Cold fusion?

Abstract

The question mark behind the title of this paper indicates what the author considers to be the present status of this potentially revolutionary new method of energy production, also dubbed 'fusion in a jar'. When two electro-chemistry researchers, Prof. Fleischmann of the University of Southampton (U.K.) and Prof. Pons of the University of Utah (USA), announced at a press conference on March 23, 1989 that they had achieved 'cold' deuterium-deuterium fusion with significant energy gain in an apparatus not more complicated than equipment used in college electrolysis experiments, they startled not only the world scientific community, but the public at large. The debate over the veracity and significance of the Fleischmann/Pons (F/P) results has picked up momentum (and acrimony) ever since and often spilled over onto the front pages of international newspapers and magazines. Before describing the F/P experiments and attempting an evaluation of their results, the present status of high temperature fusion research and theory is briefly reviewed to provide the reader with some background against which to judge the potential impact of the F/P work.