Cold fusion essay

[1] Today, cold fusion is considered as a fringe field by mainstream science. In this review article, we outline the reasons why cold fusion is unlikely to be possible based on an understanding of nuclear physics.

Cold fusion is only produced three out of ten times under the best conditions, but this is enough to justify continued research. The first transitors were only successful one out of a hundred times until the mechanisms were completely understood. The science of the reaction taking place in cold fusion is still not clear.

Claims of the realization of cold fusion involve the presence of a solid state host, oftentimes palladium metal, in which deuterium nuclei can undergo fusion. [1,2] Palladium is a very good at absorbing hydrogen within its lattice and the claim is that deuterium nuclei, when enmeshed within a lattice, can somehow be induced to fuse.

In March of 1989, a discovery was made that rocked the scientific world. Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischman had announced that they were able to create and sustain a cold fusion process. After intense media attention, and corresponding interest in future test, the subject seemed to have faded away.