ABSTRACT

Observations have been made of deuteron-deuteron fusion at room temperature during low-voltage electrolytic infusion of deuterons into metallic titanium or palladium electrodes. Neutrons with an energy of approximately 2.45 meV have been clearly detected with a sensitive neutron spectrometer at a rate of 2 x 10^-3 n/s which cannot be accounted for by ambient neutron background variations. The reaction has been known to yield excess (or "latent") heat, where D + D yields ⁴He + 23.8 meV. This paper will examine the latest experimental results from several international researchers and summarize several new theories of nuclear model interactions that have been put forth to explain these intriguing results.

RESULTS

Cold fusion has been largely a study of results first and theories which then must follow. Since most results from solid fusion experiments do not agree with old and contemporary nuclear theories, new theories are being generated to account for these new data and results.

After the Pons and Fleischmann announcement, numerous institutions all over the world began their own experiments. As of 1996 there were over 100 independent research groups investigating the potential possibilities of this new energy anomaly worldwide. Not all experiments have been successful and as research has persisted several new theories have been explored based on the new data found from various substitutions from the original experimentation in an attempt to determine a clear theory as to the factors that are occurring within the electrolytic cell. One of the most important results is the discovery of neutron emissions in the form of bursts which have been observed by De Nino, Sanchez, and Gozzi (De Nino, 1989), (Sanchez, 1989), (Gozzi, 1992). Neutron spectra with a 2.45 meV peak should be evidence of deuteron-deuteron (D + D) fusion. However, the detection of neutrons is complex and expensive, requiring a great deal of equipment and experimental expertise.

A University of Rome study showed that after imposing a constant current density of 200 mA/cm², the nuclear and thermal effect was first recorded after 150 hours! Then in a time interval of 22h5'54", the neutron recorder counted 80 single spikes! Before and after the event, the neutron counting rate was equal to the background level. During the entire experiment, at least 36 counts were concentrated in an unresolved group which would imply an emission of 7.2 x 10⁵ neutrons in 4 minutes, or 3 x 10³ n/s, while the electrode temperature increased to a value of 150 deg. C (with an overall temperature change average of 100 deg. C) (Gozzi, et al, 1990).

The University of Hokkaido in Japan using a palladium rod of 99.9% purity and 0.3 cm in diameter indicated the generation of neutrons. The experiment was conducted in a concrete room about 5 meters below the ground to shield it from background neutrons.

The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in India recorded a temperature rise of 1 degree Celsius per minute, as well as neutrons and gamma rays, estimating about 2 in every 50,000 deuterium atoms were fusing.

In America, in addition to Brigham Young University and the National Cold Fusion Institute at the University of Utah, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Case Western Reserve University, University of Florida, University of Minnesota, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Los Alamos Laboratory, and EPRI (connected with Stanford University, Stanford Research Institute International and Texas A & M) are among those who conducted their own experiments. John Bockis at Texas A & M's Department of Chemistry and the Cyclotron Center established over ten cells and reported the production of tritium from D₂O electrolysis at a palladium cathode, with the maximum tritium count observed in one cell as 4.9 x 10⁶ disintegrations per minute per milliliter, showing 100 to 100,000 times more than that expected from the normal isotropic enrichment from electrolysis.

Even after the critics assured the press that "cold fusion" was only an delusion of a few scientists, SRI International was willing to fund $3 - 4 million U.S. dollars per year for Michael C.H. McKubre's laboratory research into cold fusion in Menlo Park, California (McKubre, 1994). The funds were granted from EPRI. Other researchers, include Edmund Storms at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Robert Bush at California State Polytechnic University, and Thomas Droege, at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Batavia, IL).

Although the U.S. Government has not thoroughly supported many of these projects, recently the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in Japan have committed over 3 billion U.S. dollars to this research. Pons and Fleischmann left their positions at the University of Utah to live in France and be funded by IMRA Europe which is the European branch of the Toyota Motor Company research institute.

The Japanese have more finely attuned the state of the art and have made the most impressive and consistent advances in cold fusion research of all countries. Their research interest was spawned by a successful experiment by Akito Takahashi (1992) at Osaka University who reported that he was able to successfully produce an average of 70% more heat than his device consumed in electric power by "cycling" the input power, alternately running the current at high and lower levels for long periods of time. After Takahashi's experiments, Storms at Los Alamos reported that he was able to operate his device for just under 300 hours also with an output of excess heat. The best research still goes to the NTT (Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Corporation) experiments by Japan's Eiichi Yamaguchi.

Eiichi Yamaguchi, a physicists at NTT (Japan) made significant confirmations in his lab by designing his own experiment. Yamaguchi used palladium coated with gold on one side. The palladium is saturated with deuterium gas and placed into a vacuum chamber and the electric current is turned on. Within three hours, the palladium increases in temperature and is capable of generating 5 Watts of excess heat for 10 minutes releasing a gas containing ⁴He.

Bockis (Texas A&M) also claims that 2 to 200 times more atoms of ⁴He is contained on the palladium rods than those in his "control" experiment. Researchers soon expect to be able to document for public inspection, energy increases from 30 to 70 percent in excess of electric power input. Researchers in India have already reported 70%, and Thermacore Inc., in the United States claims that of the 18 Watts of power in are producing 68 Watts out for an excess of heat production of 50 Watts.

Excess tritium (T) was also detected, and this presence of nuclear by-products indicates that a nuclear reaction is taking place. Texas A & M's Department of Chemistry and the Cyclotron Center built and tested over ten cells and reported the production of tritium from heavy water (D₂O) electrolysis at a palladium (Pd) cathode, with the maximum tritium count observed in one cell as 4.9 x 10⁶ disintegrations per minute per milliliter, showing 100 to 100,000 times more than that expected from the normal isotropic enrichment from electrolysis (Bockris, 1989a). Critics claim that if tritium is being produced at 1.008 meV, then equally large quantities of neutrons must also be present. However, if the neutrons are not always inside the nuclear well, it is possible that the neutron is stripped away to form tritium with the other deuteron which would account for the large excess of the emission ratio of tritium over neutrons (t/n). In cold fusion electrochemical cells, tritium has been measured at levels of 10¹³ atoms per milliliter, yet actual t/n ratio of emission has been estimated to be about 10⁸:1(Iyengar, 1989). These ratios indicate that the reaction:

However, neutron and tritium emissions are not the most common factor of most cold fusion experiments. For the most part cold fusion reactions produce excess thermal energy, enough excess (or "latent") energy to heat the water surrounding the electrode. Heating the water is an inherent characteristic of the electrochemical fusion reaction. These reactions have produced sufficient heat to cause water to boil. If the fusion cell is pressurized, higher temperatures can be obtained, but only low-level heat can be produced since the metal lattice tends to give deuterium at higher temperatures (S. Pons and M. Fleischmann, 1989). Water temperatures in excess of 170 deg. Fahrenheit have also been observed (Haag, 1990).

The argument of the physics community is that the amount of heat does not correlate with the limited number of neutron emissions. ⁴He has also be generated which can correspond to the level of heat produced. The reaction:

The opponents suggest that a chemical reaction of some type must be occurring. However, the results have shown excess heat anywhere from 10 W/cm³ Pd to 100 W/cm³ Pd (or about 1.0 keV/atom) has been reported in many different cells from various institutions.

Additional experiments and reports internationally also have shown Pd x-ray lines and clear evidence of nuclear transmutation events.

THE FACTORS

In a chemical reaction, only a few electron volts (eV) of energy are released per atom taking part in the reaction, and even fewer in a mechanical process. In a nuclear reaction, millions of electron Volts (meV) can be released per atom. If all the atoms in an electrolytic cell were to react, the energy release would be on the order of a thousand electron Volts (keV)/atom.

There are several approaches to cold fusion development but the basic approach since 1989 has deviated only slightly from the original Pons and Fleischmann model using electrolysis of Lithium deteroxide (LiOD) on palladium (Pd), where a palladium cathode is immersed in an heavy water-based electrolytic solution of 0.1 molar LiOD in 99.5% D₂O + 0.5% H₂O. The LiOD is added to make the electrolyte conductive. The palladium cathode is surrounded by a bare platinum wire helical anode. A unique property of palladium is its ability to absorb large quantities of hydrogen (or deuterium) as the cathode in an electrolysis cell.

The platinum wire anode is attached to a positive DC voltage while the palladium is charged negatively. Direct current is supplied at 3 - 25 Volts across each cell at currents of 10 - 500 mA. Specific correlations between fusion yield and voltage, current density, or surface characteristics of the metallic cathode have yet to be clearly established. The fusion reaction occurring produces excess thermal energy inside the palladium metal electrode, and raises the temperature of the water surrounding the electrode.

There are various approaches to loading the palladium, one of which incorporates the use of pulsed heating which has a clear effect on the loading speed. Many researchers consider pulsed current an important factor, along with temperature variations.

Very high pressure does not stimulate cold fusion phenomena. However, further research is examining in effects of magnetic and optical irradiation, ultrasonic waves (>10⁹ Hz), and the use of pressure waves.

Also, certain foreign atoms may enhance the surface dynamics, such as vanadium, aluminum, and tin in titanium or the silver in palladium. Alloys may be more efficient than pure metals.

The cathode, Palladium, is a face-centered-cubic (fcc) crystal lattice with a side of about 3.89 Angstroms. If hydrogen is loaded into it, the crystal expands slightly to 4.03 Angstroms with a D-Pd ratio of 0.8. In the Pd-D lattice there are rows of deuterons along direction [110] and lambda is [a/2 SQRT(2) n] for coherence, 'a' being the lattice constant (Vaidya, 1993).

Palladium functions as an absorber of hydrogen or deuterium ions, as well as a resistance problem to monitor the loading ratio, and also a resistive heater to raise the temperature. After electrolysis in an electrolyte containing both H and D ions, the cold-rolled palladium cathode has been shown to produce macroscopic deformations on the surface, eventually leading to craters and in some instances exhibiting faceted crystals inside the craters (Silver, 1993).

THEORIES

In 1989, Pons and Fleischmann publicly announced their results, (and also the results of others) using the term "cold fusion," and since that time many theories have been put forth to account for some or all of their results. Some researchers continue to see their results as purely fusion based, others have come up with terms such as "new hydrogen energy," or "chemically assisted nuclear fusion" or "cold nuclear fission." The biggest conflict appears to be designing a theory in which the nuclear Coulomb barrier is overcome even at low temperatures.

In a deuterium molecule occupying octahedral sites, where the equilibrium separation between D-D is 0.74 - 0.94 Angstroms, the fusion rate is exceedingly slow, about 10^-74 per deuterium molecule per second. One of the important factors appears to be the Pd which when loaded appears to bring deuterons much closer together than they could otherwise get at ambient temperature. Although the average separation of deuterons is approximately 1.4 Angstroms in heavily loaded palladium, the deuterons can be in equilibrium at a separation as close as 0.94 Angstroms.

Here the interstitial lattice sites may be considered shallow potential wells allowing for high deuteron mobility, and, possibly, an enhanced probability of fusion through the repulsive, proton Coulomb barrier. In actuality, the neutrons and protons are only weakly bound in deuterons and may be outside the D nuclear well a large portion of the time.

The Pons-Fleischmann Process

It was originally thought that, as the voltage is applied across the electrodes through electrolysis, the heavy water (D₂O) is split into oxygen and deuterium (Pons and Fleischmann, 1989). The deuterium atoms are absorbed into the palladium at octahedral sites on the crystal lattice while oxygen accumulates at the platinum anode. The deuterium density is greater than that of liquid hydrogen.

The fusion reaction is catalyzed by the deposition of D⁺ and metal ions from the electrolyte at (and into) the negative electrode. The deuterium atom ionizes with its electrons entering the band structure of the palladium. After various times of charging (or "aging"), the palladium rod is supersaturated with deuterons, and it has a crystal lattice structure like NaCl (King, 1989). All lattice sites are occupied, and the excess free deuterons form a "protonic fluid" which can aid electrical conduction. Thus, although metals such as palladium and titanium are used to support the fusion reaction, they are not consumed in the process of solid-state fusion. Instead the fuel consumed is the deuterium in the heavy water.

The Surface Model and Three-body Collisions

John Bockris at Texas A & M also describes the "surface model" which does not consider that the fusion occurs within the electrode, but suggests that the surface of the electrode might be the site of the reaction. He suggests that fusion reactions occur at specific points, or protuberance on the surface of the electrode (Bockris, 1989b). Here fusion occurs on the lattice, not within the lattice, whereby the lattice is a reservoir of deuterium providing enough raw material for the dynamic process that takes place even after the electrolysis is stopped or D₂O and LiOD is replaced by H₂O and LiOH (Glueck, 1993).

Jacques DuFour of Shell Research S.A. in France believes that when a transient electrical field is created by sparking through the gas between two dissymmetrical electrodes, the surface layer of hydrogen isotopes builds a three-body collision of two hydrogen isotopes and one electron (DuFour, 1993). The accumulation of these species in a surface layer of the electrode metal can be explained by the known properties of sparks and of hydrogen isotopes in metal, implicating the weak electronuclear force that yields products completely different from those of hot fusion, whereby a deuteron is a two-nucleon system containing weak interactions.

According to DuFour there is a whole class of nuclear fusion reactions at room temperatures, involving "three-body collisions" of two hydrogen isotopes and a neutrino, which through an indirect transition (virtual neutron states), have reactions favored by the high electron and proton concentrations existing in the metal and the high transient electrical field created by the sparks.

Very high thermal energy prevents the Coulomb forces from deviating their trajectories under conditions of hot fusion, but in metal there is a high concentration of low-thermal-energy protons and electrons at a mean distance of about 2 Angstroms and when exposed to a transient electrical field the probability of the three-body collision increases. DuFour has estimated this collision at 10^-12 s and 10^-14 s, which is characteristic to the weak nuclear force.

A controversy has arisen over the need for refined palladium that is relatively free of microscopic cracks in order for the "cold fusion" process to succeed. Several researchers claim that if the electrode has too many cracks it will fail to produce the excess heat and a purity of 99.9% is required. Contrary to this belief, Rainer Kuehne in Germany postulates that it is the cracks within the electrode (99.8% purity) that are the trigger for cold fusion (Kuehne, 1994).

The crack hypothesis claims that the absorption of hydrogen gives rise to deformations and expansion of the metal lattice and that the formation of anions (metal ions) which allow for crack formations near the surface gives rise to deuterium absorption, whereby keV deuterons rapidly lose energy by collisions allowing areas of high temperature to arise. Kuehne claims that at such locations deuterid bubbles collide, giving rise to electric fields and to keV deuterons in an ongoing process during the charging of the electrolytic cell.

The Two-Step Mechanism Involving Electron Capture by a Deuteron or Lithium Atom

This model represents a coherent and semi-coherent neutron transfer with increasing phonon coupling. It appears that on the surface of the Pd the D⁺ can diffuse and combine with ingoing electrons where 2 D⁺ + 2 e^- yields D₂ or the D ions can also stay on the surface and be independent of the electrons. Another theory proposed by J.C. Jackson and Budelov is that the neutron could be captured by the Pd metal nuclei and used to produce a different isotope of palladium and a gamma photon which could cause a photodistintegration of the deuteron and could liberate a neutron. The by-products would then be heat and electrons explaining the low neutron production rate compared to the high excess heat output (Hagelstein, 1990).

Transmission Resonance

Dr. R.T. Bush of California State Polytechnic University has suggested that when a palladium lattice is fully occupied by deuterons, conditions are favorable to support laser-like actions where the deuteron-loaded lattice supports a type of resonating phenomena in which the probability of a traveling or "hopping" wave-like deuteron fusing with a target deuteron is increased significantly.

This may also be caused by the possibility of plasma oscillations of the D-shell. Also the theory that deuterons (protons) exist in deep energy wells may not be valid because the protons appear to be mobile in a similar state as classical oscillators. Bush's theoretical model accounts for the heavy water heat effect and light excess heat effect from cold fusion. It provides a unique and highly novel mechanism to sufficiently enhance tunneling through the Coulomb barrier, as well as incorporating the role of lithium in electrolytic experiments.

The transmission resonance model begins with the hypothesis:

If one could increase omega_min of the zero point field associated with the establishment of lambda_max this could cause the electron to spiral inward to increase its angular velocity where omega'_o = omega'_min, where omega is the frequency of absorbed radiation and omega'_o is the electron angular velocity. It is believed that alkali atoms, the Li and D, or a mixture, may serve as crucial ingredients in the Casimir reflecting planes, whereby the Li-plane Casimir reflector separation corresponds directly to the Pd lattice spacing. The Casimir separation for the D-planes is twice as great (Bush, 1994).

In some experiments light water or ordinary water has been used successfully to reproduce results similar to the Pons-Fleischmann model. According to Dr. Randell Mills of Hydrocatalysis Power Corporation (Lancaster, PA), we may be viewing a catalysis process whereby the H electron is induced to undergo a transition to a lower electronic energy level than the "ground state" as defined by the usual quantum-mechanical model of the atom. Thus, stored energy in the atom is catalytically released.

It may be that the barrier to the access of the D in relationship to the tetrahedral sites is nothing but the zero-point energy of the harmonic oscillator in the n -direction.

The Tunneling Model

Nuclear interactions can be coherent when the difference in the phases of the wave functions of the compound nucleus states formed by overlap between the itinerant deuteron (neutron) and the lattice deuterons (nuclei) is an integral multiple of 2 pi (Vaidya, 1993).

Tunneling has been considered a quantum mechanical phenomenon, where a particle whose energy is less than the potential energy of a barrier can overcome the barrier of electrical repulsion.

Calculations by Rabinowitz and scientists at EPRI have shown that it is possible for the effective mass of the deuterium nuclei in a solid to be sufficiently less than the mass of deuterons in free space (Rabinowitz, 1990). This can increase the tunneling coefficient by many orders of magnitude.

By replacing the electron in a hydrogen molecular ion with a more massive charged particle, the fusion rate is greatly increased. Mario Rabinowitz of EPRI likens tunneling to a classical high jumper where an extended body can clear a barrier even when its energy is less than the potential energy of the barrier, if it can communicate with and be aided by the interaction on the other side of the barrier. Tunneling would strongly favor reactions with reduced masses such as:

A zero-point energy of approximately 0.06 eV can be assumed which leads to the first excited state above the potential minimum near 0.1 eV. The question is: Can 0.1 - 1.0 eV deuterons penetrate the Coulomb barrier? We know that the electron screening length is shorter than the interparticle spacing reducing the width of the Coulomb barrier. However, the deuterons must be within the scale of the fusion barrier (r_o) of approximately 0.37 - 0.125 Angstroms in order for the cold fusion rate to be near the claimed reaching states of 10^-23/s/deuteron as seen by Jones et al. (Jones, 1989).

According to Adam Burrows of the University of Arizona, this would first require that the deuterons (positive) and the deuteride (hybrid) exist not as atoms or molecules, but as screened positive charges with screening clouds having the required length (Burrows, 1989). However, this would still not be sufficient since cold fusion reaction rates also require the increasing of the tunneling integral by unity to increase the fusion rate. Moreover, a vacuum zero-point energy stimulated by a resonance effect that matches the palladium cathodes atomic mass may be required to create the proper tunneling potential.

A further expansion of tunneling comes when the centrifugal barrier is combined with the Coulomb barrier. Here penetration can be increased due to the resonance level between the Coulomb barrier and the centrifugal barrier.

The E-Cell Theory

According to the theory put forth by Gennady Fedorovich et al. of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the E-cell is a radiation defect of a crystalline lattice of a hydride which forms as a result of the capture of a thermal neutron by the nucleus of an atom where, for example:

Jahn-Teller Symmetry Breaking and Hydrogen Energy in Gamma-PdD

Keith Johnson from MIT has proposed a chemical process which corresponds to an "internal phase change of the deuterium within the gamma-PdD lattice." He believes that the energy released is caused by the internal cyclic gamma-phase change of atomic deuterium to dideuterium. The heat produced is "latent" in that it is produced by repeated formation of the "interstitial sublattice" of the D-D bonds between the tetrahedral interstices in gamma-Pd-D. According to Johnson, as atomic deuterium diffuses into Pd and dideuterium diffuses out causing 9.4 eV per Pd atoms for 6.8 x 10²² Pd atoms/cm³ (Johnson, 1994).

Due to the high symmetry coordination of a Pd atom by D atoms in four of the eight surrounding fcc-palladium tetrahedral interstitial sites, the Jahn-Teller effect is unstable leading to a central energy minimum of distorted tetrahedral symmetry and a planar "broken-symmetry" energy minimum 9.4 eV below the high symmetry at a shortened distance of 0.76 Angstroms (almost equal to the bond distance of a free hydrogen molecule). The cycle time for recombination (4 D to 2 D₂) is difficult to calculate, but it would be somewhere between 1 and 100 minutes at 9.4 eV per Pd atom per unit time. This process according to Johnson could generate heat at a rate of 17 to 1700 Watts/cm³ Pd.

New Particle: The Iton Particle and Nattoh Model

J.F. Yang from Hunan Normal University suggested since 1989, the possibility that a new neutral elementary particle may be forming, where the deuteron captures an electron and is transformed into a dineutron ²₀N; the deuteron-dineutron reaction would then account for the cold fusion. The Nattoh model proposes a reaction that involves plural hydrogen atoms and electrons where:

Given the D-D fusion model, further contention arises over the required kinetic energy required for a deuteron to overcome the Coulomb barrier. A deuteron in such a crystal is subject to forces from the crystal lattice, as well as the Coulomb force from another deuteron. For known D-D fusion, the deuteron must acquire more than 4 x 10⁵ eV of kinetic energy from the electrical field. Cold fusion, low-voltage electrolytic experiments uses only 10 V. The probability that a deuteron passes through the barrier is 10^-74 per second at normal room temperature, and in cold fusion experiments it is recorded to be 10^-20 per second.

Some research has suggested that hydrogen ignition is occurring at the air-water interface. From preliminary results obtained by Matsumoto and Hokkaido University using the Nattoh model, they predict that cold fusion can occur using ordinary water. The model is based on the hypothesis that hydrogen clusters are trapped in tiny cavities such as cracks and compress themselves to a induced hydrogen-catalyzed fusion reaction. Here cold fusion occurs when the hydrogen pressure exceeds a critical value under electrical current flow.

Matsumoto claims that a metal such as nickel which has low hydrogen permeability can be used whereby hydrogen clusters on the surface (Matsumoto, 1993).

RECENTLY PUBLISHED RESULTS

A private meeting entitled "Low Energy Nuclear Reactions Conference" was held in College Station, Texas, on June 19, 1995, to review the latest available results of "cold fusion" and "transmutation" experiments. The meeting was organized by J.O'M. Bockris and G.H. Lin and was held in a conference room at Texas A&M University. All of the papers from that conference have only just recently been publicly published. (Bockris and Lin, Jan. 1996.) In the order listed below, eight papers were presented on "Basic Experimental Studies", four on "Theoretical Models", and five on "Innovative Approaches".

Each experimental paper presents positive and repeatable results of cold fusion and/or an atomic transmutation of elements (listed in the order as they are in the Proceedings):

EPRI: Low energy proton and deuterium reactions seen by Wolf in 1992 to produce Silver, Rhodium, and Ruthenium with excess neutrons and mild radioactivity. (T. Passell, 1995.)

Hakodate Nat. College of Tech, Japan: Production of iron isotopes with excess heat from gold and lead electrodes in electrolytic solutions. (T.Ohmori and M. Enyo, 1996.)

Scientific Industrial Assn., Russia: Glow discharge experiments with very pure Pd electrodes produce excess heat 2x - 3x (2-to-3 times "over-unity")and several new elements. (A. Karabut, Y. Kucherov, I. Savvatimova, 1996.)

Portland State University: Excess heat and unexpected elements produced by electrolysis of Pd in several experiments. (S. Miguet and J. Dash, 1995.)

Cal Poly University: Strontium produced from rubidium with excess heat in light water electrolysis with nickel electrodes. (R. Bush and ENECO, 1993.)

Hokkaido Univ., Japan: Excess heat 2x-to-4x and several nuclear products found in light and heavy water electrolysis cells using Pd and Ni electrodes. (R. Notoya.)

Ukrainian International Academy of Original Ideas: Various electrolysis results, including zinc turned into copper; and copper implanted into steel, with weight loss. (G. Rabzi, 1996.)

Ukrainian International Academy of Original Ideas: Formation of new elements with atomic numbers 82 through 40 via electrolysis with lead and zinc. (A. Fabrikant and M. Meyerovich, 1996.)

Purdue University: Optical Theorem explains low-energy nuclear fusion reactions and unstable product formations. (Y. Kim, 1996.)

CalPoly University: Electron Catalyzed Fusion Model fits EPRI/SRI cold fusion data and other data from Japan. (R. Bush and ENECO, 1996.)

Clustron Sciences Corp.: Nucleon Cluster Model provides explanations for cold fusion experiments and also for radioactive waste cleanup. (R. Brightsen, 1996.)

Clustron Sciences Corp.: Nucleon Cluster Model compares exactly with the Periodic Table of the Elements (discovered in 1869). (R. Brightsen, 1996.)

Hokkaido Univ. & Hakodate Nat. College of Tech., Japan: Excess heat observed in 12 of 80 cases using powdered oxides and Pt in hot D₂ gas. (T. Mizuno, et al., and M. Enyo, 1996.)

Mt. States Mine and Smelter: Creation of helium and lithium from nitrogen gas using electromagnetic fields. (R. Kovac, 1996.)

Wireless Engineering: Creation of fluorine from water using shaped

electromagnetic fields, duplicating some of the 1927 experiments of Walter Russell. (T. Grotz, 1996)

Los Alamos National Laboratory: Creation of tritium from small palladium wires and voltages. (T. Claytor, D. Jackson, and D. Tuggle, 1996.)

Burns Developments, Ltd.: Experimental evidence for the "Alpha-Extended Model of the Atom". Demonstrated removal of radioactive thorium and creation of new and lighter elements in 15 tests igniting specific mixtures of elements. (R. Monti, 1996.)

FUTURE BENEFITS OF COLD FUSION

At the Power-Gen '95 Americas trade show in Anaheim, California, on December 4 & 5, 1995, Clean Energy Technologies, Inc. (CETI) of Dallas, Texas demonstrated a 1-kW cold fusion reactor. During the demonstration, between 0.1 and 1.5 Watts of electricity was input, and 450 to 1,300 Watts of heat was output. This was an increase from the ratio of 1:18x that had previously been demonstrated only a short time earlier in October 1995 at the International Conference on Cold Fusion (Rothwell, 1996).

According to Keith Johnson, if some of these theories are correct and 1 cm³ of Pd is capable of yielding upwards of 1.7 kW of energy, this would eventually create system of 22 kW or 30 HP in automobiles with the possibility of "water engines" electrochemically generating both heat and hydrogen for a fuel cell.

The world's oceans contain a large amount of readily extractable heavy water, sufficient to meet the global energy needs for hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of years. Heavy water production facilities will be needed. One gallon out of every 7,000 gallons of ordinary water is heavy water (deuterium oxide or D₂O). The energy equivalent of a gallon of heavy water is about equal to 300,000 gallons of fuel oil. The cost of production of one gallon of heavy water is estimated at less than $1,000 or less than one cent per gallon of oil (energy equivalent).

A target range of 400% to 1000% (4x - 10x) excess energy generation for a given cathode design should be a commercial target for the system. Currently, the thermal energy output of electrochemical fusion reactors is being achieved with excess of electrical energy input by a factor varying from 25% to 600% (6x). Fleischmann and Pons reported briefly achieving a factor of 100-fold thermal energy excess over electrical energy input and also have briefly achieved boiling water at 100 deg. C (Pons and Fleischmann, 1990).

Although energy generated has been in the 10 to 100 W/cm³ range, for commercial products such as heaters up to 100 W/cm³ of active deuterium-absorbing metal electrode materials would be needed that would allow for rapid response and short heating times.

In terms of domestic heaters where an electric or natural gas water heater can cost on an average $250 - $400 U.S. dollars per year, after installation costs and capital expenditures which would hopefully be achieved at current heater prices, the average cost of heating a 5.50 kW fusion-based water heater could be as low as $50.00 per year (Haag, 1990). In addition, the low neutron radiation is highly desirable because there is only a limited amount of harmful radioactivity that could be easily shielded even for home use.

Heating tap water from 400F to a temperature of 1580F requires an energy input of 0.26 kWh per gallon of water. The average consumption for a family of four is 80 gallons per day, requiring 20.8 kWh of energy. The height of standard residential water heaters is 152 cm, a deuterium storing metal rod electrode having this height and a diameter of 1.3 cm with a heat generation rate of 50 W/cm³ of electrode, a corresponding energy output of 0.050 kWh cm³ could be achieved with a volume of 200 cm³ of electrode material.

Over $8 billion per year is spent on fossil fuels for heating water in the United States. This represents 4% of our total energy needs. The nuclear fusion based-water heater could save up to 90% of this cost for consumers per year.

The systems where industrials would be positively effected are: (1) Water Heating; (2) Steam generation for sterilization; (3) Water distillation; (4) Air conditioning; (5) cooking; (6) heating for greenhouses; (7) heaters for chemical processing plants; (8) heaters for various transportation vehicles (trains, planes, buses, trucks); (9) heaters for snow, ice removal; (10) heaters for swimming pools and hot tubs.

WEB SITES AND HOME PAGES

Several organizations are actively pursuing licensed commercial applications for their proven "cold fusion" technologies. Further information about these applications can be found on the Institute for New Energy web site at: www.padrak.com/ine/ ; and at the Academy for Future Science web site at: www.affs.org .

CONCLUSIONS

The challenge before us is to move forward with the expansion of worldwide teamwork, the study of Li and Ni, reverse profiles for low nuclear concentrations, and to make a closer study of several elements such as Al, Bi, Ca, Dy, Gd and Sm that are considered the reaction products of requisite existence for Cold Fusion activity.

Many of these theories although different are similar suggesting that there may be a unifying mechanism behind cold fusion phenomenon, such as zero-point energy fluctuations. Clearly the challenge beckons our full attention.

REFERENCES

Bockris, John 1989a. "A Review of the Investigation of the Fleischmann-Pons Phenomena," Texas A & M University, p. 20, 1989.

Bockris, J. Packham, N., Wold, K.L., Wass, J.C. and Kainthia, R.C., 1989b. "Production of Tritium from D₂0 Electrolysis at a Rd Cathode," J. Electroanalyt. Chem., Vol. 270, 1989.

Bockris, J. and Lin, G.H., 1996. "Proceedings of the Low Energy Nuclear Reactions Conference," Journal of New Energy, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1996. Fusion Information Center, P.O. Box 58639, Salt Lake City, UT 84158-0638. See: www.padrak.com/ine/ .

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