This is a novel in German (title transl.: Fusion Fever), of the kind the
author likes to call Fiction in Science, in analogy to Carl Djerassi's term,
Science in Fiction, as exemplified by himself and CP Snow. It is called a
novel, but appears to be the story of Kreysa's attempt to come to grips with
cold fusion. The names associated with cold fusion are changed here but are
recognisable. The story covers the period during which Kreysa/Trosa and
coworkers carried out their own tests, and came to the conclusion that CNF
was an error, some of it able to be explained by orthodox phenomena. The
fascinating aspect of the book is the turmoil "Trosa" and his colleagues
were in during the experiments, given the various news reports and the
pressures exerted on them, both by politicians and the press. They vacillated
between belief, disbelief, disgust and hope. The story gives some insight on
the role of authority, or the emotional pressure on a scientist, in conflict
between an unlikely claim and the authority of the person making it; an
interesting study in the sociology of science.
|
