Hongcheng Magic Liquid: Difference between revisions
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==Fraud conviction== |
==Fraud conviction== |
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As time passed, the Chinese people started to realize that this "technique" was a fraud. Hongcheng faced growing opposition from scientists and media.<ref name="science" /> On 1995, after refusing a scientific appraisal of his liquid, [[He Zuoxiu]] and a group of 40 scientists asked the top |
As time passed, the Chinese people started to realize that this "technique" was a fraud. Hongcheng faced growing opposition from scientists and media.<ref name="science" /> On 1995, after refusing a scientific appraisal of his liquid, [[He Zuoxiu]] and a group of 40 scientists asked the top Chinese legislative body, the [[People's Political Consultative Conference]], to investigate his claims.<ref name="science" /> It was finally found that his invention was a fraud.<ref name="haunted" /> |
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In 1998 he was found guilty of fraud and deceit and sent to prison for 10 years<ref name="daily">{{cite news | title = From scientist to 'science policeman' | work = [[China Daily]] | author = Jia Hepeng | date = 2005-08-18 | accessdate = 2008-11-08 | url = http://www.xys.org/xys/netters/Fang-Zhouzi/interview/chinadaily3.txt }}</ref><ref name="csicop">{{cite web | title = Paranormal in China | author = Wu Xianghong | work = Skeptical Briefs newsletter | publisher = [[CSICOP]] | date = March 2005 | url = http://www.csicop.org/sb/9503/china.html }}</ref> Hongcheng |
In 1998 he was found guilty of fraud and deceit and sent to prison for 10 years<ref name="daily">{{cite news | title = From scientist to 'science policeman' | work = [[China Daily]] | author = Jia Hepeng | date = 2005-08-18 | accessdate = 2008-11-08 | url = http://www.xys.org/xys/netters/Fang-Zhouzi/interview/chinadaily3.txt }}</ref><ref name="csicop">{{cite web | title = Paranormal in China | author = Wu Xianghong | work = Skeptical Briefs newsletter | publisher = [[CSICOP]] | date = March 2005 | url = http://www.csicop.org/sb/9503/china.html }}</ref> Hongcheng aquired the status of a legendary figure, because some people thought that it was a case of [[cover-up]] or of [[free energy suppression]], where he would be imprisoned not because his formula wouldn't really work, but because of refusing to release his secret formula to the government.<ref name="csicop" /><ref name="haunted" /> |
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==Government reaction and |
==Government reaction and repercussions== |
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This and other similar issues brought the |
This and other similar issues brought the Chinese government to tighten the appraisal system for scientific claims<ref name="science2">{{cite journal | journal = [[Science (magazine)]] | title = China Tightens Appraisal System | author = [[Ted Plakfer]] | date = 1995-04-07 | pages = 23-24 | volume = 268 | issue = 5207 | doi = 10.1126/science.268.5207.23 | url = http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/268/5207/23.pdf }}</ref><ref name="science" /> which seems to have brought more weight in chinese courts for scientists.<ref name="science" /> Most officials support the effort to root out [[pseudoscience]] in China, although the government still sends occasionally mixed signals.<ref name="science" /> He Zuoxiu explains that corruption will also have to be fought at the same time as pseudoscience, since some officials and journalists may "have a stake" on these inventions, and would be harmed by their exposure.<ref name="science" /> |
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The [[government of China]] and the [[Chinese Communist Party]] made in 5 December 1994 a joint public declaration called "Some Suggestions on How to Reinforce the Popularization of Science". In it they lamented the withering of public education on the last years and the growth of pseudoscience and antiscience, and then indicated that they would reinforce the public education on science.<ref>[http://www.godslasteraar.org/assets/ebooks/Sagan_Carl_Does_truth_matter_-_Science_pseudoscience_and_civilization_-_includes_related_articles.pdf Does truth matter?], by [[Carl Sagan]], pages 8-9</ref><ref name="interview">{{cite news | work = China Information Newspaper | title = An interview with He Zuoxiu: How he exposes and fights against Falun Gong | date = 1999-08-20 | author = Zhang Pengwen | url = http://www.facts.org.cn/Views/200801/t75537.htm }} hosted at facts.org</ref><ref name="haunted" /> After this declaration, [[Song Jian]], the then chief director of the |
The [[government of China]] and the [[Chinese Communist Party]] made in 5 December 1994 a joint public declaration called "Some Suggestions on How to Reinforce the Popularization of Science". In it they lamented the withering of public education on the last years and the growth of pseudoscience and antiscience ideas, and then indicated that they would reinforce the public education on science.<ref>[http://www.godslasteraar.org/assets/ebooks/Sagan_Carl_Does_truth_matter_-_Science_pseudoscience_and_civilization_-_includes_related_articles.pdf Does truth matter?], by [[Carl Sagan]], pages 8-9</ref><ref name="interview">{{cite news | work = China Information Newspaper | title = An interview with He Zuoxiu: How he exposes and fights against Falun Gong | date = 1999-08-20 | author = Zhang Pengwen | url = http://www.facts.org.cn/Views/200801/t75537.htm }} hosted at facts.org</ref><ref name="haunted" /> After this declaration, [[Song Jian]], the then chief director of the Chinese [[National Science Committee]], held a conference on how to carry this work among the public.<ref name="interview" /> Song Jian was then told at the conference was that an article [[debunking]] Hongcheng's invention had been refused publication in several newspapers, he ordered [[Science and Technology Daily]], the most authoritative newspaper on China's science and technology,<ref>[http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_23434.htm Science and Technology Daily] chinaculture.org</ref> to publish it.<ref name="interview" /> |
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==Scientific explanation== |
==Scientific explanation== |
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Revision as of 02:26, 12 January 2009
The Hongcheng Magic Liquid incident[1] was a scam in China. Wang Hongcheng, a bus driver from Harbin with ninth-grade education,[n 1][2] claimed that water could be transformed into a "water-based fuel" as combustible as petrol by adding two or three drops of his liquid to a liter of regular water.[2][1] He claims that he invented his technique on November 7, 1983.[citation needed] Hongcheng called it "the fifth greatest invention of China", in a reference to the four Great Inventions of ancient China, and his invention became more popular, finally reaching in January 28, 1993 the front pages of a major national newspaper.[3] In the winter of 1985, Wang showed this technique in Beijing, Hebei, Zhejiang and Shanghai.
Hongcheng Magic Liquid company
The Chinese security and military departments started to look into his claims and funded his research.[1][4] In 1992-1993 Hongcheng founded a company called Hongcheng Magic Liquid to manufacture his product[1] and made 300 million yuan (US$ 37 million).[5] The quantities raised by him have also been estimated at $50 million.[2] No product, working or otherwise, was ever commercially released.[1][2]
Fraud conviction
As time passed, the Chinese people started to realize that this "technique" was a fraud. Hongcheng faced growing opposition from scientists and media.[2] On 1995, after refusing a scientific appraisal of his liquid, He Zuoxiu and a group of 40 scientists asked the top Chinese legislative body, the People's Political Consultative Conference, to investigate his claims.[2] It was finally found that his invention was a fraud.[4]
In 1998 he was found guilty of fraud and deceit and sent to prison for 10 years[5][1] Hongcheng aquired the status of a legendary figure, because some people thought that it was a case of cover-up or of free energy suppression, where he would be imprisoned not because his formula wouldn't really work, but because of refusing to release his secret formula to the government.[1][4]
Government reaction and repercussions
This and other similar issues brought the Chinese government to tighten the appraisal system for scientific claims[6][2] which seems to have brought more weight in chinese courts for scientists.[2] Most officials support the effort to root out pseudoscience in China, although the government still sends occasionally mixed signals.[2] He Zuoxiu explains that corruption will also have to be fought at the same time as pseudoscience, since some officials and journalists may "have a stake" on these inventions, and would be harmed by their exposure.[2]
The government of China and the Chinese Communist Party made in 5 December 1994 a joint public declaration called "Some Suggestions on How to Reinforce the Popularization of Science". In it they lamented the withering of public education on the last years and the growth of pseudoscience and antiscience ideas, and then indicated that they would reinforce the public education on science.[7][3][4] After this declaration, Song Jian, the then chief director of the Chinese National Science Committee, held a conference on how to carry this work among the public.[3] Song Jian was then told at the conference was that an article debunking Hongcheng's invention had been refused publication in several newspapers, he ordered Science and Technology Daily, the most authoritative newspaper on China's science and technology,[8] to publish it.[3]
Scientific explanation
Water is such an abundant chemical compound in part because it has very stable bonds that resist most reactions. For water to participate in a reaction that releases energy, high energy compounds must be added. However, those compounds are the fuel, not the water, since, under conditions common on Earth, chemical energy cannot be extracted from water alone. In the demonstrations made by Hongcheng, all the energy released came exclusively from the added liquid.
See also
Notes
- ^ Meaning that he was schooled until the age of 14 or 15 years old. The magazine stating this is from the US, "ninth-grade" on the US corresponds to the first course on High school
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wu Xianghong (March 2005). "Paranormal in China". Skeptical Briefs newsletter. CSICOP.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Meiyue Zhou (1996-05-10). "China: Scientists Seek Allies in Fight Against Pseudoscience" (PDF). Science (magazine). 272 (5263): 807–808. doi:10.1126/science.272.5263.807.
- ^ a b c d Zhang Pengwen (1999-08-20). "An interview with He Zuoxiu: How he exposes and fights against Falun Gong". China Information Newspaper. hosted at facts.org
- ^ a b c d Carl Sagan (2000). Editorial Planeta (ed.). The Demon-Haunted World. pp. 28–29. (online version [1])
- ^ a b Jia Hepeng (2005-08-18). "From scientist to 'science policeman'". China Daily. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ Ted Plakfer (1995-04-07). "China Tightens Appraisal System" (PDF). Science (magazine). 268 (5207): 23–24. doi:10.1126/science.268.5207.23.
- ^ Does truth matter?, by Carl Sagan, pages 8-9
- ^ Science and Technology Daily chinaculture.org
- "王洪成被判刑十年". Guangming Daily (in Chinese). 1998-05-29. (online translation [2]) Wang Hongcheng is given 10-year imprisonment for defrauding 300 million yuan
- "今天的"水变油"骗局 (Today's 'water oil' scam)". Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2004-12-22. (online translation [3])
- Anonymous Science Channel Source (2005-05-28). "浙商陈金义的"水变油"试验" (in Chinese). (online translation [4])