The Andrea Rossi 'E-CAT' (Energy Catalyzer) and how it's spawning ramptant speculation around the Internet

There is a fire storm of controversy running loose on the Internets, and soon it may begin seeping into mainstream coverage as well.  The controversy all surrounds the man pictured above, Andrea Rossi, and his radical claims of being able to produce cheap, limitless, and decentralized energy.

This story has been developing for most of this year and it has been ramping up in excitement these past few weeks.

So, first of all and up-front, let me make it abundantly clear that it is an almost 100% absolute certainty that the 'E-Cat' is a fraud and hoax.  However, that doesn't make the story itself particularly less interesting to follow and, even as a hoax, it becomes very difficult to figure out how Rossi intends to get away with anyone's money without ending up in court or jail over the affair.

But I suppose that's just more of the mystery when trying to figure out what is this odd character is up to.

So, here are the reasons that this is almost for certain a hoax and conscious fraud.  I have a friend who says that one possibility is that Rossi is simply misinterpreting his data and is not consciously committing fraud; but if you examine the facts surrounding this case that doesn't seem very likely.

• Cold Fusion (now rebranded LENR) has not been accepted as a legitimate scientific phenomenon
• Rossi has never published any of his work in a peer reviewed scientific journal.
• Rossi carefully controls all tests of his device.
• Rossi intentionally misleads people in his experiments by confusing the question of energy output.  He has not once demonstrated a device which produces electricity.  Instead he produces varying amounts of steam of questionable quality and energy content.  However, by converting the steam to electricity; a simple task, he would then have a radically more compelling story to tell.
• Rossi claims to have a 'secret catalyst' which he withholds.  His patent for the device does not explain how it would even work, since the secret magic catalyst sauce is missing.
• The effect claimed by Rossi has not been independently replicated by anyone, anywhere, any time.  This is probably the most damning piece of evidence.  Until there is independent replication and publication of those results, this all just remains a huge circus side show.
• Rossi has a colorful past.
• Rossi is prone to emotional outbursts which include frequent use of ALL CAPS LETTERS WHEN POSTING MESSAGES TRYING TO DEMONSTRATE HOW SMART HE IS!!!

So, that's just a handful of the reasons to assume this entire thing is a fraud and a hoax.  As I said before, that doesn't make it an any less an interesting story.

On other blogs and websites people have focused on how an invention like this could transform the planet and society.  If Rossi's device is real, he stands to become the first trillionare on the planet.

I believe part of the fascination with a story like this is the same attraction we have when dreaming what it would be like if we were to win the lottery.  Even though there is an infinitesimally small chance that any of us would win the lottery who hasn't bought a ticket once in their life solely so they could play out the "What If" scenario in their head if they were to win.

That is the fascination we have with the Rossi story.  Even though odds are that there is absolutely nothing here the question remains...but what if...it were true?

Others have played out the scenario of what it might mean if suddenly, over night, we had a limitless supply of clean cheap energy which, most importantly, could be delivered in a decentralized fashion.  What if every person could produce their own electricity, on demand, to meet their personal needs without having to be 'on the grid'.  How dramatically this would transform society, culture, economies, and raise the standard of living of every person on the planet is a captivating idea to explore.  And, of course, don't forget about the most dramatic impact of all.  We would stop raping our planet and environment as we have been doing for far too long.

There are some who go down this line of speculation and wonder if the powers that be, the current multi-trillion dollar petro-chemical industries which would be wiped out by such an invention, would ever let it happen?  One way they could prevent it is by demonizing the technology.  They could claim that it is dangerous, needs more study, and could even be used as a terrorist weapon.

There is one flaw with that strategy.  For every country which would try to restrict or limit the adoption of this new technology there would be five countries which would accept it with open arms.  And, since we live in a global economy, no nation could afford to not also use the technology for themselves.  Kind of hard to compete against an economy which has access to cheap limitless energy.

The other 'what if' scenario that fascinates me is how the scientific establishment would react to finding out just how horribly wrong they had been.  How would they react to the knowledge that by actively repressing and suppressing research into LENR they had set the world back by almost two decades unnecessarily.  While there be any comeuppance?  Will anyone admit, and learn, from these errors?

Another what if it were real question, is what might be done with the technology once more scientists and engineers could understand it.  After all, Rossi's device would likely be the 'Model-T' of LENR power plants and, in a short period of time our minds might be blown by rapid advances in using this technology to greater and greater effect.

So, in the end, it all boils down to this.  Enjoy the story.  Watch it unfold.  Chances are it's a hoax and we will all have a chuckle about this one when Rossi goes to jail for fraud.  Or, who knows, maybe there is something to it after all.  Only time will tell but isn't it fun to scratch that lottery ticket and wonder?