Room-temperature superconductivity?

[MSimon]

Who said they were any good? The University of Chicago is different. At least according to the recent graduate I spoke to.

I doubt it very much. I have not yet seen any worthwhile physics coming from this institution. I am not qualified to judge other disciplines, but according to physics it would be better if this second rate institution is closed down permanentlty as soon as possible.

Ah. So despite the fact that the graduate I talked to was interested in the Inertia Question and saw it as a stumbling block in physics they are not teaching the subject correctly.

You know - denigrating the people you might need help from is no way to get that help. My social skills are in the bottom percentiles (just ask my mate) and even I know better than that. You want to get something done? Try making friends. It works better.

[MSimon]

BenTC,

You have done a pretty good job of laying out my position. My recent post (above) was written before I read yours.

[pfrit]

Who said they were any good? The University of Chicago is different. At least according to the recent graduate I spoke to.

I doubt it very much. I have not yet seen any worthwhile physics coming from this institution. I am not qualified to judge other disciplines, but according to physics it would be better if this second rate institution is closed down permanentlty as soon as possible.

I don't know how good their Physics department is now, but it has an amazing history. I do know that they are still heavily involved at Fermilabs. Heck, they still run the place. Fermi and Milliken did their best work at Chicago. Past laurels do not indicate future progress, but they seem to be still involved at the highest levels of physics. But what do I know.

[johanfprins]

Really. What was the point? I know you are probably just talking off the top of your head, ...

You are correct and I apologise profusely. I can only plead in mitigation that it is difficult to stay calm after having heard along the grapevine what is being said behind my back: The latter is not just inflammatory but libellous.

but if MSimon doesn't respond to that, does that mean you've won that little side issue and convinced him you are right - or does he just lose interest and you lose a supporter? (Though MSimon isn't that thin-skinned.)

My comment was out of bounds and a apologise to MSimon; It was especially uncalled for in view of the fact that MSimon has refreshingly displayed an open mind.

I don't mean that you should tippy-toe around everyone, but that WAS rather inflamitory. I would think it would be as important to win supporters, as win arguments. Rather than blandly invalidating someone's personal experience, you might have inquired further about what that graduate had been reported. Also, second rate institutions are still useful, we can't all be first-rate (by definition) - and it only takes one inspired lecturer to mix thing up.

Again in full agreement: Sorry I let slip!!

To extrapolate, you need to at least "look like" you are listening to people - even if its frustrating that you have to revisit the same thing over. Its each person's "first time" to consider these things.

The fact is that I do not need to "look like" I am listening since I always take the time to see the other person's viewpoint. If you do not, the chance is high that you can throw out the baby with the bathwater. This is why I have found this discussion forum so brilliant; and this is why there is no excuse for my "inflammatory" remark. Thanks for correcting me.

As much as you feel the "experts" have been against you, its not you against the whole world unless you make it so.

No not the whole world, but the whole "physics-church". If I have thought that the whole world is against me I would not have wasted time to write a book in which I prove that Einstein, Schroedinger and de Broglie should have won the argument against Bohr, Heisenberg and Born in 1927. I believe that the majority of people still has common sense.

I guess some of your book will require an review of the politics you've encountered - I just hope it doesn't get bogged down in it.

It could not be avoided and I also hope that I did not get bogged down in the politics. Therefore I have asked friends to proofread it. They DID cut out many inflammarory remarks.

Disclaimer: I have no views regarding the institution itself. I'm just a non-physics bystander responding to how it comes across.
MSimon, apologies for speaking for you.
Edit: some grammar, and the following...
Johan, having said that, please know that I have enjoyed and welcome the discussion you've contributed here. Please take my comments constructively.

I do and am grateful for your valuable input. I need it very much.

[johanfprins]

I don't know how good their Physics department is now, but it has an amazing history. I do know that they are still heavily involved at Fermilabs. Heck, they still run the place. Fermi and Milliken did their best work at Chicago. Past laurels do not indicate future progress, but they seem to be still involved at the highest levels of physics. But what do I know.

You are of course totally corect. I need my mouth washed out with soap. The Physics Department at the University of Chicago has a proud tradition. Sorry I have been hitting out like a cornered rat.

[MSimon]

You are correct and I apologise profusely. I can only plead in mitigation that it is difficult to stay calm after having heard along the grapevine what is being said behind my back: The latter is not just inflammatory but libellous.

Try being a blogger with a fair readership. People say that kind of thing to my face so to speak.

And your apology is accepted. We all have bad weeks.

==============

Your problem as I see it is this:

The sorry state of physics is well known among physicists. Maybe not 100%. Maybe not 50%, but at least 25% for sure.

You need to get your material before those 25% and have them start hammering you. Gloves off. You should encourage attacks on your material. In fact if you are doing real science you should welcome them.

So turn around your argument from "woe is me" to "thanks for paying attention".

==============

Americans seem to understand the requirement for marketing - see Bussard's Google Talk for a prime example. It seems to be in our bones. And I say this as some one who came very late to understanding the need for marketing.

So tell me: you have a book coming out. What is your marketing plan?

[BenTC]

Thanks Johan, I appreciate your response. It restores confidence in considering your views. It is human nature to get caught up defending our positions and we all get caught out from time to time. In your case however, given the battle you've picked against the core beliefs of some strong incumbents, you particularly need to guard against indoctrinating yourself as a contrarian.

With regard to your book, glad to hear your friends culled the more extreme remarks. However they were already acclimatised to your situation and sympathetic to your cause. You might consider about getting some neutral non-friends to proof-read it. I guess that is what editors are for.

[GIThruster]

I'm just wondering in what ways we can help Johan. I suppose once the book is done we can tell our friends, and they can tell two people, and they can tell two people. . .

Once it's in completed form, I'm pretty sure I can get a couple PhD EE's to take a look at. One is teaching at Rowan where the fish don't stink, and I think he'd be hugely interested in the entire story.

[johanfprins]

THANKS FOR ACCEPTING MY APOLOGY: IT IS REALLY SINCERE.

The sorry state of physics is well known among physicists. Maybe not 100%. Maybe not 50%, but at least 25% for sure.

My problem has been to find this 25%. Not even the help of Prof. Doris Wisdorf at the University of Virginia who helped to advise me in 1966, could break the barrier. Just when she became sure that she has a contact who expressed willingness to read a section of my book, which she claimed might be Nobel Prize material, she unfortunately died in April. I know the person she contacted and I know that he did receive a copy of this section and promised high and low that he will come back with an objective response: But so far dead silence!!

You need to get your material before those 25% and have them start hammering you. Gloves off. You should encourage attacks on your material. In fact if you are doing real science you should welcome them.

This is exactly what I have been trying to do the past 10 years; but have received very few responses. In the cases where I did get a response it was usually: "I do not have to read your manuscript since it is clear that it MUST be wrong!

So turn around your argument from "woe is me" to "thanks for paying attention".

This is exactly why I decided last year to write the present book. But it also required me to state the facts of what have happened to date: Not so much to look for sympathy but to show how bad physics has become. I personally know of bright youngsters, some of whom I have trained, who left physics in disgust because of this. We cannot afford this to keep on happening.

So tell me: you have a book coming out. What is your marketing plan?

I do not have any money left to afford a marketing plan. What I want to achieve is to sell it as soon as possible through my website making use of say PayPpal; and then hope that the income from sales will bootstrap me to go further.

I do not think that the physics community can be convinced that the probability interpretation is completely wrong, and am thus bargaining on the electrical engineers and chemists to become convinced that Schroedinger's waves have nothing in common with probabilities which actualise when one makes a measurement. A guy I would very much like to contact in this respect is Carver Mead, who also stated that this is so. But it seems that he is hiding. Is he maybe hounded by the theoretical physicists?

[johanfprins]

With regard to your book, glad to hear your friends culled the more extreme remarks. However they were already acclimatised to your situation and sympathetic to your cause. You might consider about getting some neutral non-friends to proof-read it. I guess that is what editors are for.

That has been done. If I did not at first vented my anger while writing the book I would have run out of steam. But the book has been sanitized since!

[johanfprins]

I'm just wondering in what ways we can help Johan. I suppose once the book is done we can tell our friends, and they can tell two people, and they can tell two people. . .

Once it's in completed form, I'm pretty sure I can get a couple PhD EE's to take a look at. One is teaching at Rowan where the fish don't stink, and I think he'd be hugely interested in the entire story.

This is what I hope will happen. Thanks for suggesting it. I am now more anxious to start selling it through my website in September!

[GIThruster]

I wonder if public presentations might be useful? I'd love to see both you and Randall Mills present at SPESIF 2011. If you can manage the trip, maybe spend more than the time at the conference and get together with Mills for a few days, share stories of how the status quo is beating up on you. . .

Please pass to others


March 15-17, 2011 at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD
www.ias-spes.org/SPESIF.html

All,

SPESIF is moving forward, but many more abstracts are needed.

The call for papers and presentations can be found at
http://www.ias-spes.org/SPESIF2011/Call ... papers.pdf

The authors/presenter page is at
http://www.ias-spes.org/SPESIF2011/SPES ... _page.html

Please submit your abstracts by 15 August to help us plan a better forum for all.

The SPESIF staff appreciates your patronage toward this forum and hopes to see you there,


With Regards,



Glen A. Robertson
Technical & Organizing Chair
Space, Propulsion & Energy Sciences International Forum
gar@ias-spes.org
256-694-7941


This technical forum is held by:


Institute for Advanced Studies in the Space, Propulsion & Energy Sciences
www.ias-spes.org
A Not-for-Profit Organization

[choff]

I thought I'd just throw this in for contrast and comment, every statement and every word used by Rick Nebel regarding the Polywell has been chosen with the utmost care, to prevent misquotation or accusation of a false claim. Emc2 has been especially cautious of being labelled as another cold fusion. That probably has more to do with the FOI request issue as anything.

[Giorgio]

To be accused of false claims you should make a claim before, and this IMHO has not happened yet. Neither from R. Nebel, neither from EMC2.

The FOI was submitted as a direct consequence of the total lack of informations from their part.

[johanfprins]

I wonder if public presentations might be useful? I'd love to see both you and Randall Mills present at SPESIF 2011. If you can manage the trip, maybe spend more than the time at the conference and get together with Mills for a few days, share stories of how the status quo is beating up on you. .

I would very much like to do so, but am not at present in the financial position to afford such a trip and since I have retired and have been villified by the South African Physics Community, it is doubtfull that I will be able to raise the funds. In fact, I have friends and family who helped me to the tune of $120,000 to date. It would be very insensitive to spend money on a trip instead of trying to refund them.

I would very much like to stand on a podium and prove how many aspects in elementary physics text books are just plain nonsense: For example (i) that there is an electric-field energy around a solitary electron is not possible since an electric-field only exists between charges; and (ii) similarly, that the Bohr hydrogen atom cannot have a magnetic moment caused by the circular movement of an electron, since such a moment would violate Maxwell's equations. This all in addition to the fallacy of the Copenhagen interpretation. I really feel sorry for Bohr, Heisenberg and Born: But the fact is that they created a "virtual reality" in physics! The saddest part is that the theoretical physicists since 1930 all embarked in following this path into cloud-cuckoo land. If ONLY they have listened to Einstein instead of writing him off as an old crank who has reached the end of the road!