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By Ben Monreal
Tech by TK Focht
Answer: ABLATIVE

The interface mimics the Markov-text-generator game “arXiv vs. snarXiv,” which has a random text generator that’s been trained to produce fake string theory paper titles; the game is to compare them to real paper titles from arXiv.org. This puzzle is “viXra vs sniXra,” which is a text generator—but not a random one—trained to produce fake crackpot paper titles; the “game” element is to compare them to crackpot papers from viXra.org, the “alternative archive” for amateur/outsider scientists. But as you play you’ll accumulate a list of such fake papers and their fake author lists, and even fake “sniXra” eight-digit identifiers.

If you play the game for a while you will be encouraged to look up the AIP conference proceedings identified as “4869.4736.” That’s not a real viXra identifier—the leading digits of an identifier are an upload date in YYMM format. What does it mean?

Here is a randomly-generated set of “fake” papers and the ”vixra identifiers” I've assigned to them:

  • sniXra:0620.9800 Between Force Fundamental Theory by Dingle, Herndon, Jovanovich, and Kodukula
  • sniXra:1000.0892 Electrochemically Theory Beta Neutrino by Beckwith, Dingle, Fleischmann, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:6051.9071 Deuterium: The Electromagnetic Fundamental Asymmetry Entropy by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:0542.0409 Connections To Energy Test Stars by Beckwith, Dingle, Herndon, Jovanovich, and Khmelnik
  • sniXra:0037.2098 Approach And Unification Beta: Why? by Beckwith, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, and Yie
  • sniXra:0152.0270 Questioning: The Energy Proposed Asymmetry by Dingle, Herndon, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, and Yie
  • sniXra:5058.5071 Of The Milroy Bio-Force Asymmetry Entropy by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:3024.9097 Nuclear Force In Fundamental Beta Problem by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:0020.0573 Force Of Asymmetry Physics by Beckwith, Dingle, Jovanovich, and Yie
  • sniXra:0038.0878 Approach Milroy Theory Asymmetry: Why? by Beckwith, Dingle, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, and Yie
  • sniXra:2236.0090 Induced Astrophysics Approach Wire Beta by Fleischmann, Herndon, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:6400.5609 Deuterium Revealing Bio-Force: The Stars by Beckwith, Dingle, Fleischmann, Herndon, Kodukula, and Pons
  • sniXra:5074.8009 Of Propulsion In Fifth Stars by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, and Pons
  • sniXra:2026.2422 Induced Force Wire Unification Test Possible Neutrino by Beckwith, Dingle, Fleischmann, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:1503.1090 Electrochemically Connections Flow Grand Beta by Fleischmann, Herndon, Khmelnik, Kodukula, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:1502.2000 Electrochemically Connections Energy Unification by Fleischmann, Herndon, Khmelnik, Kodukula, and Pons
  • sniXra:1201.0003 Electrochemically Astrophysics Electromagnetic Physics by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Herndon, Khmelnik, and Pons
  • sniXra:0977.0400 Luminous Propulsion And Test by Dingle, Herndon, Jovanovich, and Khmelnik
  • sniXra:6530.0002 Deuterium Connections Approach Neutrino by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Herndon, Jovanovich, and Pons
  • sniXra:5026.0001 Of Force Wire Entropy by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, and Pons
  • sniXra:2200.0091 Induced Astrophysics Beta Entropy by Beckwith, Fleischmann, Herndon, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:0052.2002 The Energy Unification Neutrino by Beckwith, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, and Kodukula
  • sniXra:0777.0008 Stellar Propulsion And: Why? by Beckwith, Herndon, Jovanovich, and Khmelnik
  • sniXra:0142.3800 Questioning To Energy Concept Theory by Dingle, Herndon, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, and Kodukula
  • sniXra:5075.3352 Of Propulsion: The Concept Astronomical: The Neutrino by Beckwith, Dingle, Fleischmann, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:5525.2408 Of Connections Force: The Unification Test: Why? by Beckwith, Dingle, Fleischmann, Herndon, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, Kodukula, and Pons
  • sniXra:2003.8883 Induced Flow Fifth Theory Of Physics by Beckwith, Dingle, Fleischmann, Khmelnik, Kodukula, Pons, and Yie
  • sniXra:0970.7809 Luminous Propulsion: The Theory Stars by Beckwith, Dingle, Herndon, Jovanovich, and Kodukula
  • sniXra:0533.0370 Connections Approach Flow Astronomical Asymmetry by Dingle, Herndon, Jovanovich, Khmelnik, and Yie
  • sniXra:0403.3200 Revealing Flow Concept Proposed by Dingle, Herndon, Khmelnik, and Kodukula

You’re meant to notice that the sniXra number is correlated with the title in some way. Maybe the easiest thing to notice is that the number of nonzero ID digits is the number of title words. You’ll also notice lots of recurring words, and that those words correlate with the ID—if the first digit is 3 then the first word is “Nuclear,” for example. If the last word is “Entropy” the last digit is 1. Indeed, each digit of the eight-bit ID corresponds to a fixed word list for that digit. If there’s a zero in the ID, no word from that place’s wordlist is present.

The authorlist may help, too. A nonzero value of the first digit will always mean Pons and Fleischmann are on the author list. A nonzero value of the 2nd digit will always mean Herndon is a coauthor.

Get to work decoding the sniXra identifiers. If you click on enough papers you will see that the 1st through 8th digits point to the nth word in the following eight wordlists:

  1. Electrochemically induced nuclear ?? of deuterium ?? ?? ??
  2. Questioning Astrophysics and Revealing Connections Between Stellar ?? Luminous
  3. Airfoil Force Approach to the ??? Propulsion ?? ??
  4. Electromagnetic Energy Flow in the Wire and Milroy ??
  5. Grand Unification Concept ?? Bio-force as the Fifth Fundamental
  6. A proposed astronomical test of the ?? theory of
  7. A Possible ??? to the Right-Left Asymmetry of Beta
  8. Entropy Neutrino Physics ?? ?? ?? Problem Why Stars

and to the following eight sets of authors (always alphabetized)

  1. “Pons,” “Fleischmann”
  2. “Herndon”
  3. “Jovanovich”
  4. “Khmelnik”
  5. “Kodukula”
  6. “Dingle”
  7. “Yie”
  8. “Beckwith”

Notice that the hinted-at identifier 4869.4736 is still undecodeable. The game never gives you a paper with the first digit 4, or the second digit 8, etc.

However, these eight wordlists are the titles of eight actual papers by the eight authors or sets of authors—Pons and Fleischmann being the most famous. Find the real paper titles to complete the wordlists:

  1. Electrochemically induced nuclear fusion of deuterium, J. Electroanol. Chem., 261 (1989) 301-308, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons
  2. Questioning Astrophysics and Revealing Connections Between Stellar Ignition Luminous Galactic Jets, and the Origin of Heavy Elements, viXra:0804.0001 by J Marvin Herndon
  3. Airfoil force approach to the rocket propulsion, viXra:1509.0133 by Oliver R. Jovanovic
  4. Electromagnetic Energy Flow in the Wire and Milroy Engine, viXra:1511.0130 by Solomon I. Khmelnik
  5. Grand Unification Concept with Bio-force as the Fifth Fundamental Force, Int. J. High Energy Physics 3(3) 18-24 (2016) by Siva Prasad Kodokula
  6. A proposed astronomical test of the ballistic theory of light, MNRAS vol 119 67 (1959) by Herbert Dingle
  7. A Possible Answer to the Right-Left Asymmetry of Beta Decay, Physics Essays 18(1) (2005) by Shan-Noon Yie
  8. Entropy, Neutrino Physics, and the Lithium Problem: Why Stars with no lithium in early universe exist, viXra:0909.0043 by Andrew Beckwith

Therefore the hinted identifier 4869.4736 would have the title “Fusion Ignition Rocket Engine With Ballistic Answer Lithium.” That happens to be almost the title of a real AIP conference proceedings:

  • FIREBALL: Fusion Ignition Rocket Engine with Ballistic Ablative Lithium Liner, AIP Conference Proceedings Volume 813(1), by Martin, Eskridge, Fimognari, and Lee

. . . except with ANSWER → ABLATIVE. The answer is ABLATIVE.

Fleischmann, Pons, and Dingle are famously connected with crackpottery. Herndon, Jovanovic, Khmelnik, Kodokula, Yie, and Beckwith are mentioned purely due to the word-content of their paper titles. The puzzle’s author has not read their papers and intends no comment. Martin, Eskridge, Fimognari, and Lee are not crackpots, and I apologize for dragging them into this puzzle at all.