Steven Jones

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Steven Earl Jones (* 25. March 1949 in Porta Cello, Idaho ) is an emeritus American physicist for nuclear fusion . He has been advocating a September 11, 2001 conspiracy theory since 2005 , according to which a controlled demolition with nanothermite is said to have caused the World Trade Center building to collapse . His university therefore put him on leave in 2006 from teaching until he retired in early 2007.

Education and career

Jones studied physics at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1967 , interrupted by two years as a Mormon missionary in France and Belgium. In 1973 he received his bachelor's degree in physics with magna cum laude . In 1978 he received his PhD in physics from Vanderbilt University . As part of his doctoral thesis, he carried out research from 1974 to 1977 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and then as a postdoc at Cornell University and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LAMPF). From 1979 to 1985 he was Senior Engineering Specialist at the Idaho National Laboratory in Arco, Idaho. From 1985 until his retirement in 2006 he was a professor at BYU.

Research on nuclear fusion

Jones is known for research on muon-catalyzed fusion, a concept that goes back to Andrei Sakharov and Luis Walter Alvarez in the 1950s. From 1982 to 1991, his experiments in this area were funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE; Division of Advanced Energy Projects). In the 1980s, he headed a group on muon-catalyzed fusion at BYU and was spokesperson or co-spokesperson for several related experiments at LAMPF and participated in experiments at several other accelerator centers, e. B. TRIUMF (Vancouver, British Columbia), KEK (Tsukuba, Japan), in Kamioka and at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory at the University of Oxford .

Jones began muon-catalyzed fusion experiments in Los Alamos around 1980. At the end of 1982 they achieved a breakthrough with eight fusions per muon , so that the rest energy of the muon was released and thus a first interim success was achieved (however, 300 to 1000 fusions per muon were needed for a real break even ). In 1986 he and his team achieved 150 fusions with a yield of 2600 MeV per muon, a record that still holds today.

He was also involved in research on the actual cold fusion , which began with publications by Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons at the University of Utah in 1989. As a reviewer for the DOE on nuclear fusion issues, Jones learned of an application from Fleischmann and Pons for research funding and offered to collaborate. Jones himself had been working on similar ideas since 1986, which he called Piezonuclear Fusion . It was not until 1988 that Jones developed a measuring device that could measure the small amount of neutrons that were produced during such reactions. There was a race between the two research groups from Utah, which was one of the reasons for the hasty press conference by Fleischmann and Pons in 1989. Jones carried out the experiments of Fleischmann and Pons independently and did not discover any particular energy yield, but believed that he had detected a neutron yield that indicated fusion reactions. This was later criticized, as was the work of Fleischmann and Pons. Jones saw himself confirmed by later research (2001/2). From 1989 to 1994 he was Associate Director of the Brigham Young University Center for Fusion Studies and conducted research at the Electric Power Research Institute from 1990 to 1993 .

The reason for Jones' research on cold fusion was geophysical investigations. Around 1985 he became aware of the abnormal concentration of helium-3 found in gases escaping from volcanoes in the Pacific region, as well as in inclusions such as diamonds. Tritium measured in outbreaks on Mauna Loa is also a possible fusion product, but with a half-life of only 12 days. Jones hypothesized that high pressures in the Earth's interior favor nuclear fusions, and began a series of experiments, the area of ​​which he referred to as piezofusion or high pressure fusion. The fusion at high pressures in the interior of the earth as a possible energy source in the interior of the earth and other planets (such as Jupiter) they called geofusion. According to common doctrine, however, radioactive decay is made responsible for the heat generation inside the earth.

Search for archaeological evidence of Momonism

Jones is also interested in archeometry and archeology . As a staunch Mormon , he looked in Mayan monuments for evidence of a visit by Jesus Christ to America and looked for fossil horse bones in order to use radiocarbon dating to prove the presence of horses before the epoch of Columbus. Jones developed a safe solar cooker for use in the developing world.

Conspiracy theory as of September 11, 2001

On September 22, 2005, Jones claimed in a seminar at BYU in front of about 60 students that the identified causes of the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings in New York City could not be correct. Rather, the buildings were destroyed by a controlled demolition. As justification, he cited the collapse rate, which supposedly corresponded to that of free fall , the symmetry of the collapse, the lateral ejection of dust clouds and the reports of molten metal under the rubble. He called for a further scientific investigation that should include a controlled demolition as a possible cause. He asked the government to release all relevant data. To this end, he published an article on the website of the Faculty of Physics at BYU with the title "Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?"

BYU distanced itself from Jones' theses. BYU's engineering and physics and mathematics faculties publicly denied her, citing that his "hypotheses and interpretations of the evidence are being challenged by scientists and professionals." Three of Jones' colleagues defended his paper. The Project Censored led this as an example of censored information on the 2005 by 2010.

On September 7, 2006, at the request of the university, Jones deleted his article from the BYU website and was released from teaching. The university expressed concerns about the "increasingly speculative and accusatory nature" of Jones' research, which is likely to appear in unscientific publications. Therefore, BYU assessed his work on three levels: the BYU administration, the Faculty of Physics and Mathematical Sciences and the Institute of Physics. Jones welcomed this review as a contribution to the dissemination of the theses of his paper. However, the review was ended after his announcement that he would retire on January 1, 2007. The American Association of University Professors and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education criticized Jones' exemption.

Jones' essay has only been published in the Journal of 9/11 Studies , which he co-founded , in books by David Ray Griffin, and in the conspiracy theoretic magazine Global Outlook . He gave interviews to several newspapers and television stations and gave many public lectures on the subject. Although he warned against drawing clear conclusions from his theses, he publicly indicated certainty about a controlled demolition and culpable involvement of parts of the US government . In an interview, he claimed that the 9/11 attacks were an "inside job" that the neoconservatives in the US government had used as a justification to occupy oil-rich states and oversize military spending. He later stated that these interview quotes were not his and that he was never interviewed by the article's author, Christina Asquith. The newspaper did not reply to his correction in a letter. The interview was not withdrawn.

In April 2008, Jones and several others published a letter in The Bentham Open Civil Engineering Journal , a commercial platform for scientific texts, entitled Fourteen Points of Agreement with Official Government Reports on the World Trade Center Destruction . He alleged that the reports from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were inaccurate and contradicted each other in their conclusions and findings of fact. In August 2008, The Environmentalist published a contribution he co-authored, which is intended to substantiate the thesis of an explosion, for example by nanothermite.

In September 2016, the journal Europhysics News of the European Physical Society published an article written by Jones and three other authors, which again put the thesis of a controlled demolition of the WTC up for discussion.

Jones co-founded the Scholars for 9/11 Truth initiative and was its second chairman under James H. Fetzer. From mid-November to the end of December 2007 he discussed with Fetzer in which direction the organization should develop. Fetzer accused Jones of disregarding Judy Wood and Morgan Reynolds' 9/11 conspiracy theories that claimed destruction with energy weapons or "no plane hit the towers." Jones rejected the theory of mini-nuclear destruction because no empirical data could be found, and suggested further discussion. Then he left the group with about 80% of the other members and founded "Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice". This initiative claims to work with exclusively scientific methods. By mid-2008, over 500 scientists had endorsed Jones' theses without submitting their own studies.

Scientific honors and prizes

  • 1968, David O. McKay Scholarship at BYU; National Merit Scholar [1]
  • 1973–1978 Tuition Scholarship and Research Fellowship at Vanderbilt University
  • 1989 Outstanding Young Scholar Award (BYU); Best of What's New for 1989 (Popular Science); Creativity Prize (Japanese Creativity Society)
  • 1990 BYU Young Scholar Award; Annual Lecturer, BYU Chapter of Sigma Xi

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frank Close: The hot race for the cold fusion. Springer 1992, p. 76f.
  2. ^ Brigham Young University: Steven E. Jones's CV
  3. ↑ Close, p. 77
  4. ↑ Steven E. Jones: Muon-catalysed fusion revisited. Nature Publishing Group; Johann Rafelski : Jones' Cold Nuclear Fusion , Scientific American, July 1987; Steven E. Jones, AN Anderson and others: Observation of Unexpected Density Effects in Muon-Catalyzed dt Fusion. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 56, 1986, pp. 588-591, abstract
  5. ^ Bruce Lewenstein: Cornell Cold Fusion Archive , 1994, pdf
  6. ↑ Genie from the bottle. Spiegel, May 15, 1989
  7. ↑ Browne: Physicists debunk claimsoft of a new kind of fusion. New York Times, May 3, 1989; Steven E. Jones and others: Observation of cold nuclear fusion in condensed matter , Nature, Volume 338, 1989, p. 737
  8. ^ Homepage of Jones at BYU . It refers to K. Czerski, A.Huke, P. Heide, G. Ruprecht Experimental and theoretical screening energies for the 2 H (d, p) 3 H reaction in metallic environments , Europhys. J., A, Volume 27, Supplement 1, 2006, p. 83
  9. ^ Walter Sullivan: Fusion may keep the continents in motion. New York Times, April 25, 1989; Steven E. Jones, JE Ellsworth: Cold (metal-enhanced) fusion, geo-fusion, and cold nucleosynthesis. In: Condensed Matter Nuclear Science, World Scientific, London 2005, p. 617; same: Geofusion and cold nucleosynthesis , 10th Int. Conf. on cold fusion 2003
  10. ^ Steven E. Jones: Behold my hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America.
  11. ^ Out of the dust. In: Journal of the Book of Mormon Studies Volume 10, Issue 1. The Maxwell Institute, Provo (Utah) 2001
  12. ^ Steven E. Jones: The Solar Funnel Cooker.
  13. ↑ Michael Riley: Backers hail 9/11 theorist's speech. Denver Post, October 29, 2006; Suzanne Dean: Physicist says heat substance felled WTC. Deseret News April 10, 2006; Sonoma State University: Scholars For Truth Founder Is Keynote Speaker for Media Accountability Conference, Nov. 3 and October 4th , October 26th, 2006
  14. ↑ John Gravois: Professors of Paranoia? In: The Chronicle of Higher Education Volume 52, Issue 42, SA10, June 23, 2006
  15. ↑ D. Allan Firmage: Refuting 9/11 Conspiracy Theory. Letter to the Editor. NetXNews, April 9, 2006
  16. ↑ Ryan McIlvain: Censor rumors source. BYU NewsNet, December 5, 2005
  17. ^ Tad Walch: Three at BYU praise Jones. Deseret News, September 18, 2006
  18. ↑ 18. Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story. April 29, 2010
  19. ^ Tad Walch: BYU's Jones Denies Bias. Deseret News, September 14, 2006
  20. ^ Sheena McFarland: BYU prof on paid leave for 9/11 theory. Salt Lake Tribune, September 8, 2006
  21. ^ Tad Walch: BYU action on Jones lamented. Deseret Morning News, September 14, 2006
  22. ^ Tad Walch: BYU places "9/11 truth" professor on paid leave. Desertenews, November 8, 2006
  23. ^ Ian Woods (ed.): 9/11: The Greatest Crime of All Time. Volume 2 of Best of Global outlook. Global Outlook, 2006, ISBN 0973110937
  24. ^ Fury as academics claim 9/11 was "inside job". London Daily Mail, 6th September 2006
  25. ↑ The Guardian: Who really blew up the twin towers? September 5, 2006
  26. ↑ Steven E. Jones, Frank M. Legge, Kevin R. Ryan, Anthony F. Szamboti, James R. Gourley: Fourteen Points of Agreement with Official Government Reports on the World Trade Center Destruction. The Open Civil Engineering Journal, Volume 2, Issue 1, pp. 35-40.
  27. ^ Steven Jones: Environmental anomalies at the World Trade Center: evidence for energetic materials. (PDF)
  28. ↑ Steven Jones, Robert Korol, Anthony Szamboti, Ted Walter: 15 years later: On the physics of high rise building collapses. Europhysics News 47/4, 2016, pp. 21–26, doi: 10.1051 / epn / 2016402
personal data
SURNAME Jones, Steven
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jones, Steven Earl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American physicist
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1949
PLACE OF BIRTH Portacello