Investigators from the United States Navy Discuss “Whether Cold Fusion or Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions”
After more than three decades of simmering debate in specialized physics groups and cutting-edge research communities, the debate over cold fusion (also known as low-energy nuclear reactions or LENRs) refuses to die. From another present, ardent supporters have lacked the consistent, reproducible findings and theoretical basis that general acceptance requires. On the other hand, ardent critics can’t ignore the strange results that have continued to emerge, such as proof for the so-called “lattice-confinement blend” presented in 2015 by a team at NASA’s Glenn Research Center.
Researchers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, have assembled a team of Navy, Army, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) laboratories to attempt to resolve the disagreement. The laboratories will work together to see if there is something to the cold fusion concept, if it is just strange chemical communications, or if something else altogether is going on in these debatable tests.
In the year 1989, electrochemist Stanley Pons and chemist Martin Fleischmann published the results of experiments during which they claimed to have noticed peculiar heat and fusion byproducts such as neutrons in solutions of water. a simple, room-temperature tabletop setup containing palladium and heavy water. To put it simply, the assertion was audacious. In general, the combo is a heat-high-pressure phenomenon. It requires a star, or if you insist on having it take place on Earth, giant magnets and a lot of electricity. However, the promise of cheap, secure, and abundant energy was quickly dashed when most researchers ceased working to replicate their findings.
Still, intriguing outcomes continued to appear. Aside from NASA’s most recent encouraging findings, Google disclosed in a 2019 paper published in Nature that the company had invested $10 million in cold fusion research since 2015. The company worked with scientists from MIT, the University of British Columbia, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The investigation’s scientists found no proof of classical Pons-Fleischmann-style cold fusion; however, they discovered evidence of the broader umbrella known as LENRs, implying that nuclear fusion could be possible in locally hot sites in otherwise ambient elements, as reported by the NASA study.
“All of us were inspired by the Google paper that appeared in Nature,” Carl Gotzmer, Chief Scientist at Indian Head, says. Gotzmer’s responsibilities include keeping the Navy up to date on the most recent scientific advances. After visiting the International Conference on Cold Fusion in 2003, Gotzmer became interested in cold fusion/LENR. He claims that after a four-hour conversation with Fleischmann and seeing discussions from around the world proving nuclear transmutations, he became more interested in the subject.
The nation’s Head group, on the other hand, established that because they were a government laboratory, they had a little more leeway to explore a contentious subject as long as it also offered the possibility of scientific results.
“I’m just not bothered by exploring something controversial as long as the science is sound,” says Oliver Barham, an Indian Head project manager participating in the initiative. “Our initial objective with this project is to carry out good science; we are not looking to prove or disprove anything.” We’re assembling a squad of professionals who are eager to get started on the challenge.”
According to Barham, the Indian Head’s role in the new initiative is that of a “honest broker.” “Our main task is to try to collect data from places like the US Naval Academy, the Army Research Laboratory, and [NIST],” adds Barham. He says that different laboratories, five of which are participating in the investigation, can provide various detectors and other equipment appropriate for investigating specific study questions. The Indian Head will then be able to coordinate materials and research initiatives between laboratories. Furthermore, once the information starts to flow in, the scientists at Indian Head can not only examine the quality of the information themselves, but also ensure that the other labs have that information readily available for review as well.
The Navy scientists are drawing their inspiration from the thirty years of available literature on cold fusion, LENRs, and related subjects. They claimed that a review of the literature on these findings led them toward the best metals for their experiments, typical refrains in experimental setup, and so on.
The researchers plan to release preliminary results by the end of the year. “The most important point, in my opinion, is to demonstrate a mechanism by which the phenomenon operates,” Gotzmer adds. Many mechanisms have been proposed, but no one has completely nailed down what the nitty-gritty science reflects.”
By the end of the year, will there be a grand-unified theory of cold fusion, LENRs, or whatever you want to call it? Experts believe that it is highly unlikely. “We’re immediately anticipating that by assembling this collection of citizens, we’ll get excellent feedback from the minds they trust,” Barham notes.
Read the original article on IEEE Spectrum.
