Cold Fusion

[Greyedge]

A topic that I would like Bryan to go over would be cold fusion. I've heard about the original experiment with Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, but I think that they admitted that there was flaws in their experiments.

On 22-25 March 2009, the American Chemical Society held a four-day symposium on "New Energy Technology", in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the announcement of cold fusion. At the conference, researchers with the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) reported detection of neutrons in a cold fusion cell using a CR-39 detector, a result published months earlier in Die Naturwissenschaften. The report results suggest that energetic neutrons have been emitted, but don't explain what process was causing them.

Although the concept would be great for cheap energy, I can't help but be a little skeptical.

[dlorde]

I didn't see any suggestion that this could lead to cheap energy, just that the neutron signal could have been consistent with limited deuterium-tritium fusion (e.g. only a few nuclei over a period of two to three weeks). There have also been suggestions that these signatures could be caused by low-energy nuclear reactions other than fusion. The consensus seems to be that a few high-energy neutrons were produced, but the data are very limited, and the mechanism is open to speculation.

[paximperium]

Was there any mention of the detection of other byproducts of fusion such as helium?

[Monketey Ghost]

there's the real question. Byproducts.

[bfpicepick]

Yes, I think this is a good time for that. Especially after the 60 Minutes episode last night (Apr 19th) featured Cold Fusion.

The latest experiments show an excess of heat, but it takes quite a bit of time and is inconsistent. Their experiments have been replicated and they show, yes, the same inconsistency.

i would be particularly interested in how the most recent experiments differ from those that Fleischmann and Pons did.

60 Minutes talked to Fleischmann and asked if this made him feel vindicated. Why? Unless they were reproducing his experiments or basing the new work on his, the work he and Pons touted would still be less than interesting. If I go out and proclaim I know how to build an FTL drive and it doesn't work, am I vindicated if someone in the future creates faster-than-light travel?

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Was there any mention of the detection of other byproducts of fusion such as helium?

Nary a word or even a question about byproducts. Left my skepti-sense tingling for sure. :(