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Cold fusion is technically the name for any nuclear fusion reaction that may occur well below the temperature required for thermonuclear reactions (millions of degrees Celsius). There are a number of established processes by which this can occur, although currently none of these can produce breakeven energy. The term is most often used in a narrower sense, which is the primary subject of this article: a poorly-understood phenomenon in electrolytic cells, in a small (table-top) setup near room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure, which it has been controversially suggested involves the fusion of deuterium atoms into helium. Because of the controversy regarding this form of fusion, researchers on other forms of cold fusion have tended to distance themselves from the term.
Nuclear fusion using deuterium yields large amounts of energy, uses an abundant fuel source, and produces only small amounts of radioactive waste. Thus a cheap and simple process of nuclear fusion would have great economic impact. As of 2004, however, hot fusion cannot be achieved in a controlled and sustained way, and established cold fusion methods do not yield more energy than is put into them. If cold fusion in electrolytic cells were to be established, it might turn out to be a cheap and simple means of power generation. The phenomenon is still far from established, and as of 2004 such a desirable end result remains a remote possibility rather than an expectation.
1 History
1.1 Early work
PalladiumThis article describes the chemical element palladium. For other meanings, see palladium (disambiguation Palladium is a chemical element with symbol Pd and atomic number 46. A rare silver-white transition metal of the platinum group, palladium resembles p and titaniumscandium titanium vanadium Ti Zr Full table General Name, Symbol, NumberTitanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 4, 4 , d Density, Hardness 4507 kg/m3, 6 Appearance Silvery metallic Atomic properties Atomic weight 47. 867 am have a curious, and well established, ability to absorb large quantities of hydrogenhydrogen helium H Li Full table General Name, Symbol, NumberHydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1 (IA), 1 , s Density, Hardness 0. 0899 kg/m3, NA Appearance colorless Atomic properties Atomic weight 1. 00794 amu Atomic radius (ca. Although the distance between hydrogen nuclei in such metals is no less than it is in other situations (such as a molecule of water), it has been suggested that these metals might, by bringing the deuterium atoms close together, catalyzeEnthalpy profile for catalysed and uncatalysed reactions. A is the activation energy for an uncatalysed reaction, A is the reduced activation energy for the same reaction when catalysed. I represents the point at which a chemical intermediate has been for fusion of deuterium at ordinary temperatures.
The special ability of palladiumThis article describes the chemical element palladium. For other meanings, see palladium (disambiguation Palladium is a chemical element with symbol Pd and atomic number 46. A rare silver-white transition metal of the platinum group, palladium resembles p to absorb hydrogen was recognized in the nineteenth centuryAlternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical ( 18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801- 1900. Events The Little Ice Age ended. In the late nineteen-twentiesCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 Events and trends Technology John Logie Baird invents the first working t, two GermanThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east scientists, F. Paneth and K. Peters, reported the transformation of hydrogen into helium by spontaneous nuclear catalysis when hydrogen is absorbed by finely divided palladium at room temperature. These authors later acknowledged that the helium they measured was due to background from the air.
In 1927, Swedish scientist J. Tandberg said that he had fused hydrogen into helium in an electrolytic cell with palladium electrodes. On the basis of his work he applied for a Swedish patent for "a method to produce helium and useful reaction energy". After deuterium was discovered in 1932, Tandberg continued his experiments with heavy water. Due to Paneth and Peters' retraction, Tandberg's patent application was eventually denied.
