Editor’s note: Physicist Sadri Hassani’s SKEPTICAL INQUIRER article “Why E-Cat Is a Hoax” (Hassani 2019) explained how Andrea Rossi’s claims about his E-Cat (energy catalyzer) device are at variance with well-established laws of physics. But occasionally new observations might suggest modifications to those laws (see three-legged stool test at end). This is especially critical when there is apparent verification of the measurements by independent scientists. This shows the importance of scrutiny by skeptical investigators. In this article, Ian Bryce relates the results of his five-year investigation.
Introduction
The E-Cat (energy catalysis) apparatus is claimed to produce power through nuclear fusion, yet the operators somehow walk around it without any radiation effects. Fusion occurs in the center of the sun, other stars, and a hydrogen bomb, yet this device operates on a bench at room temperature. If it worked as claimed, it would require the rewriting of most physics textbooks. The inventor hopes for a Nobel Prize but lacks any science qualifications and has been incarcerated several times for previous energy schemes that were found not to work. Earlier cold fusion claims reported twenty-six milliwatts of power, but this one claims one megawatt. The evidence strongly suggests that the inventor was smuggling power in past the metering through a retasked earth lead.