IN PRINT: IMAGINARY WEAPONS

The military subculture that pursues the development of fabulous,
physically impossible weapons concepts at taxpayer expense is the
subject of a new book by defense reporter Sharon Weinberger called
"Imaginary Weapons."

Weinberger introduces the hafnium bomb, a hypothetical weapon that
would supposedly harness the energy released from a nuclear
transition within a hafnium isomer. It is a purely speculative
notion that has been largely discredited, but one that attracted
nearly cultish attention -- and millions of dollars -- within the
defense establishment.

It is akin in its eccentricity, and lack of reproducibility, to
"zero point energy," "psychic teleportation," and other notions
that Weinberger terms "fringe science."

Fringe science, she contends, "has reached new heights under the
Bush Administration. We have fewer and fewer scientific experts in
the government, and an increasing unwillingness by the government
to turn to outside scientific advisers."

"The real danger in this story is not the existence of fringe
science, but of fringe science in government, particularly when it
receives substantial funding or guides decision-making."

"I see this problem getting worse, not better. If the government
doesn't take steps to shore up its scientific expertise, I think we
are facing a future filled with imaginary weapons."

Her highly readable new book, filled with entertaining or disgusting
anecdotes, has just been published.

See "Imaginary Weapons: A Journey Through the Pentagon's Scientific
Underworld" by Sharon Weinberger, Nation Books, June 2006:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1560258497/002-6021113-5060015