Science: Fusion Fever Is on the Rise

A widely hailed experiment gains support, but doubts remain

Where will it all end? Fusion fever continued to rage throughout the scientific world last week, causing many ordinarily cautious scientists to jabber as though the revolution they hope for had already occurred. Cold fusion, the controversial "discovery" announced last month at the University of Utah, was proclaimed by one researcher to be "perhaps as significant as the invention of the wheel." Another said it "may be the most important discovery since fire." Most scientists are still dubious, especially about claims that the experiment produced four times the energy it consumed, but the prospect of virtually limitless energy has generated an...

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