David Goodstein

David Goodstein is a physics professor and vice provost of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. In the following viewpoint, Goodstein asserts that cold fusion—nuclear fusion at room temperature—is theoretically impossible. He chronicles the experiments of scientists worldwide who claim to have achieved cold fusion, but he contends that much of this research has been disproven and that the remaining evidence is inconclusive.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Goodstein, what do experts agree would be the primary event caused by cold fusion?
2. Which groups decided to fund cold fusion research, according to the author?
3. In Goodstein’s opinion, what could be cold fusion’s missing ingredient"

Cold Fusion is a pariah field, cast out by the scientific establishment. Between...