Energy Catalyser: Potential game changer

In 1985 the Norwegian music band, "A-ha" released a music video entitled "Take on me" which showed lead singer Morten Harket reminiscing over his love life as he interacts with moving images of his lover on a sheet of paper. While the song became an instant hit; the concept of an interactive multimedia device only received a baffled response of uh huh from viewers. Fast forward to the present age and any self-respecting techie will greet mention of such technology with an unimpressed duh. Bottom line technology is evolving rapidly and it is creating new possibilities every day. Fortunately, technological advances are not restricted to personal entertainment devices. In fact, as the worlds energy needs continue to mushroom, alternative energy has been the buzzword among visionary inventors and savvy investors. These visionaries, keen on riding the waves of innovation, are eyeing a promising new technology on the horizon that could wash away conventional energy generation technologies. On October 28, Italian inventor Andrea Rossi and his associate Sergio Focardi will test their invention called the "Energy Catalyser" (E-Cat). Rossi contends that this apparatus is capable of "carrying out nickel and hydrogen exothermal reactions". Put simply, the E-Cat is supposed to carry out a fusion reaction which converts a Nickel atom, into a Copper atom, releasing heat as a consequence. This heat can be channellised to power electrical devices, vehicles or machinery much like a steam engine. Of course, there are many doubts surrounding this development. Chief among which is that theoretically, fusion reactions with any element, heavier than Iron (such as Nickel or Copper) are endothermic, not exothermic. In other words, the E-Cat apparatus would end up using more energy than it generates and would, hence, fail to live up to its intended purpose. While there are at least as many sceptics of the E-Cat as there are fans; the scheduled test has drawn global attention. If the apparatus is able to achieve what Rossi and Focardi claim; it could radicalise power generation and reign in global demand for fossil fuels. The "low energy nuclear reaction" would drive down the cost of power generation to a fraction of the cost incurred in even the cheapest conventional techniques such as hydro-power generation. Such a development would undoubtedly be a game changer for countries like Pakistan which are struggling to cough up resources enough to bridge the ever-widening chasm between the demand and generation capacity of electricity. Even if the E-Cat actually does what it is supposed to create energy at a miniscule cost; it would still take some time before the technology can be adapted for large-scale power generation. Still, the potential impact of this invention is almost unimaginably far-reaching and as such the upcoming test of this technology will likely draw much attention in coming days.