Cold Fusion: The Making of a Scientific Controversy

by F. David Peat

The "cold fusion story" is told here in about the degree of detail characteristic of the special features pages of a good newspaper; those who followed the story as it broke will encounter here little or nothing that is new, but others may find this a handy resource. The author provides enough simple background material to permit non-scientific readers to understand the technical points at issue, and has been at pains not to take sides. The story may retain no relevance to the enduring substance of science, but it reveals tellingly some disturbing aspects of the contemporary practice of science. Nicely produced for a book rushed so quickly into print (the story "began", in a certain sense, on March 23, 1989 less than a year ago!), with a few simple figures. (NW) Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Genres: Science

188 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1989

About the author

He has worked actively as a theoretical physicist in England and Canada.

But Peat's interests expanded to include psychology, particularly that of Carl Jung, art and general aspects of culture, including that of Native America. Peat is the author of many books including a biography of David Bohm, with whom Peat collaborated, books on quantum theory and chaos theory, as well as a study of Synchronicity. Since moving to the village of Pari in Italy, Peat has created the Pari Center for New Learning.

Reviews

[Tippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very good read, and started off strongly. i never thought i would understand what tokamaks are and the differences between nuclear fusion and fission. the last few chapters became VERY repetitive - seems a bit rushed and definitely could have been revised with an editor, which is a shame because this is where all the drama was re:cold fusion. i really appreciated the implications section, seemed very well thought out and ahead of it's time and not wholly unrealistic. author did their best to give a balanced view as well, i expected a thorough dismissal of the findings, but instead i got the rationale behind what could have/couldn't have been (though, again, repetitive).

[Dennis Kocik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting discussion of the emergence of cold fusion and its possible future as an energy source.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to read a book published in the midst of the Cold Fusion frenzy (1989). The authors predictions on what the future could hold are introduced with due scientific caution but go on to become extravagant (communities on the moon).