Andrea Rossi (entrepreneur)
Encyclopedia
Andrea Rossi is an Italian inventor and entrepreneur. He is the inventor of the Energy Catalyzer
(also called E-Cat) a supposed cold fusion
or Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) thermal power source. He also invented a process to convert organic waste into oil for which, in 1978, he founded a company named Petroldragon.
In the 1990s he was jailed for environmental crimes and tax fraud, serving time in prison. He was later acquitted. He holds several patents in chemistry and physics.
.
In 1973, Rossi graduated cum laude in Philosophy of Science and Engineering at the University of Milan
with a thesis
on Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
and its interrelationship with Edmund Husserl
’s Phenomenology. His advisor was Professor Ludovico Geymonat
.
He then founded Petroldragon, a company for developing oil from waste, which collapsed in the 1990s amidst allegations of dumping toxic waste.
News of the Rossi procedure, patented in Italy, was reported by major newspapers. Jimmy Carter
showed his interest in the technology, and offered Rossi a permanent entry visa to the United States. After ten months’ work and a financial investment of half a billion Lire, Petroldragon had a facility that produced twenty tons of fuel oil a day, transforming one hundred tons of organic waste.
In the early 1990s the company was disbanded following accusations of dumping environmental toxins, as well as tax fraud. Its assets were seized, together with Rossi's personal assets, and Andrea Rossi was arrested and imprisoned. Subsequently released, Rossi emigrated to the United States, and went on to found Leonardo Technology Incorporated. More than 10 years after his imprisonment, Rossi was acquitted.
by using thermoelectric generators. Such devices are normally only used for refrigeration (Peltier effect), because the efficiency for generating electrical power is only a few percent. Rossi suggested that his devices could attain 20 % efficiency. A demonstration that he conducted at the University of New Hampshire
produced 100 volt at 1 ampere (100 watt) during a week. Larger modules would be manufactured in Italy. Rossi sent 27 thermoelectric devices for evaluation to the Engineer Research and Development Center; 19 of these did not produce any electricity at all. The remaining units produced less than 1 watt each, instead of the expected 800–1000 watt.
claimed to have successfully demonstrated commercially viable cold fusion in a device called an Energy Catalyzer
, although in an interview Rossi claimed that his Energy Catalyzer is not working on the basis of cold fusion, but weak [force] nuclear reactions. The international patent application received an unfavorable international preliminary report on patentability because it seemed to "offend against the generally accepted laws of physics and established theories" and to overcome this problem the application should have contained either experimental evidence or a firm theoretical basis in current scientific theories. Journalists were not allowed to examine the core of the reactor, and there is still uncertainty about the viability of the invention.
Energy Catalyzer
The Energy Catalyzer is a supposed cold fusion or Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction heat source built by inventor Andrea Rossi, with support from physicist Sergio Focardi...
(also called E-Cat) a supposed cold fusion
Cold fusion
Cold fusion, also called low-energy nuclear reaction , refers to the hypothesis that nuclear fusion might explain the results of a group of experiments conducted at ordinary temperatures . Both the experimental results and the hypothesis are disputed...
or Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) thermal power source. He also invented a process to convert organic waste into oil for which, in 1978, he founded a company named Petroldragon.
In the 1990s he was jailed for environmental crimes and tax fraud, serving time in prison. He was later acquitted. He holds several patents in chemistry and physics.
Biography
Andrea Rossi was born in 1950 on the 3rd of June, in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
In 1973, Rossi graduated cum laude in Philosophy of Science and Engineering at the University of Milan
University of Milan
The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....
with a thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
on Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
and its interrelationship with Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
’s Phenomenology. His advisor was Professor Ludovico Geymonat
Ludovico Geymonat
Ludovico Geymonat was an Italian Marxist philosopher, who gave an original turn to dialectical materialism....
.
Petroldragon
In 1974, he registered a patent for an incineration system. In 1978, he wrote The Incineration of Waste and River Purification, published in Milan by Tecniche Nuove.He then founded Petroldragon, a company for developing oil from waste, which collapsed in the 1990s amidst allegations of dumping toxic waste.
News of the Rossi procedure, patented in Italy, was reported by major newspapers. Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
showed his interest in the technology, and offered Rossi a permanent entry visa to the United States. After ten months’ work and a financial investment of half a billion Lire, Petroldragon had a facility that produced twenty tons of fuel oil a day, transforming one hundred tons of organic waste.
In the early 1990s the company was disbanded following accusations of dumping environmental toxins, as well as tax fraud. Its assets were seized, together with Rossi's personal assets, and Andrea Rossi was arrested and imprisoned. Subsequently released, Rossi emigrated to the United States, and went on to found Leonardo Technology Incorporated. More than 10 years after his imprisonment, Rossi was acquitted.
Electricity from waste heat
In the US Rossi started the consulting firm Leonardo Technologies, Inc. (LTI). He secured a defense contract to evaluate the potential of generating electricity from waste heatWaste heat
Waste heat sometimes called Secondary heat or Low-grade heat refers to heat produced by machines, electrical equipment and industrial processes for which no useful application is found. Energy is often produced by a heat engine, running on a source of high-temperature heat...
by using thermoelectric generators. Such devices are normally only used for refrigeration (Peltier effect), because the efficiency for generating electrical power is only a few percent. Rossi suggested that his devices could attain 20 % efficiency. A demonstration that he conducted at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
produced 100 volt at 1 ampere (100 watt) during a week. Larger modules would be manufactured in Italy. Rossi sent 27 thermoelectric devices for evaluation to the Engineer Research and Development Center; 19 of these did not produce any electricity at all. The remaining units produced less than 1 watt each, instead of the expected 800–1000 watt.
Claims regarding nuclear fusion
In January 2011 Andrea Rossi and Professor Sergio FocardiSergio Focardi
Sergio Focardi is an Italian physicist, emeritus professor at the University of Bologna.He led the Department of Bologna of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences at the University of Bologna...
claimed to have successfully demonstrated commercially viable cold fusion in a device called an Energy Catalyzer
Energy Catalyzer
The Energy Catalyzer is a supposed cold fusion or Low-Energy Nuclear Reaction heat source built by inventor Andrea Rossi, with support from physicist Sergio Focardi...
, although in an interview Rossi claimed that his Energy Catalyzer is not working on the basis of cold fusion, but weak [force] nuclear reactions. The international patent application received an unfavorable international preliminary report on patentability because it seemed to "offend against the generally accepted laws of physics and established theories" and to overcome this problem the application should have contained either experimental evidence or a firm theoretical basis in current scientific theories. Journalists were not allowed to examine the core of the reactor, and there is still uncertainty about the viability of the invention.