August, 2004
Popular Mechanics
Image: UNRELENTING SUPPORT: Mallove kept the loose-knit network of cold fusion researchers together during years when the physics community dismissed their work as junk science. PHOTO BY MITCHELL SWARTZ
The potential of an energy breakthrough based on cold fusion has not gone unnoticed by Hollywood. Two thrillers based on cold fusion, "Chain Reaction" and "The Saint," have already made it to the box office. The real-life drama surrounding cold fusion has been equally curious, and on two occasions, tragic.
On Jan. 2, 1992, Andrew Riley, a young scientist working on cold fusion research at Stanford Research Institute, now known as SRI International, in Menlo Park, Calif., died after one of three cold fusion cells that were part of an experiment being conducted for the Electric Power Research Institute of Palo Alto, Calif., exploded. Three of his colleagues who were present in the laboratory were injured. The death was ruled accidental, caused by a piece of debris that had blocked piping, which resulted in a pressure buildup. One curious aspect of the episode remains. Critics of cold fusion have always pointed to the absence of any so-called radioactive "nuclear ash" as an indication of the failure of cold fusion. However, press photographers were barred from the room after the accident, and, according to then-published wire service stories, the lab equipment was buried because of fear of possible radioactive contamination.
Throughout the 15 years that cold fusion was in and out of the spotlight, Gene Mallove remained closely associated with the technology. His book, Fire From Ice, documented the rise and fall of cold fusion. Later, he founded the New Energy Research Laboratory and published Infinite Energy, a technical journal devoted to research on cold fusion.
On May 14, four days after he was interviewed by POPULAR MECHANICS, Mallove's body was found in the backyard of a rental property that his parents had owned in Norwich, Conn. Initial reports indicated he was the victim of a robbery. He died of injuries to the head and neck. As this issue goes to press, there have been no arrests and his murder investigation continues.
http://popularmechanics.com/science/research/2004/8/dangerous_science/index5.phtml