Examination of cathodically charged palladium electrodes for excess heat, neutron emission, or tritium production

Journal Article · Thu Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Fusion Technology; (USA)

OSTI ID:6582090

Wiesmann, H ^[1]

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1. Brookhaven National Lab., Dept. of Applied Science, Upton, NY (US)

This paper presents a search for steady-state excess heat, neutron emission, or tritium production carried out for palladium electrodes electrolytically charged with deuterium. No substantial deviation in cell temperatures was observed, and the upper limit to excess heat production was 320 mW/cm{sup 3} for the largest palladium cathode. No increase in neutron production above background levels was observed, and the sensitivity of the neutron detection system yielded an upper limit of 2.18 {times} 10{sup {minus}22} (3-{sigma}) fusion/s {center dot} atom{sup {minus}1} pair. The tritium levels in the cells increased by 50%, but the cells were run in the open configuration and the tritium increases were consistent with electrolytic enrichment. An approximate upper limit for tritium production was 2 {times} 10{sup 2} tritium/ml {center dot} C{sup {minus}1}. The cell temperatures were recorded once daily and monitored intermittently, but no transient excess heat excursions were observed throughout the experiment.

• OSTI ID: 6582090
• Journal Information: Fusion Technology; (USA), Journal Name: Fusion Technology; (USA) Vol. 17:2; ISSN 0748-1896; ISSN FUSTE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400400 -- Electrochemistry
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Molecular & Chemical Physics-- Atomic & Molecular Properties & Theory
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700100* -- Fusion Energy-- Plasma Research
700205 -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Fuel
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74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
BARYONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
D-T REACTORS
ELECTRODES
ELECTROLYSIS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
FERMIONS
HADRONS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
LYSIS
METALS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEONS
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PALLADIUM
PLATINUM METALS
PRODUCTION
RADIOISOTOPES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
STEADY-STATE D-T REACTORS
STEADY-STATE FUSION REACTORS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
TRITIUM
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES