What is Cold Fusion?

Defining Cold Fusion
Commonly called Cold Fusion, the process is also known as Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) or Chemically Assisted Nuclear Reactions (CANR). As the magazine Wired put it: “it was the most heavily hyped science story of the decade” and “it is one of the strangest untold stories in 20th-century science.”
Cold fusion is identified as the combining of atomic nuclei at low temperatures, perhaps even room temperature by using other forms of energy to overcome the nuclear repulsion. The central claim of cold fusion researchers is that a nuclear reaction (fusion of deuterium) can be initiated and maintained in an electrochemical apparatus not much different from the setup used to demonstrate the breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen in a high school chemistry lab. If this claim could be successfully verified, it promised nothing less than a masterful and simple solution to the world's energy supply problems.

The term "cold fusion" became popular in March 1989 when two scientists at the University of Utah, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons – (do we want to make this a hot link to their peer-reviewed papers) announced in a public statement that they were able to achieve what they called a “sustained nuclear fusion reaction”– something previously thought impossible given scientific theory. The press quickly called it "cold fusion".  Fleischmann initiallywanted to do a joint publication with another team doing similar work and it is not exactly clear why he chose to release the information in a public statement rather than in the peer reviewed manner that scientists traditionally use. 

The initial euphoria over the achievement turned to controversy when other scientists claimed they were unable to replicate the test results. The criticism, which was widely reported in scientific publications and the media, ended with scientists being highly skeptical, even though Fleishmann and Pons replicated the effect and were convinced that it was real.  However, even with lack of funds and very low media coverage many researchers worldwide have continued cold fusion research and have produced remarkable results.

Cold Fusion is real, and offers a clean, efficient potential new source of energy production.

Two decades of Cold Fusion research and development have confirmed excess heat production, and other clearly nuclear phenomena, using electrolysis and other gas loading techniques. Given the prevalence of the fuel, and the incredible efficiency, Cold Fusion could be an important revolutionary technology.

Cold Fusion, enable deuterium fusion. They are incredibly clean and free of pollution, all toxic emissions, all carbon footprints, all greenhouse gases, and radioactivity, while obviating fossil fuel. The deuterium is plentiful in the oceans.

Two decades of research and development have investigated Cold Fusion phenomena raging from excess heat production, very low level but measurable emissions, Thin Films, and coupling to motors and electricity production systems. A few hundred credentialed scientists with diverse backgrounds continued to conduct careful experiments as they performed detailed data analyses using improved instrumentation, equipment, calibration, and controls. No single error or combination of errors on the part of all the scientist can explain the developing results. They have been reported in over 3,000 papers. The experimental work which saliently provides much compelling evidence that nuclear reaction can be assisted.

Today, Cold Fusion research involves electrolytic , gas loading, gas permeation, ion beam, and glow discharge loading techniques and devices. They run in both open and close systems, at pressures up to 10,000 psi, and drive motors, with on-line monitoring.

Cold Fusion success is rewarded by “excess heat”, which means that the energy producing reactions. There is more heat released in Cold Fusion if were substituted for and equivalent quantity of THT, but in this case it is safe, clean and efficient.

Cold Fusion could become the energy multiplier saving the planet. The energy density of Cold Fusion reactions is 10 million times that of gasoline. The fuel is heavy water, obtainable from the sea which is already one part in 6000 a heavy hydrogen. Given the prevalence of the fuel, and incredible efficiency, Cold Fusion could play a critical role in the future technologies with potential revolutionary applications to all energy issues-robotics, transportations, electricity production, space travel. Larger Cold Fusion power devices will fit into a hybrid car and offer methods to power in vivo medical devices such as the artificial heart.

By M. Schwartz