Nuclear power comes from either fusion or fission reactions. A common fusion reaction is where 2 deuterium atoms (hydrogen isotopes containing nuclei of a proton and a neutron) fuse to form either helium or tritium, producing energy the process. It normally takes extraordinarily energetic deuterium atoms to smash into each other wifh sufficient force for this to happen, which is why fusion usually occurs under extremely high temperatures and pressures, such as in the core of the sun.
The cold fusion hypothesis is that conditions necessary for this to happen can occur with something as simple as through electrolysis of heavy water (water with deuterium atoms instead of hydrogen), provided that the cathode is made of palladium. Certain precious metals such as plantinum and palladum have an unusual affinity for hydrogen atoms, absorbing them easily as if they were sponges. The theory is that in the atomic interstices of the palladum cathode, it's possible that electromagnetic force are sufficiently high to bring deuterium atoms together into fusion. It's true that at nanoscale dimensions, forces and speed are radically different from what we have in ordinary experience, so it seemed like a promising idea.
Unfortunately, cold fusion experiments have not proven to stand up to scientific replication or scrutiny by others, so it remains as a laboratory curiosity. Many still hope that other methods using the same concept could work, fusion power at nanoscale dimensions.
2007-01-23 11:23:46
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answer #1
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answered by Scythian1950 7
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Well that would be easier if it existed. The only way to get a significant fusion reaction going is at very high temperatures with magnetic containment or something like that (or a bomb that uses a fission reaction to get the initial containment and then let the whole damn thing blow up).
Fleischman and Pons (the two guys who thought they did it in the 80s) tried to use palladium as a catalyst for the fusion of hydrogen atoms. So they thought that by running some current through the heavy water with, they had gotten some of the hydrogen atoms to fuse and release excess heat.
The wikipedia article "Cold Fusion" explains the details of what they thought happened and what follow up studies have shown.
2007-01-23 19:13:14
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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The idea behind fusion is to get hydrogen isotope nuclei close enough to each other that they'll fuse together to become helium. In the usual experiments, this involves enormous pressure and great heat.
With cold fusion, the idea is to do this at a cooler temperature. One method (that works) was invented by Philo T. Farnsworth, the same guy who invented the TV system. The system is called a "fusor." It's a curiousity, and not a useful means of producing energy. This is the thing a teenager made in his basement that made the news not long ago.
You've also heard about the scandal in which a couple of chemists "charged" electrodes with hydrogen gas, then claimed that the system was giving off energy they couldn't account for. It turned out that these chemists (Pons and Fleishmann) hadn't done proper controls on their experiment, and so their results were inconclusive at best and bad science at worst.
2007-01-23 19:19:53
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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It is a well known fact that when you take two different metals, put them together, and run a current through heat is either generated or absorbed (this depends on the direction of the current). In the original cold fusion experiment the experimenters forgot to take this fact into account when analyzing their results. And it turns out all the heat generated in their experiment could be described by this fact. No one found any evidence to suggest that fusion occurred in this experiment.
2007-01-23 21:31:58
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answer #4
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answered by sparrowhawk 4
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Cold fusion is a nuclear fusion reaction that has been reported to occur near room temperature and pressure using relatively simple devices. In nuclear fusion, two nuclei are forced to join together to form a heavier nucleus, and during that process, energy is released.
Cold fusion is the popular term used to refer to what is properly called "low energy nuclear reactions" (LENR), part of the field of "condensed matter nuclear science" (CMNS).[1] Cold fusion was brought into popular consciousness by the controversy surrounding the Fleischmann-Pons experiment in March 1989. A 1989 panel organized by the U.S. Department of Energy concluded there was no convincing evidence that useful sources of energy would result from the phenomena attributed to cold fusion, but was sympathetic to careful funding of additional research to resolve the controversy. A second DOE panel, convened in 2004, reached similar conclusions to the prior panel
2007-01-23 19:13:11
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answer #5
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answered by ulongpugot 2
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It doesn't exist. I hope that helped.
2007-01-23 19:11:03
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answer #6
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answered by eri 7
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