The return of cold fusion?

Twenty years after the infamous Pons/Fleishmann experiment (debate still rages on whether or not it actually worked) there is now substantial new evidence that "cold fusion" is a reality. At the 237th national meeting of the American Chemical Society which is going on now, researchers will be presenting date indicating that neutrons, excessive heat, X-rays, and tritium (a fusion by-product) were produced at room temperatures. Fusion has traditionally been thought only possible in environments of tremendous heat (like, say, the Sun, which is powered by fusion reactions involving hydrogen).

If this new research bears out and scientists can discover how cold fusion works, that might be a very large step toward potentially cheap and renewable energy.

(And I think now's a good opportunity for some smart entrepreneur to trademark the "Mr. Fusion" brand :-)

Categories: cold fusion, energy, fusion, physics, science