bury this newborn science, but they failed. Cold fusion is a triumph of the scientific method, and an exposé of science politics. Its discoverers, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, were not forced to recant under threat of death, but their treatment by the establishment was not unlike that of Galileo Galilei by his tormentors.

In the heat of the battle, Pons said, "It appears that the people who would benefit most by this work being discredited have taken the initiative to cause us great difficulty ... They might cause us difficulty, but they will not stop the science.'' Pons was right; real science cannot be killed -- delayed, yes, but not forever. Fleischmann and Pons were ousted from science but many courageous and dedicated researchers around the world carried on where they left off and kept the research alive.

In the book's introduction, futurist Sir Arthur C. Clarke declares: "An unbiased reader finishing this book will sense that something strange and wonderful is happening at the 'fringes' of science." What will be the future of cold fusion? That is one of the big remaining mysteries. What is for certain is that the story begins here.

-Steven Krivit ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

An expose on real scientific progress
The reason I bought this book is because we are in a desperate trap.
Traps look inviting until sprung.

This is the nature of the trap.
We convert 10 units of oil energy into 1 unit of food energy. This has enabled us to grow the population from 1 billion before oil to 9 billion now. And the rate of extraction of oil has peaked. From now on there will be less and less to share among more and more people.

So. Does cold fusion (or LENR or CANR) offer us hope of cheap energy?
This book is besotted by the politics and human drama of the cold fusion saga, and there is no doubt that there is plenty of theatrics. (This shows that high intelligence offers no protection from human frailty.)
The book has offered me hope that we may delay the inevitable consequences of exponential human growth, until we manage to escape our birth planet. Like most births this is going to be painful. We will not want to leave our womb.

My apatite is whetted for more technical descriptions, so I shall buy other books on the subject.

A Testimony to Both the Scientific Method and to Closed-Mindedness in Establishment Science
This work is a relatively nontechnical introduction of LENR ("cold fusion"). It discusses historical developments in the study of the phenomenon, as well as the personal reflections of scientists who have been studying it.

The reader may be astonished to learn of the depth of hostility towards "cold fusion" once engendered by the scientific community. Part of the problem was the entrenched 50-year belief that only multimillion-degree temperatures could cause the fusion of hydrogen, and part of the problem was the belief that, to be real, fusion of hydrogen necessarily fulfilled specific expectations in terms of emission of gamma rays, neutrons, and specific isotopes. Also, there at first were problems in reproducing the phenomena, although, in recent years, this has been greatly alleviated.

Researchers in conventional "hot fusion" had a vested interest in seeing "cold fusion" rejected as science, because any funding for "cold fusion" research would only cut into funding for "hot fusion" research. Some of it was intellectual arrogance, pure and simple."Cold fusion" proponents were not merely dismissed, but often vilified. There came a point when editors of scientific journals would not even send out a cold-fusion manuscript to referees for consideration of publication. Others cited Carl Sagan's maxim that "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", which begged the question on the nature of the evidence.

For a time, the cold-fusion community became effectively an underground scientific movement, relying on private funding, and publishing in its own journals. In time, they won more and more adherents, and LENR made a comeback.

American Antigravity Review of Steven Krivit's Book
Krivit is the world's #1 authority on this research, because he's done coverage on all of the prominent scientists in the field. That's given him a greater scope of knowledge than any one of these individuals on their own would have, and he additionally has the ability to translate this so that it makes sense to the mainstream audience!

More info online at http://www.americanantigravity.com, or Krivit's site at http://www.newenergytimes.com

Want to know what will save us from global warming?
If you want to know more than even the scientific profession knows about cold fusion, read this book.As a result you will be up to date about one of the most important discoveries of this century.This book continues the line of books that reveal a discovery that will change the way we live, yet has been broadly rejected. Discover how science behaves when it is confronted by a novel idea and how many of the problems created by conventional technology will be solved.

The Definitive Guide to 15 Years of Cold Fusion History
If you're interested in science, politics, energy and the future of mankind, this book is a must read.Cold Fusion will become a case study in how easy it is for science to dismiss an unothrodox idea, and how hard it is for those working outside the science othrodoxy to research a controversial field.

This book explains the Cold Fusion controversy that has raged for the past 15 years.Years that have been full of wars over dwindling oil resources in the Middle East.This is the definitive guide for anyone who wants to understand why Cold Fusion has been so controversal, the current state of research into Cold Fusion, and where Cold Fusion research might eventually lead us.Well researched and well written, this is the book that will redefine Cold Fusion for a new generation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Lots of cooks in the soup
Boy, this book seems to be selling for a lot of money.What's up with that?Good thing I bought it ten years ago.Tedious economics comments out of the way, this is one of the more sought after Missing Adventures, both for what it is and what it does.Just the very concept on paper makes it rare . . . this is the only pairing of any two Doctors in the Virgin novels.Even better, it starts to delve into insights into the Doctor's past and the past of Gallifrey, bits that were picked up and expanded on in other books, but the foundation was laid here first.The plot starts out simple enough, the fifth Doctor is drawn to another planet and locked out of his TARDIS, a few days after his recent regeneration.Nyssa, Tegan and Adric are with him and soon enough they are embroiled in what appears to be a war between the scientific ruling class and a bunch of rebels.Plus, ghosts are appearing left and right and nobody knows why.To make matters worse, someone appears to be helping the rebels, someone who knows the Doctor quite well.The combining of the fifth and seventh's Doctors respective teams (the seventh brings along Chris and Roz) should have been a mess but Parkin manages to balance the huge cast and not have it all dissolve into a indistinguishable haul.He pulls this off by pairing off the two teams with each other and giving them separate plots, while sort of shoving the seventh Doctor off to the side.Which works, because any scenes the little Doctor is in he more or less takes over, his manipulations, utter confidence and experience bowling over everyone else, including his younger, more innocent self, who just can't keep up with all the machinations.This is an interesting novel in the sense that we have never seen two Doctors essentially opposed, even though their stated goals are the same, and through the eyes of the fifth, we see why all the other incarnations fear the seventh, who comes off as one mean son of a gun, in his full glory as chessmaster.Otherwise the two casts mingle well and there are a lot of nice moments between them.The seventh Doctor and his team's reaction to Adric is both poignant and priceless.The other selling point of the story is the glimpses into Gallifreyan history, as the Time Lady Patience causes all of this by having her prototype TARDIS crash into the planet.The peeks into her thoughts are intriguing, both for a window into a piece of the mythology we've never seen and hints as to where the Doctor came from.Oh yes, and did I mention the Feretu, a race of Time Lord magicians that are killing everyone in sight?It's almost too much story for one novel and it's no surprise that some plots (like the rebel one) sort of fall by the wayside as the book focuses more on the Doctors and the Feretu and making sure the Universe isn't destroyed.As I said earlier, Parkin juggles all of this admirably and I think in the end its reach exceeds its grasp by just thatmuch, the sheer naked ambition involved makes the book fun to read and when it does payoff, it does so in spades.A key book in the novel continuity and fascinating in its own right (I have no idea if it's considered canon or not, I doubt it), snatch it up if you can find it for less than three digits.Otherwise, hope the BBC prints it online.

Cold fudge sundae
Here's a book with everything in it.You got your multiple doctors, check.Montage of scenes from "The Mind of Evil", "The Brain of Morbius", and "The Creature From the Pit" (!), check.Obscure continuity references, check: members of an alien race referred to in passing in "Time-Flight", and lyrics from a song once recorded by Jon Pertwee.

So.What's "Cold Fusion" about?

Buried deep in an interview on the BBC Doctor Who Books website, Lance Parkin reveals that the germ of "Cold Fusion" was the war in Yugoslavia.At its heart this was a book about the Fifth Doctor ("Bland") fighting in a local war... and opposed by the Seventh Doctor (the "Dark" one) masterminding the other side.Great idea!However, it doesn't really play out here."Cold Fusion" is consumed by flashbacks, by references to past and future Gallifreyan history, and by any number of "Oh!Look how clever" moments.The novel is consequently much darker than the dark comedy left on the drawing board.

"Cold Fusion" had me scratching my head.The book is seven years old, and subsequent developments in the book lines rendered its revelations moot.I searched the Internet in search for other commentary about just what it all means, but apart from the brief interview with Lance, couldn't find any.

This is the plot, all spoilers: The Fifth Doctor, before the death of Adric, lands on a 30th century Earth colony, where the scientific ruling elite is threatened by terrorists, and undermined by the descendants of UNIT.Lost beneath the snow is a TARDIS from ancient Gallifrey.The pilot -- Patience -- is still alive, and regenerates.We learn she's the wife of the Other -- one of the creators of Gallifrey who vanished into history to enter the Doctor's own timeline.Meanwhile, the journey of Patience's TARDIS unleashes the Ferutu -- Time Lords from the end of an alternate Universe.In order to save the web of time, the Doctor must send the proto-TARDIS home to ancient Gallifrey.However, the Seventh Doctor, shortly before the death of Roz, outwits his earlier self, and uses the proto-TARDIS instead to destroy the Ferutu and their universe.Most of the colony is wrecked, and Patience is killed by UNIT.Roz knocks the Fifth Doctor unconscious so the Seventh Doctor can make his getaway.

Deep, deep stuff.Any one of the three stories here is interesting, but not all together.The colony story sort of just fades away, both sides thugs, Lance's pointed political asides disappearing into the ether.I came away with a loathing for the Seventh Doctor... who really wasn't about the things he did in this novel.The Ferutu remain inscrutable, not tragic.

The black, black comedy intrudes.There are two very funny moments of 30th century hijinks: the Doctor disarms a "war-droid", which rattles out a string of hilarious operating instructions.Later, we learn that robot labor speaks in working-class accents and govern themselves with dilatory union tactics.Both these moments are laugh-out-loud funny.They're also followed by brutal deaths just paragraphs later.Maybe that sums up "Cold Fusion" in a nutshell.It's got these great ideas, but just doesn't know where to put 'em.

"Cold Fusion" is sad, sad, sad.There's a lot of death -- maybe the highest body-count ever in "Doctor Who", apart from what was implied in "Logopolis".But the end of the Universe in "Logopolis" was balanced by themes of rebirth."Cold Fusion" is ambitious, and weighs on the mind when it's all over.However, as dark as it is, what does it all mean?What's it all for?

Five against Seven in a game of Patience
Here's a hint for Doctor Who readers: if the author is Lance Parkin, the book is one you should purchase immediately!

This novel is, at the very least, ambitious.Featuring the Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan as well as the Seventh Doctor, Roz and Chris, it also shines an unclear spotlight on the origins of Gallifreyan time travel, and introduces a character called 'The Patient'.

What is perhaps best in this novel is the conflict between the Doctors.The Seventh is known for his manipulative nature, and so the open and honest Fifth finds himself trying to oppose his later self.That both Doctors are portrayed in a sympathetic manner is a tribute to Mr. Parkin's writing skills and familiarity with all aspects of the history of Doctor Who (as you may expect from the author of 'A History of the Universe').

Also worth noting: the Patient, or Patience as she is also known, is also featured in 'The Infinity Doctors', also by Lance Parkin, which expands further on this very interesting addition to the Doctor Who universe.

Excellent and moving
This is a really interesting and memorable book.It includes practically everything you could possibly find in a "Doctor Who" book, with continuity references worked in as smoothly and intricately as one would expect from the author of "A History of the Universe"; there are specific references to televition stories ranging in time from "100,000 BC" to the 1996 TV-movie.The book also gives many hints about the Docotr's distant past and the whole Loom/Other concept; indeed, although I have not read "Lungbarrow," it appears to me that reading between the lines of this book may allow the reader to move a long way toward figuring out the nature of Susan's relationship to the Doctor.I was surprised by the fact that in its last few chapters the book, which up till then had largely been an enjoyable adventure, turned extremely depressing, with many more people dying than was really necessary; then again, this concluding segment of the book was also emotionally powerful, with the Fifth Doctor undergiong a pair of experiences that might have broken the spirit of a less strong individual.The book also hits at the eventual fate of one of the Seventh Doctor's companions in various ways throughout, and presents us with excellent characterizations of the Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa and Tegan.Highly recommended.

Excellent and moving
This is a really interesting and memorable book.It includes practically everything you could possibly find in a "Doctor Who" book, with continuity references worked in as smoothly and intricately as one wouldexpect from the author of "A History of the Universe"; there arespecific references to television stories ranging in time from"100,000 BC" to the 1996 TV-movie.The book also gives manyhints about the Doctor's distant past, and the whole Loom/Other concept;indeed, although I have not read "Lungbarrow," it appears to methat reading between the lines of this book may allow the reader to figureout the nature of Susan's relationship to the Doctor.I was surprised bythe fact that in its last few chapters the book, which up till then hadlargely been an enjoyable adventure, turned extremely depressing, with manymore people dying than was really necessary; then again, this concludingsegment of the book was also emotionally powerful, with the Fifth Doctorundergoing a pair of experiences that might have broken the spirit of aless strong individual.The book also hints at the eventual fate of one ofthe Seventh Doctor's companions in various ways throughout the book, andpresents us with excellent characterizations of the Fifth Doctor, Adric,Nyssa and Tegan.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
One of the most important discoveries of this century cold fusion was summarily rejected by science and the media before sufficient evidence had been accumulated to make a rational judgment possible. Enough evidence is now available to show that this rejection was wrong and that the discovery of a new source of clean energy may help solve some serious problems currently facing mankind. The book catalogues and evaluates this evidence and shows why the initial reaction was driven more by self-interest than fact. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the history and science behind the cold fusion controversy. In addition to the technological importance of the effect, the discovery of new ways to initiate nuclear reactions without producing significant radiation reveals an entirely new mechanism operating at the nuclear level in solid material. This new mechanism has important implications for an understanding of many other phenomena. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Leading LENR ("Cold Fusion") Scientist Summarizes This Fascinating Topic
This single volume provides a balanced overview, and the author is careful to separate what is strongly supported by evidence, and what is not. The work is technical, but not excessively so.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of its book is its series of tables of major developments in LENR, covering the period 1989 to 2004 or 2005, with entries listed in reverse-chronological order. One table focuses on anomalous power production, another on emanations of tritium, another on transmutation of elements, and still another on the emissions of radiation in LENR experiments.

Finally, this book has frequent allusions to LENR-related websites, and a large bibliography of scientific works, enabling the interested reader to conduct further inquiries into this field of research.

Science of LENR is a comprehensive work
This is the definitive work on low energy nuclear reactions.No fusion researcher should be without this book.It provides a newcomer to the field a rapid comprehensive exposure to the scientific work to date, provided with more than 1000 references, and is a valuable continuing resource.Dr. Edmond Storms is one of the leading experts in the field.He began work in the field in 1989 at Los Alamos National Laboratory, under DoE funding, and continues experimental work in his private lab following retirement.He has testified before congress on cold fusion.The book covers his personal experiences with cold fusion and what is known about cold fusion in general, including where it occurs, what influences its behavior, how it is initiated, and how it is measured.The book includes explanations of the phenomena by leading theorists, as well as discussion of limitations to the known theories. It also includes a useful set of appendices, including one on construction of a Seebeck calorimeter.This book will become increasingly important as awareness of the reality of low energy nuclear reactions becomes commonplace. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

Devious And Scummy Like A Snake With An Abacus
"Cold Fusion" is another brilliant entry in annals of scientific knowledge from Dr. Doris Haggis-On-Whey with assistance from her husband, Benny. This volume explains all aspects of cold fusion, including some that even Pons and Fleischmann could have never imagined.

"The History of Cold Fusion" is presented as a colorful timeline on pp. 10-11, and is a good starting point for understanding this book, superimposed as it is over a timeline of Eddie Money's career (note the proximity of the release of Money's monster hits "Baby Hold On" and "Two Tickets to Paradise" to Dr. Mizuno's observation of charged particles from palladium deuterides, which he attributed to instrumentation error). Other vital areas of exploration include a handy table explaining why Tim Conway, Helen Hunt, and General Pervez Musharraf will never be good at cold fusion, a poem in epic verse about cold fusion by Lord Byron, the Russian invention of fruit fusion, and a thorough analysis of why birds are bad at building superconductors.

For anyone who enjoys satire, humor, or science, the Haggis-On-Whey series can expand your world view in many new and unexpected ways, and for that reason alone I recommend it. Besides, without Dr. Doris and Benny to help me I would still be attempting to confirm a tritium sample with a mass spectrometer, and we wouldn't want that now, would we?

Slightly disappointing
If you're looking for the inspired wackiness which characterized the first book of this series (and was mostly re-captured in the third book) - you will be disappointed. Sure, the non sequiturs are there - but the phrase "too much of a good thing" comes to mind.Perhaps the humor is more apparent to anyone working in a field where much time is spent in a laboratory; for the non-lab-dwellers, this book is only so-so.

There are moments when the brilliance of the first and third books shine through, but, for the most part, the laughs are fewer and farther between.Overall, a rather disappointing entry into the increasingly uneven Haggis-On-Whey series.

Brilliant, preposterous, beautiful.
Another smart book from Dr. Haggis-on-Whey. Marvelously dry and filled to the brim with stupendous non-sequitur. ... Read more

Product Description
An all-in-one kit that gives you everything you need to create Web-based applications- including the latest version of the Cold Fusion. Create dynamic, data-driven Web sites without programming. Learn how to use Cold Fusion Studio, the new interactive Cold Fusion development environment, and all of it's Wizards. Learn how to implement credit card verification and authorization. Learn Cold Fusion's Java-based form technology to enhance your applications and databases.

• An all-in-one kit that gives you everything you need to create Web-based applications-including the latest version of the Cold Fusion
• Create dynamic, data-driven Web sites without programming
• Learn how to use Cold Fusion Studio, the new interactive Cold Fusion development environment, and all of it's Wizards
• Learn how to implement credit card verification and authorization

The book takes you from the verybasics of the Web to the creation of complex interactive Webapplications. Learn how to use forms, build and connect with opendatabase connectivity databases, and retrieve data through templatesand the Cold Fusion Markup Language. Use the sample files and theevaluation copy of Cold Fusion with the book for a true hands-onexperience. While the average Web page author may not have theknow-how to connect an SQL database to a Web page, this combinationreference guide, textbook, and primer makes it all seem easy. --Simon Eskow ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

Eye Opening Book!
Forta's book is very interesting.I almost bought a book solely on SQL, but just bought this book because of its comprehensive SQL sections.As an Application Server Developer, I also have experience with ASP, and thismakes ASP look extremely primitive.In fact, I used the concepts of ColdFusion presented here to evaluate better solutions for projects in ASP.An example of this is the easy implementation of Dynamic SQL in Coldfusion. I then built a Dynamic SQL implementation.Thanks Mr. Forta for a greatone.If you know ASP, this book will show you what you need to engineerwithin ASP to get it to compete with Cold Fusion. An awesome book!

Great Book. Even for beginners.
I have very little programming experience and have this book to be very easy to use.

A must read if you want an alternitive to asp's
This is the BIBLE for Cold Fusion. I have read a few too many compter books. This is the first one I finished and keeped around. The CD has codeing found in the samples in the book. Very easy reading for this typeof book. It even teaches you some HTML. WOW.

Great for new CF programmers
Forta takes you from the start of Cold Fusionand SQL. If you are new to programming and SQL, this is the book for you. I was writing data interface apps in a few hours. A great book overall. Worth the read. I still use itas a reference regularly! A must have for the Cold Fusion developer.

excellent for beginners
This book was fantastic.Sure there are the few editing errors common with computer books.I knew NOTHING about Cold Fusion or database connectivity to the web before I got this and now I've written a dozen orso Cold Fusion applications for the UPS intranet.An EXCELLENT resourcefor beginners and professionals with a tag index for quick referencing.Achapter on SQL also for those who don't know it.It will teach youeverything you need to know to get your application online and running. Great Great Great! ... Read more

Product Description
An investigative report prepared for the general readerto explain how the most extraordinary claim made in the basic sciencesduring the twentieth century was mistakenly dismissed through errorsof scientific protocol. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A great account of what may be science's greatest blunder
I'm half way through this book, and I just can not take it anymore: Although this book is excellently researched and chronicles the events wonderfully there is a bad feeling about this work. Let me first focus on the positives though:

Beaudette does not attempt to hide his bias, which is firstly stated in the introduction in that he feels there is something here, and that process was not followed by laughing Pons and Fleischmann out of American Scientist circles. The events are chronicled and the case of WHY what happened should not have happened is made. Further, the arguments to support the thesis that Cold Fusion as a field of research is valid is also made quite clearly (although very repetitively).

I also do not disagree with the other reviews which rate this book highly, and are recorded here on Amazon, but clearly, my feelings tend towards the more negative. To summarize the book as far as i've read it:
1) Cold Fusion was a bad name for the area/effect because "fusion" moves it into the area of physicists (who are elitist [....]) which require nuclear artifacts before accepting a measurement of heat.
2) Physicists (who are elitists [....]) sit in their ivory towers and rule American science, while in the UK, Europe and Japan they are far more open minded. Which is why the US is a horrible place to work as a scientist.
3) Chemists, who could have backed up Pons and Fleischmann are either scared of Physicists (who are mean) or are ... anyway physicists are not at all nice and even the ones interested in Cold Fusion are not nice at all.
4) Physicists are bad at admitting when they make a mistake, even if they may have only made the mistake because they accepted someone elses mistake, but since they are not very nice, it is all the physicists mistake.
5) Physicists are afraid if Cold Fusion gets off the ground it will make their efforts meaningless. In fact, even though they don't believe there is anything to cold fusion that just shows how mean they are, because they are kicking something they don't believe in, while it is down.
6) It is probably best not to be too critical in detail of physicists who are still alive, like Robert Park (who is not at all nice, and makes use of ridicule at times ... but let's focus on someone who is dead so they can't sue me).

In short: Although Pons and Fleischmann made some wrong statements it is all the physicists fault, because they are mean and want evidence. Evidence which exists (which, i'm even inclined to believe, because the documentation in the book is very supportive of this facet), but is hard to reproduce because Cold Fusion as a mechanism is not fully understood. Something that can occur in any area of science, but that's ok.

What the book does well is put Pons and Fleischmann's perspective across in very human terms, while the entire time painting them as the victim of the pressure from the research community and skeptics. It chronicles their ridicule and all the slander that was pointed at them, while the entire time painting the physicists as the evil group that is not letting them be heard. As i mentioned, Beaudette also seems to focus on dead physicists rather than the very much alive ones who have very actively spoken out against the science of Cold Fusion. Which frankly seems odd...

What the book reminds me off, in terms of style, are books by religious writers like Dave Hunt, who makes a point and then repeats it until the end of the book. The same is the case here, and although interesting bits of information are used to back this up, after reading for the fifth time that nuclear artifacts were required by physicists which Pons and Fleischmann contended might not exist because the method of heat generation is different to normal fusion like they said. Although, they claimed to have measured neutron emission (indirectly)... which turned out to be wrong ... though someone else claimed to have measured it also, which also turned out to be wrong. Or reading about how reproducing things like cloning are more difficult than reproducing cold fusion, and anyway: different areas of science have different requirements for reproducibility; it just gets old.

I can agree that there was elitism leveled at the field, and i can accept that there might be unknown variables which make things hard to reproduce experiments, but repeating that over and over again just does not make for interesting reading.

In conclusion, while the point is made, it is not made efficiently and more time is spent on making excuses or blaming others than telling the story. While it is indicated that Pons and Fleischmann could have handled things better nothing is made of their failure to raise the issues that were mishandled, and instead a conspiracy of silence is described. Overall the book is slow to read, and because of its repetitive nature it ultimately becomes boring.

I have only read it half way however, so if it picks up and changes dramatically thereafter, i am sorry to have rated it so lowly. At the end of the day, this book was a very frustrating read.

cold fusion revisited in the cold light of day
Beaudette has revisited the cold fusion controversy and teased the actual findings of Fleischmannand Pons He has also evaluated the intellectual atmosphere of the first months and years from the 1989 announcement. He did a good exposition on the difference between good and bad science for the lay audience.
He also showed the politics of big science and the poor showing of protocol for the evaluation of the cold fusion phenomenon. The phenomenom is real. It just doesn't work as hot fusion would.
The conflict of paradigms is fascinating to see played out in the world press.
The book is quite readable without complex mathematics to bog down the mind.
Highly recommend the book for moderately educated layman.
With the gas prices being what they are cold fusion deserves more than a cursory look and it does a good job delineating the various sources of xs heat
Sincerely
Doug Hulstedt

A must for a teacher
I am a teacher. Several months ago I received an e-mail message from a high school student. The girl wrote; ". . . In my chemistry class, I am doing a project on Cold Fusion.. . . I was wondering if you could give me some advice or information?. . ." Beaudette's book is an excellent summary of what has been done in the field of Cold Fusion since 1989. It is a must for any teacher who is interested in the subject.

In addition to summarizing results of many interesting projects the author offers several philosophical observations about scientific methodology and protocols used in various scientific disciplines. Referring to the Cold Fusion controversy he writes: "to discard a well made observation is to violate modern protocol [scientific methodology]. If widely practiced, such a course would quickly undo science. The most interesting and perplexing observations, though accurately measured, would have to be refused by the scientific community because their cause was obscure. Does this mean that any claim of observation must be accepted as worthy of scientific study? Certainly not. It means something quite different. It means that the controversy must center about the quality of the measurements and not about the source or cause of the phenomenon. . .If conflicting data is prohibited from contention, then theories are no longer falsifible. Were it to enable such practice, science would evolve into secular theology."

Beaudette's book has many other interesting observations and quotes, together with the scientific background of major cold fusion researchers. It certainly deserves a place in libraries, especially in high schools and universities. The level is appropriate for an educated layman.

the definitive reference
As a journalist covering cold fusion, I turned again and again to this book to check or confirm facts, data, dates, chronologies, and other details and have found it to be the definitive resource in the field.Written by an engineer and vetted by scientists who participated in cold fusion research, the book is an indispensable guide to anyone interested in the history, data, issues, and future of this subject.Recommended without reservation.

Truth in Science:Future University Required Reading
I have read this book, "Excess Heat".I simply could not lay it down until I had finished it entirely.During the process of reading it, I kept repeating to myself (and my captive wife) how excellent a job "this man" did on setting down in philosophically logical terms the convincing facts and logic of the science of cold fusion.At one point I remarked to my wife that "this man" must have taken Apologetics in college and received an "A" mark, but then I remembered that such courses might not have been offered at our Alma Mater (MIT).I was impressed with the way the heretical errors developed, flourished and were brought out in clear plain logic in the book.I want to humbly congratulate the author on such a masterful account of what has happened in this important field.I predict this book will be required reading in some of the "truly best", finest universities in the future.Historically, it will be recorded that Beaudette wrote the truth at a time when science was a bit confused and not quite willing to accept it right away.Slowly it will gain momentum, understanding and finally acceptance.Congratulations on a book that is very well written with class, authority, and no doubt, with hard work, the old fashion way:a book for all seasons.
Dr. Michael R. Staker, P.E. ... Read more

Product Description
Frank Close, a leading physicist and talented popular science writer, reveals the true story of the cold fusion controversy--a story ignored until now in spite of the glare of publicity surrounding Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons. On March 23, 1989, these two Utah scientists held an astonishing press conference, maintaining that they had succeeded, working in secret, in harnessing atomic fusion. What was the basis for their claims to have achieved cold fusion in a test tube in a basement laboratory, while other scientists--using magnets as big as houses and temperatures hotter than those in the center of the sun--were failing to produce as much power as they were using? Why did Fleischmann and Pons proclaim their "discovery" at a news conference, when first announcements of scientific results are almost always made within the scientific community? Why did the full-blown media event inspired by their initial report cause governments to reorient their research programs in hopes of cornering the "new technology"? And why did some scientists recklessly abandon their traditional painstaking methods in haste to be first to prove or discredit the experiment? Acquainted at first hand with investigations of cold fusion on two continents, Close is uniquely qualified to probe the motivations behind Fleischmann's and Pons's startling assertions and to explore the intellectual and political turmoil that surrounded the cold fusion debate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Sun on Earth
1. The fusion reaction produced 26 watts per centimeter cubed, about four and half times the energy put into it, heated up to 5000 degrees F and vaporized a block of palladium, destroyed a fume cupboard, and damaged the concrete floor.
2. The evidence of fusion in addition to heat was the detection of neutrons, tritium and helium.
3. Palladium has an affinity for hydrogen and can absorb 900 times its own volume of hydrogen.Hydrogen pours between the empty atoms of Palladium and it fills up the metal by some ten percent in all directions, putting it under great internal pressure - many thousand times the atmospheric pressure.The increased closeness of the hydrogen was believed to increase the likelihood of fusion occurrences.
4. 1927, Peter and Paneth used hydrogen gas from water.Paneth used Palladium as the cathode (positively charged) so that the hydrogen was attracted to it.The electric voltage forced the hydrogen into the Palladium until the hydrogen was several thousand times the atmospheric pressure.The Helium and energy device was not granted a patient.
5. Two protons can not make one, helium.They can survive the electrical disruptions on their own.Stable helium contains neutrons.
6. d=deuterium p=proton T=tritium He=helium then d(np)+d(np)=he3(npp)+nor d(np)+d(np) = he3(npp)+p
7. The combined mass of the final produce is smaller than the combined initial mass of the initial nuclei.The mass has been converted into energy E=mc^2.Energy is manifested as kinetic energy.
8. Nuclear process release a million more energy than chemical processes, MeV, Million electron volt.
9. A neutron carries away 2.45 MeV of energy, a proton carries away 3 MeV.
10. Two deuterium atoms combining into Helium 4, give off a gamma ray or 24 MeV of energy.The He4 is ten million times less frequent than the neutron or tritium production channels.
11. For fusion to be successful more energy must be released than is consumed.
12. A muon is 207 times heavier than an electron.Muonic hydrogen would be 207 times smaller than ordinary hydrogen.Muons have a mean life of 2.2 millionths of a second.A muon would behave much like a neutralized proton or neutron.
13. Cold fusion seem probable with muon hydrogen in proximity to deuterium; the proton fuses with the Deutrium forming Helium 3 and energy.The energy generated can kickout the muon.
14. Will muon technology produce more energy output than the particle accelerated energy used to create the muon?
15. INEL created a gold lined stainless steel container that could hold deuterium and tritium gases and managed to achieve a rte of eight fusons per muon, where the energy released exceeded the rest energy of a muon.

Electrochemistry:

1. The affects of electrochemistry are high pressures and high temperatures, two conditions required to produce fusion. Fleischmann and Pons used 4 volts to split sodium chloride into sodium and chloride atoms.By heat it would have required a temperature of 40,000 degrees.Electrochemistry was millions of times more efficient.
2. The apparatus: A battery is connected to an anode, a coil of platinum wire surround a palladium rod (1 inch by ¼ inch diameter) and has a small hole to let out gases. The positively charge hydrogen ions are attracted to the negatively charged Palladium. The cell is filled with heavy water and the cell surrounded by water. If a fusion reaction occur inside the cathode, a neutron will be emitted which enters the water and emitting a gamma ray of energy, 2.2 MeV.
3. By forcing deuterium into the palladium host, the energy of the system changes.Pons and Fleischmann estimated the chemical potential of the deuterium could be raised by 0.8 eV through the application.The potential to reach such potentials by compression was 10^27 atmospheres. The pressure of the sun on earth.

Zero Point energy Solution

1. The nuclear reactions in the Palladium had to be 10^11 or one hundred billion reactions a second to generate one watt.

2. 1 joule is 6X10^18 electron volts than 1 watt is 10^12 Million electron volts per second.

3. The Watts must convert to heat.

4. Deuterium gas does spontaneously fuse and the hydrogen density in Palladium is less than advantageous unless an external power source is introduced.

5. X-rays of Palladium through a process called crystallography reveal that the closest that a deuterium nuclei when inside palladium is 0.17 nanometers, more than double the bond distance in deuterium gas molecules of 0.07 nanometers.

6. Pons and Fleishmann were only capable of creating, a 1,000 atmospheres, a far distance reach from 10^27 atmospheres they were predicting.

7. Hutchinson and Scott started experimenting with excess heat generation. An electrochemist where in Charles Scott group reported producing 2 to 3 watts in excess heat. Electrolysis was splitting the D20 inside the cell into deuterium and oxygen but in the closed cell recombining into D20. After 1300 hours, they ran the external water bath at 8 degree C and the excess heat began and continued unabated for 200 hours. The rod was 3 mm diameter and 8.5 cm long palladium and the current density was 85 mm amps/cm^2. 37.6 watts in and 39 watts out.

8. Pon and Fleischmann claimed heat excess of 100 times that from any conceivable chemical reaction. 5 Mega Joules per cm^3 in 100 hours. 10 watts of excess power per cm^3 of palladium, for 120 hours, or 4 MJ of energy.

9. Hydrogen neuron hitting water would produce a gamma radiation of 2.2 MeV with 20,000 events. However, heat not neutrons was the initial observed phenomena. Was it possible that 2.5 MeV with the sharp peak was the correct cold fusion profile?

10. Fleischman said they measured gamma rays up to about 3MeV and say 2.6 MeV decays of thallium. The other peak would have been natural occurring Potossium at 1.4 MeV.

11. Garvin said the fusion peak was the wrong shape.

12. Fleischmann said time to load hydrogen ions into Palladium is time grows as the square of the diameter, one week for 2mm and one month for 4mm.

A testament to the scientific method
The fusion of light atoms found in water has been viewed as the holy grail for meeting global energy needs. To date, science has spent millions of dollars on fusion research, trying to create the effect in plasmas with temperatures of hundreds of million degrees fahrenheit. But what if there was a simpler way to fuse atoms? In 1989, two chemists believed they found it. The scientific community was initially turned on its ear by the announcement. The history of the "cold fusion" experiments and the quest to verify them are the subject of Frank Close's "Too Hot to Handle."

Frank Close's book is really a cautionary tale of what happens when sloppy science meets with equal amounts of greed, media hype, and a genuine desire to believe in the impossible. "Too Hot to Handle" is a testament to those scientists who methodically examined cold fusion and relied on the scientific method to arrive at the truth. It also examines the realm of possibilites (particulalrly the negative ones) that would open should fusion power become commercially viable.

Frank Close writes his book with general audiences in mind, but a basic knowledge of atomic physics (the nucleus, neutrons, protons, radiation, gamma rays, fission, and fusion) is a prerequisite. He often repeats himself with explanations of the fusion processes and their consequences. Readers should be forewarned that Close uses British spellings and grammatical conventions. The book also looks like it was edited in a hurry, as there are several typographical errors in the text that slow down readability when they emerge.

"Too Hot to Handle" is a solid book that presents a lot of information compiled over a very short amount of time. It addresses a phenomenon that has been discounted by most scientists, but some still persist in believing in it. Hopefully this work will serve as a light in the darkness to future scientists, regardless of their field of study. ... Read more

Product Description
Offering the prospect of clean, safe, and unlimitedenergy, nuclear fusion has long been the shining hope for a worlddisastrously dependent on dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.Twogenerations of the brightest scientific minds and billions of dollarshave been devoted to designing and building experimental reactors thatmimic the unimaginably extreme temperatures and pressures needed toproduce nuclear reactions akin to those that power the Sun and thestars.

Then, suddenly, in the spring of 1989, Stanley Pons and MartinFleischmann, research chemists at the University of Utah, made anannouncement that rocked the scientific world and made front-page newsfor months to follow.Their claim to have achieved nuclear fusion ina simple tabletop experiment and at room temperature defied sacrosanctconventional physical theories.And the scientific establishmentwould not take that challenge of cold fusion lying down.Withinhours, even as the press was proclaiming a possible new era ofunlimited clean energy, cries of disbelief and accusations ofscientific misconduct and even fraud were heard from withinprofessional circles.

Researchers in laboratories around the world mobilized in anunprecedented effort to explain Pons and Fleischmanns experiments.A mountain of confusing, seemingly contradictory results began to pileup.Soon, leading scientific journals were regularly publishing coldfusion obituaries, and bitter editorials questioning the methods andmotives of the cold fusion pioneers.Cold fusion was dead. . . or wasit?Almost unnoticed, a steadfast group of hundreds of optimisticresearchers around the world continues to search for a solution to thetantalizing cold fusion enigma.

In Fire from Ice, astronautical engineer and well-known author, EugeneMallove, sheds a new and very different light on the cold fusionconfusion. Based on personal interviews with many of the peopleinvolved, as well as his firsthand experiences in laboratories andscientific conferences, he offers a unique insiders view of thatdivisive controversy, while at the same time clearly explaining therelevant science and technology.And Dr. Mallove convincingly arguesthat cold fusion may yet prove to be real.

A story of scientific ambition and professional rivalry, politicalintrigue and hard science, Fire from Ice is the fascinating account ofone of the most intense and momentous scientific controversies of alltime. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

This Book Will be a Collectors Item
Eugene Mallove tragically lost his life earlier this year in a simple act of barbarism.So odd that a man who devoted his life to one of the most neglected and abstract fields of science in the late 20th Century would die in such a senseless manner.Luckily, Gene's lifes work will not be a waste, as Cold Fusion is finally starting to achieve the recognition it rightly deserves.It will be pinoneers like Dr. Mallove who will be remembered for keeping the Cold Fusion flame alive during some of its darkest moments.Buy and read this book, it's sure to be a collectors item soon, as Cold Fusion will soon emerge as a mainstream field of science and Dr. Mallove will be exonerated for persuing such a taboo field of science.

A must read!
I am a Coast to Coast AM listener. I would like to have everyone read his book. It is remarkable. I think that the leaders of the world should all have a copy! I would also like to send my deepest prayers to the family of this beloved author, Eugene Mallove. He and his work will be greatly missed. Blessings to his family and friends.

Read this book!
I thought this was a great book.If you want an intriguing book about the controversial energy source of the future you must read this book.It is an excellent read!

An example of wishful ideation ?
As far as style of thinking is concerned, Dr. Mallove is far closer to, e.g., creationists than to, e.g., Carl Sagan.He has let his intense messianic desire that cold fusion be a reality completely cloud hisscientific judgement.The loony, physics-ignorant hordes of cold-fusionadvocates include such worthies as a fellow in Australia who has sold kitsof magnets and a ball-bearing which he has claimed will roll around aclosed track forever with no visible means of propulsion.Dr. Mallove doesnot refute such garbage.In this reviewer's opinion he is eitherdelusional or simply a con man on a par with Erich von Daniken or WhitleyStrieber.

Balanced treatment of a profound and overlooked discovery
Mallove has produced a fine documentary of the early days of the cold fusion controversy, which has developed into an underground science.Ignorance of this discovery will be viewed with the kind of curiosity thatcauses us to wonder why the discovery of the 'cat's wisker' transistor inthe 20's did not lead to any kind of serious research effort for severaldecades in a world that desperately needs clean energy. ... Read more

Product Description
Recent progress in the emerging field of condensed matter nuclear science (CMNS) is presented as a combination of basic nuclear science, energy, nanomaterials science, electro-chemistry and nuclear physics. Key and selected papers from an important conference in this exciting area provide the latest advances in CMNS studies. Current results from cold fusion and condensed matter nuclear science are included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Helium 4 and Energy
Two speeding nuclei do not have the speed to over the barrier between them. Hydrogen is composed of an one proton with one electron circling.Water or H2O has two protons with two electrons circling. Deuterium has one proton and one neutron and one electron.Heavy water is composed of two deutrerium nuclei and one oxygen for a total of two protons and two neutrons and two electrons. A very rare isotope called tritium has one proton and two neutrons with a orbiting electron.Possible fusion reaction combinations requiring temperatures between 45-400 million degrees celius 1. deutrerium plus tritum producing helium 4 and a neutron 2. deuterium and helium 3 producing helium 4 and a proton 3. deuterium and deutrium producing either helium 3 and a neutron or tritium and a proton.The problem is getting nuclei close enough together because like charges repel each other.

Quantum tunneling occurrs the nuclei jump through the repulsion barrier between the two nuclei.Quantum uncertainty suggests that there is always a finite but small probability that the nucleus will find itself in another location, at the other side of the barrier that separates them. This is how nuclei in high temperature plasm interact.If they can get close enough for a long enough time, they are able to complete the process by tunneling through the repulsive forces and fuse.

University of Utah, Martin Fleischmann and Stanely Pons announced they had obtained nuclear fusion at room temperature.Fleischmann and Pons experiment cell begins with a rare metal called Palladium.Palladium has the ability to absorb hydrogen, a piece of palladium can absorb up to 900 times its own volume of hydrogen.As hydrogen enter the palladium atoms, they give up their other electrons.They hydrogen atomes are packed together. Fleischman and Pons needed an additional force to get the deuterium nuclei closer together.They realized the most practical way was by using an electrolytic cell. The current caused the oxygen and deuterium to separate; the hydrogen leaves behind its electron and the hydrogen and oxygen become a positively charged nucleus.If the electrolysis conditions were right the deuterium would not boil off but enter into the palladium. Pushing up the voltage one the cell would increasing the electrical pressuring on the deuterium nuclei crowding them even more tightly into the electrode.Pons and Fleischman were estimating with the voltage they were using, they were achieving a pressure equivalent to 100 trillion trillion times that of atmospheric.The conditions inside the palladium rod equivalent to that of a core star.The idea was that deutrium had to be pumped into the negative palladum electrode until the deutrium nuclei were held so close that quantum tunneling would all them to fuse.Fleischmann and Pons argued the fusion reaction carried out with palladium was the reaction deutrium plus deutrium equals Helium 4 and energy, no neutron emissions and no radiation, just pure energy.The fusion reaction promised a totally clean form of nuclear energy with the need to worry about radiation.

Nuclear fusion offerred an unlimited source of clean energy. Fleischmann and Ponns budget was personally financed for a couple hundred thousand dollars, whereas, high power nuclear fusion costs exceeded $10 million requiring powerful lasers and electromagnets. The Deutertium and Palladium experiment had produced a 60 fold increase in heat and persisted over a 100 hours.To help understand the signficance of fusion energy lets look at the requirements to run a 1,000 megawatt generator for a year.The 1,000 megawatt power generator would take 20,000 railcars of coal for the year and an oil fire station would require a similar volume of oil.A single railcar of uranium will power a nuclear fission reactor for a year.However, one auto car full of water would power a nuclear fusion generator for a year.

... Read more

Product Description
Brilliant nuclear scientist, Arnie Baker, is working on the formula that will turn the world's predominant energy source from expensive, polluting fossil fuels to cheap and abundant Helium-3. He's just months from completion when his wife, Candace, is kidnapped by Russian operatives who will stop at nothing to ensure that Arnie does not finish the formula. Baker hires PI's Jim Sessions and Lenny Browning to find her. Just days later, the Russians contact Arnie, offering to exchange him for his wife.They renege on their deal, keeping Arnie and Candace captive in a remote chalet. Unknown to them, Sessions and Browning are hot on their trail.Thus begins a novel of mystery, espionage and intrigue as Jim and Lenny race the clock in an attempt to rescue Dr. Baker and his wife. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

fused with action!
starts out slow and quickly gains speed
a great rollercoaster of cold fusion ;-) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Cold Fusion starts very well but ends a little bit confused
Cold Fusion starts off well. A young Neurosurgeon Mhairi Magnusson is contracted by Zygote technologies to examine recently awakened coma patient John Cope. John remembers little from his past and as she starts to piecetogether his memory she learns of the lies and manipulation of Zygote. THerest of the story follows their hectic escape from the lab. I won't spoilthe ending, weird as it is for you. ... Read more

Product Description

Paleontologists and geologists are interested in the ages of fossils, rocks, and minerals, from which they deduce the ages of geologic strata in the Geologic Column. Scientists make use of radioactive dating methods, such as the radioactive decays of carbon 14, uranium 238, and thorium 232 in fossils and minerals. Accurate age determinations depend on knowing the rate of the radioactive emissions and the relative amounts of initial and product elements in the decay series. However, if an interfering nuclear change took place earlier, the perceived age of the earth deposit would have to be wrong.

In 1989, the discovery of cold fusion-the fusion of hydrogen to make helium and energy inside metal electrodes at room temperature-was announced by Drs. Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons at the University of Utah. Soon after, cold fusion research also revealed that nuclear transmutations, forming many new elements, occur liberally. Even purposely-added radioactive uranium and thorium in cold fusion-type cells resulted in transmutations, and the disappearance of up to 95 percent of the radioactivity in hours or minutes. In addition, special water pumps, invented in America and Europe, were discovered to generate "excess heat" and possible nuclear effects by intensely agitating water and creating "cavitation bubbles."

In Carbon Dating, Cold Fusion, and a Curve Ball, the author postulates interfering nuclear (element) changes occurring in the Earth, and proposes that extensive element transmutations occurred from intense hydrodynamics during the Flood of Noah (Genesis 6-8). If so, it is conceivable much alteration of radioactive elements took place, rendering unreliable the radioactive dating results in most analyses done today. A relatively simple test of this theory is outlined. The test would use a piece of bismuth metal, a tank of water, and a boat's outboard motor.

The book is written for the non-scientist, but those trained in the physical sciences or engineering are invited to examine the new hypothesis of Earth's element transmutations and the consequential alteration of dating earth material by radioactive elements. ... Read more

Product Description
"Business intelligence" is one of the hottest catch phrases circulating throughout the industry today and refers to a methodology for turning data into information.ColdFusion is a complete Web application server for developing and delivering scalable e-business applications.Business Intelligence with ColdFusion combines the two and provides a solid understanding of ColdFusion and project management principles while taking you through complete examples of how to successfully implement business intelligence.This book is geared toward the experienced application developer who might be new to ColdFusion.It includes a CD with a demo of a ColdFusion server, Allaire's Homesite and Studio, and a HTML version of the book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Worst Cold Fusion Book
I have the 2 Ben Forta books + Mastering CF and CF for Dummies. And this is the worst of the bunch. I would not recommend this for advance developers.This should have been entitled "Project Management for CF" not Business Intelligence.I don't need a lecture on project management (which this book focuses). To the publishers - I want techniques for Business Intelligence not Project Management! Thumbs Down!

Good overall introduction
I have some experience with ColdFusion development, and found the book to be a good introduction to an essential element of business intelligence--keeping the project on track.The first chapters of the book as well as the case study provided an easy-to-read introduction to the issue of project management (something I struggle with on all my development projects).Although the SQL coverage might seem superfluous, any seasoned developer will look to a robust database engine such as SQL Server to enable their applications: as it happens, I am fairly new to SQL so this coverage was a bonus for me.And, the CF examples--while somewhat basic--were nevertheless informative.A good start to a difficult topic--maybe there is a more robust, detailed second version in the works?

Disappointing
As an experienced developer who's somewhat new to Cold Fusion, I had hoped that this book would provide some new and useful ideas and source code.Boy was I wrong.

According to the book review, "This book is geared toward the experienced application developer who might be new to ColdFusion."Yet, in the introduction, the book says "This book assumes no prior knowledge of Coldfusion development".That's for sure!

The first four chapters are a beginner's introduction to project management.Skip if you have ever been on a software project team or taken a class in project management.

Chapters five through nine are a rehash of the Cold Fusion manual.Skip if you have the manual or can download it from Allaire's web site.

Chapters 10 through 13, the heart of the book, cover developing a project plan and finally show us some code.The example code is deja vu all over again.Skip if you have any other book on Cold Fusion.

The second half of the book is a complete departure from Cold Fusion entirely (except for an Appendix on Cold Fusion Administrator - again, skip if you have the manual).

Amazingly, seven entire chapters are devoted to installing and testing SQL Server.What in blazes does this have to do with Cold Fusion?We're talking nearly 200 off-topic pages here ...

Skip the second half of this book if you have any book on SQL Server or (like me) are using Oracle and Apache web server.

This book might be okay for a first course in web database development.For serious developers who are truly interested in "Business Intelligence", I consider it a waste of money.

What experienced developers need is a book with a title like "Algorithms in Cold Fusion".How about it, O'Reilly? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Science at it's best
This book so easily explains the "hoopla" concerning the whole cold fusion issue.Great reading!

cold hoopla explained perfectly
As a daughter of a scientist, I could relate to the skeptics out there who question the theory of whether cold fusion can be proven or if it should actually just be called hoopla as Dr. Nathan Hoffman would say.If so, I could say that after reading this book, you will lay the book down with a strong view of optimism for cold fusion, or perhaps a stronger appreciation for scientific study. Either way, the impact of science regardlessin what field will amaze you and leave you hungry for more!!!

CALLING A SPADE A SPADE
Hoffman explains how so many scientist could have erroneously concluded that cold fusion worked.He describes processes that were heretofore misunderstood and led to the fiasco that became the "Cold Fusion Hoopla."His remarks were right on the money, for as we see five years later, cold fusion has not become the panacea that it was made out to be.

The most outstanding book on cold fusion written to date.
Informative,engaging,humorous and illuminating. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is an intimate memoir of a very vivid set of experiences in the author’s life. Fascinated by a distant event, she becomes so drawn into it; she loses her mind, in the eyes of the world. Yet to her, it is a profoundly enlightening and moving experience, which instead of fading, only grows. Life imitates art, which imitates life and back again. What really is the nature of our consciousness, and what are its possibilities? Do we have any idea? ... Read more

Product Description
Written by some of the most respected ColdFusion developers around, this book is the only source for advanced the information needed by serious ColdFusion developers. From security issues and solutions to scripting the development environment, from fault-tolerance and load-balancing to distributed processing, from server sandbox deployment to intelligent agents, from writing language extensions to COM DCOM and CORBA integration, this book contains a wealth of hard earned knowledge gained by years of real-world experience.-Programmers, HTML developers, webmasters, network administrates, and database administrators alike will benefit from the techniques, technologies, and concepts taught in this book.-This book is design to be used in conjunction with (and as an extension to) our best-selling "ColdFusion 4 Web Application Construction Kit", ISBN 078971809X. Amazon.com Review
Written as an advanced companion to Ben Forta'sColdFusion 4.0 WebApplication Construction Kit, Advanced ColdFusion 4.0Application Development is a topical guide to the moresophisticated aspects of ColdFusion 4.0.

The book is organized intofour independent parts--scalability, security, extending ColdFusion,and advanced application development. Scalability covers the variousways to keep track of your server performance, scale upconfigurations, and keep track of clients. This first part also coversCluster Cats--a load-balancing solution bundled with the Enterpriseversion of ColdFusion 4.

In the security section, the authordiscusses the User Authentication Framework and security sandboxes andexplains how to integrate ColdFusion security with your networkoperating system. The third part focuses on how to modify and extendthe ColdFusion environment to truly make the most of it. It beginswith an extensive discussion on custom tags and CFX tags and thencovers integration with Delphi, CORBA, Visual Tool Markup Language(VTML), and customization of the development environment.

The finalpart is a rapid-fire discussion of many key areas: Web Dynamic DataExchange, code sharing with Visual Basic and Perl, scripting,intelligent agents, and interactions with the System Registry. Thebook wraps up with useful appendices that provide references for tags,functions, VTML, the Wizard Markup Language (WIZML), and the DTD fileformat. A companion CD-ROM provides a trial version of ColdFusion to makethis definitive work complete. --Stephen W. Plain ... Read more

Customer Reviews (43)

The best you can find.
This book was more valuable to me than any allaire class.Sometimes I wish it explained concepts that might be new for non-traditional programmers, but overall the book is wonderful.

Great follow-up to the first book!
This is a necassary piece for your technical library if you are a ColdFusion developer.I am a certified coldfusion developer and find this book to be invaluable for reference.It is a usual great Ben Forta read!

A must for any CF enthusiast
To find good books on CF is difficult.Ben Forta however has published two of the best.This book takes you from server performance to WDDX and custom tags.I really enjoyed the appendixes in this book which give you not only tag and function references, but good examples alonf with a description.

If you want to learn CF you must buy this book.No CF library can exist without this reference tool.I am using CF 4.5 currently, and I still use this book as a reference.

This book lacks in simple database principles.
I've found this book somewhat incomplete.You can find better information about tags within the Cold Fusion Studio tags help. For instance the lack of trying to figure out how to dynamicly loop, and display values from a returned recordset. It only shows how to display hard coded values like #fieldname# not query. and then the dynamic name. There was no mention of columnlist after your query or anything.It basically just shows tons of hard coding which I find incomplete. For an advanced book it should have contained much much more.Ben Forta its not that great

Straight from the manual
I've been programming ColdFusion for almost 2 years now, and the lack of good programming books in this great web development language isunfortunate.Forta's books on Cold Fusion are a scam...they mirror themanuals that come with the product almost perfectly.He may change thetable names and databases, but he gives the same number of examples foreach topic... ... Read more