A preliminary investigation of cold fusion by electrolysis of heavy water
Several tests have been made with electrolytic cells utilizing 0.1 to 0.2 N LiOD in D{sub 2}O as the electrolyte and a palladium cathode surrounded by a wire-wound platinum anode operating at cathode current densities of 100 to 600 mA/cm{sup 2}. The cathodes were swaged to diameters of 2.8 or 5.5 mm with 8.0 to 8.5 cm of active length and then annealed in some tests. The electrolyte temperature was controlled and heat was removed by flowing water in a cooling jacket, and the cell was insulated. Cooling water and electrolyte temperatures were determined by thermocouples; neutron and gamma-ray spectra were measured; and the electrolyte was periodically analyzed for tritium. In one test, an internal wire coil of platinum coated with palladium black was used in a closed system to recombine the electrolytically generated D{sub 2} and O{sub 2} without release of any off-gas. The electrolyte was periodically sampled and electrolyte of the nominal concentration was added to replace the volume withdrawn; makeup D{sub 2}O was also added, when required, in those experiments which did not include a recombiner. Neutron and gamma-ray spectra were recorded on magnetic media; temperatures, coolant flow rate, and voltages were recorded and, in the last two experiments, acquired by a computer data acquisition system. Tests up to 1000 h in duration were made, and in some experiments excess power was detected for periods of many hours, usually in the range of 5 to 15%. However, during one 12-h period, excess power of up to 50% was observed. On three separate occasions, the neutron count rate exceeded the background by three standard deviations; in addition, an apparent transient increase of tritium in the electrolyte by at least a factor of 25 occurred during one test. 8 refs., 14 figs., 3 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE/ER
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5241344
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-11322; ON: DE90004383; TRN: 90-001512
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
ELECTROLYSIS
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
ENERGY BALANCE
GAMMA SPECTRA
NEUTRON DETECTION
PALLADIUM
RADIATION DETECTION
TRITIUM
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DETECTION
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LYSIS
METALS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PLATINUM METALS
RADIOISOTOPES
SPECTRA
SYNTHESIS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
700000* - Fusion Energy