The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, July 21, 1989, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    tion J ^
hpiJexasA&My^ JL.M. !•
li ne Battalion
\' \\\ \j ///y
WEATHER
TOMORROW’S FORECAST:
fAAl
Sunny and warm with a slight
chance of showers in the af-
Xv/lWWx
ternoon.
HIGH: 90s LOW: 70s
^^.nofl Vo1
. 88 No. 175 USPS 045360 6 Pages
College Station, Texas
Friday, July 21,1989
ist: A&M in ‘forefront’ of fusion studies
By Richard Tijerina
coupon M
WTAFF WRITER -
ms
ese
sserts
dded: Varies[*
tason Sunday
■ Texas A&M will continue to have a lead-
Hg role in cold fusion study and has a re-
Harch program that rivals any other in the
Country, a nuclear chemist at the Cyclotron
Institute said Thursday.
■ Dr. Kevin Wolf, a professor of chemistry
and one of the researchers who has been
■inducting experiments in cold fusion at
me Cyclotron, said that with 45 scientists in
volved in the research, A&M’s program is
“on par” with the University of Utah, where
ftientists claim to have achieved a sustained
Aiclear fusion reaction in a simple experi
ment.
■ “Right now, A&M’s role is at the foref-
rfent (of cold fusion research),” Wolf said.
RVe have a large research conglomerate
hi e that rivals anything anywhere. What’s
iniportant is having the right people at the
rjgnt areas, plus having enough people to
put the effort on.”
I The Cyclotron Institute at A&M is the $8
million computer-controlled facility that
juts the most advanced heavy-ion particle
beam capabilities of any university-based
research program in the nation and can
work with ions ranging from hydrogen to
uranium.
Five separate groups have been involved
in cold fusion research at A&M, Wolf said.
In addition to work at the Cyclotron, cold
fusion experiments have been conducted
on the A&M campus by two groups from
the chemistry department and two groups
from the engineering department.
An outside advisory committee recom
mended July 11 that the Department of En
ergy not grant the construction of new re
search facilities by the federal government.
However, their report did not recommend
to discontinue federal funding for fusion
research.
The committee, a group of about two
dozen scientists appointed by the DOE’s
Energy Research Advisory Board to assess
cold fusion, found the prospects of cold fu
sion dim and examined the status of re
search at A&M about a month ago.
Wolf said the committee was skeptical
about the theory of cold fusion when they
were at A&M but their final report was
more positive than he expected it to be.
“When they were here the members were
extremely biased against the whole con
cept,” he said. “They came up with ridicu
lous statements here. But the final report
was not as heavily biased as I expected.
They said funding for research should not
be shut off, which was a surprise to me they
would say that.”
Utah scientists said the decomposition of
water at room temperature into hydrogen
and oxygen by an electric current passing
through a palladium electrode leads to the
absorption of hydrogen atoms in the elec
trode, which then fuse to produce helium
and large amounts of heat.
Dr. Ramesh Kainthla, an assistant re
search scientist and a member of Dr. John
Bockris’ research group in the chemistry
department, said if the Utah experiments
are correct, cold fusion could create unlim
ited supplies of alternative energy in the fu
ture.
“If the theory is proved and one can get
the heat output which the Utah people are
claiming, then it may provide a huge source
of energy in the future,” Kainthla said.
He said that because the cost of palla
dium is high, alternative materials should
be considered.
The fusion of hydrogen atoms to helium
liberates a vast amount of energy, but
according to accepted chemistry and phys
ics theories, a temperature of millions of
degrees is required to trigger it.
Kainthla said his group’s research at
A&M has centered around looking at the
use of various electrodes and measuring the
excess heat, if any is given off at all. The
next step is to look for nuclear particles —
basically neutrons as well as dridium, the
heaviest isotope of hydrogen and oxygen.
The problem scientists around the coun
try have had with cold fusion research is the
inability to consistently reproduce a reac
tion that gives off neutrons, heat and dri
dium.
Experiments at the Cyclotron place more
emphasis on the nuclear aspects of cold fu
sion. Wolf said the problem with the Utah
experiments is that they simply measure
heat and they have no nuclear information.
“Everything they published on nuclear
(fusion) is wrong,” Wolf said. “If you simply
measure heat, you can’t be sure it has any
thing to do with fusion. Unless you see
some signature of a nuclear phenonemon,
you can’t be sure it has anything to do with
nuclear fusion.
“We have to deal with the nuclear aspect
of it all. After all, if it isn’t a nuclear pheno
nemon then nobody is interested in just an
other battery. We have a lot of batteries al
ready.”
Wolf said scientists at A&M have seen re
actions that produce neutrons and dridium,
two of the characteristics of nuclear fusion.
“We’ve seen both neutrons and dridium
here, but the heat (that is given off) does
not correlate with anything nuclear,” he
said. “We’ve had cells ignite. And we’ve had
cells that had been producing heat but we
did not see any nuclear effects.”
Kainthla said he agreed with the commit
tee’s report, and that as far as A&M is con
cerned, the opportunity to continue re
search gives the University more time to
solve the mysteries surrounding cold fu
sion.
“Rather than bombarding us with these
committee members coming down here
and asking us what is going on, let us do
some experiments quietly,” he said. “In
about six or eight months, we might be able
to answer some of these questions.”
entino
Bush says Americans must
•"ommit to space settlement
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty years after man’s come up with “realistic timetables.” Putting the space
F
544
I WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty years after man’s
first step on the moon, President Bush said Thursday
■mericans must commit to the permanent settlement
space, first returning to the moon and then embark-
■ngon a manned mission to distant Mars.
I The president offered no firm timetable or pricetag
*.nng»p«Mn t i»" f 0 r a program that could cost hundreds of billions-of
■ollars but said it would be worth the cost “because it is
■lumanity’s destiny to strive, to seek, to find. And be-
fTACT Cause it is America’s destiny to lead.”
I His proposal was made in a ceremony, on the steps of
jhe National Air and Space Museum, marking the his
toric moments on July 20, 1969, when American astro-
auts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the
oon’s Sea of Tranquility to fulfill a pledge made eight
ears earlier by President Kennedy.
The two moonwalkers stood with Bush Friday, along
ith Mike Collins, the third Apollo 11 crewman who
aid, “We have rested on our Apollo laurels long
nough; it’s time to get moving again.”
Bush’s proposal — to establish a U.S. moon base
arly in the next century and then mount a manned
ars mission — likely will ignite a long national debate
th in a budget-minded Congress and among those
ho believe federal dollars should not be spent on
ostly space endeavors but on solving more earthly
problems.
I At a time of huge budget deficits, Congress already is
Bialking at the start-up costs for NASA’s $30 billion
Space station, which Bush said was “a first and necessary
ptepfor sustained manned exploration.”
Congress, he said, is “where the future of the space
fetation — and our future as a space-faring nation — will
be decided.”
Bush offered few details beyond his broad goals and
feaid he was leaving it to Vice President Dan Quayle, as
■lead of the National Space Council, and to NASA to
come up with “realistic timetables.” Putting the space
station in orbit has been scheduled for after 1995.
The president chose to look beyond the budget de
bate over the space station budget.
“We must commit ourselves anew to . . . the perma
nent settlement of space,” he said. “We must commit
ourselves to a future where Americans and citizens of
all nations will live and work in space.”
Richard Truly, the NASA administrator hailed
Bush’s initiative as “dynamite” and said that if the pro
gram is approved, NASA will be ready to establish a
moon base “in the dawn of the new century.”
Truly said cuts in the NASA budget in recent years
have weakened the agency so that in its present struc
ture it could not carry out such visionary plans.
Truly said he had no estimate on how much Bush’s
program would cost. But he noted that during the hey
day of the Apollo program NASA’s funding rep
resented more than 4 percent of the national budget
compared with about 1 percent now.
He said the job could be done with less than 4 per
cent.
Other observers have estimated that if Bush’s propo
sal were adopted, NASA’s present budget request of
$13.3 billion would have to more than double within a
few years and that the whole package eventually could
cost as much as $800 billion to $900 billion.
Bush will need to forge an alliance with Democratic
leaders to win the funding for serious space explora
tion, and initial skeptical reaction came from Rep. Rich
ard Gephardt, D-Mo., the House majority leader.
“The real test of presidential leadership is not
whether he can marshal the words but the resources to
restore America’s preeminence in space,” Gephardt
said. “In sum, Mr. President, there’s no such thing as a
free launch.”
*;
ly
ease
)ever-
id. if
>e
Delta accepts
responsibility
for 1988 crash
|, DALLAS (AP) — Delta Air Lines
Had little choice but to accept re
sponsibility for the 1988 crash of
[ Flight 1141, says an attorney who
• has filed six lawsuits on behalf of
i [passengers and their families.
I “What they’ve now done is make a
I statement that’s consistent with the
physical facts,” Dallas attorney
Prank Branson said. “Their previous
Statements were not. They have now
acknowledged that the sun comes up
hi the morning and goes down at
I light-”
p Delta said Wednesday that flight
Crew error led to the Aug. 31, 1988
|rash that killed 14 people. The
flight crew was later fired.
I “The flight crew failed to set the
iiircraft’s flaps and slats in the
proper takeoff configuration as re
quired by established Delta practices
and procedures,” the airline said in a
Statement from its Atlanta headquar
ters.
1 “Accordingly, Delta has accepted
responsibility for the accident on
that basis,” the airline said.
1 Spokesman Jim Lundy said Delta
londucted its own investigation and
expects the National Transportation
Safety Board to release its conclu
sions in late summer or early fall.
1 Sources outside Delta, however.
Speculated that the airline realized
Ine federal investigation would find
|ie flight crew at fault. National
i'ransportation Safety Board
Sources say the agency’s staff has de
termined that the three-member
Bight crew neglected to set the flaps
l|nd slats — wing devices that give an
Hirplane lift during takeoff and
Hnding.
I Carrying 108 people, the 727
■oiled from side to side and got no
more than 30 feet off the ground be
fore crashing on takeoff.
Investigators attempt
to uncover explanation
for crash of United jet
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) —
Rescuers and survivors spoke of
miracles, and investigators went
“inch by inch” through a corn
field Thursday looking for an ex
planation of the fiery crash of
United Flight 232.
At least 76 people were killed,
and up to 43 others were missing
and believed dead in Wednes
day’s spectacular crash of a DC-
10 jumbojet.
Rescuers said many of those
DC-10 accidents/Page 6
unaccounted for probably were
trapped in a large silver- and red-
striped section of the charred fu
selage that sat amid rows of corn
4 feet tall.
Russell Mack,, an airline
spokesman, said at midafternoon
Thursday that 197 of the 293
people aboard survived.
City Manager Hank Sinda put
the number at 174 — which,
counting 76 confirmed dead,
would put the number unac
counted for at 43.
Some survivors just walked
away from the wreckage.
Beginning at daybreak. Na
tional Guardsmen began collect
ing pieces of wreckage and carry
ing body bags to ambulances and
refrigerated trailers.
The plane, crippled by a loss of
hydraulic power, pitched vio
lently to its right just a few feet
from the ground, scraped its
right wing, cartwheeled into a ball
of fire and broke into pieces dur
ing an emergency landing about
4 p.m. at the Sioux Gateway Air
port.
Survivor Garry Priest, 23, of
Northglenn, Colo., said those
who got out of the plane saw what
“looked like a war zone. Bodies,
trash, magazines, luggage, and
pieces of bodies littered the area.
It was the worst thing I’ve ever
seen.”
“We could not believe anybody
could walk away from it,” said Dr.
David Greco, director of emer
gency services for the Marian
Health Center and one of the
first physicians on the scene.
Greco lauded the passengers
and crew for maintaining calm
and said the nature of the brea
kup of the plane largely deter
mined the pattern of injuries.
The three members of the
cockpit crew survived the crash,
but Greco said the first-class sec
tion was devastated.
Passengers in rows nine
through 19 suffered no injuries
or minor ones, he added, but
“there was nothing left of the rear
half of the aircraft.”
“One section was thrown so far
so fast that it never got involved
in the fire,” he said.
Tales of heroism abounded,
beginning with praise for Capt.
A.C. Haynes, a 33-year United
veteran.
Gov. Terry Branstad visited
Haynes’ bedside and said at a
news conference: “He was quite
emotional about the situation and
tears came to his eyes when he
talked about the number of peo
ple who lost their lives. ... I told
him he did a valiant job.”
Flight 232, from Denver to
Philadelphia via Chicago, carried
11 crew members and 282 pas
sengers .
Hay! Photo by Kathy Haveman
A&M graduate student in psychology Chris on a road extending from Joe Routt Blvd. to-
Robinson, from Oklahoma City, jogs Thursday ward the Ocean Drilling Program Building.
A&M program offers students
glimpse of science, college life
By Cindy McMillian
STAFF WRITER
The Department of Engineering
offers prospective students more
than the standard tour of campus.
The Summer Enrichment Experi
ence in Engineering, a program for
high school minority students inter
ested in science and math, includes a
special tour of NASA and a trip to
Galveston.
Jeanne Rierson, SEE coordinator,
said the department hopes to recruit
talented minority students while tea
ching them more about engineering
and college life.
“The program gives these stu
dents a glimpse at what college will
be like and lets them see the differ
ent disciplines involved in engi
neering,' she said.
The 37 participants will go to
NASA today, where they will take
special tours and meet with college
students working in co-op programs.
Ricardo Garza, a high school se
nior from Del Rio, said he was
looking forward to the trip. “I’ve
never seen NASA before,” he said.
After touring the space center,
students will go to Galveston to
spend some time on the beach and
have dinner.
“Some of the kids from west
Texas have never seen the coast,”
Rierson said. “This trip is usually the
highlight of the program.”
SEE has been an annual event
since 1981, she said, and four or five
years ago the engineering depart
ment began offering two sessions
each summer to accomodate more
students. This year’s group was cho
sen from about 300 applicants for
their grades and interest in math
and science, she said.
The program has proven an ef
fective recruiting tool, she said.
More than half of each group ends
up attending A&M, she said, and a
majority of them go into engi
neering.
The students learned about engi
neering at A&M through sessions in
their chosen areas of interest.. They
also attended special lectures and
computer labs and toured the Nu
clear Science Center and the local
Westinghouse plant.
Tracy Bates, a high school senior
from Missouri City, said the tight
schedule was a lot of hard work but
worth it. She said she wants to return
to A&M as a student.
Group of Soviet students, professors
surprises UH with unexpected visit
HOUSTON (AP) — A surprise visit by a group of So
viet students and professors sent University of Houston
officials scrambling to line up social and educational
events to entertain their unexpected guests.
“Yes, we are embarrassed” Willie Munson, the uni
versity’s student life director, said. “We certainly don’t
make a habit of treating international visitors this way.”
Numbering six, the Soviet group from Leningrad
State University arrived Tuesday at Houston’s Inter
continental Airport eager to embark on their “ex
change program.” But their trip started slowly since no
body expected them.
After waiting a few hours at the airport, the group
was picked up by officials from the university’s housing
department.
“We are so pleased to have somebody meet us and
feed us,” Elena Krasnova, 31, a teacher at the the Le
ningrad university, said. “The people (at the university)
are very pleasant.”
The mixup stems from a former student leader’s
personal “exchange program” with the Leningrad uni
versity.
Ali Annan, the former students’ association presi
dent, had corresponded with Leningrad adminstrators
for two years. In May, he wrote a letter suggesting that
the summer would be an ideal time to visit.
The Soviets received that letter last week, obtained
their visas and caught the first available plane. They
also sent a letter to Annan telling them about their trip,
but he has yet to receive it in the mail.
“I was shocked,” Annan, a May graduate, said. “The
worst few moments of my life were then. I . . . asked
myself if I could be dreaming.”
Nevertheless, university officials said they are mak
ing the best of the situation.
“They’re a very nice group of people, very bright,”
interim school President George Magner said. “It’s
their first trip outside of Russia. We intend to give them
a very pleasant and productive visit.”