Cold Nuclear Fusion Induced by Controlled Out-Diffusion of Deuterons in Palladium

Abstract

A gigantic neutron burst of (1-2) × 10 6 n/s has been detected from deuterated Pd plates with heterostructures set in a vacuum chamber. An explosive release of D 2 gas, biaxial bending of all the samples, and excess heat evolution were also observed at the same time. It has been concluded that these phenomena are caused by the cooperative production of D accumulation layers at Pd surfaces due to controlled out-diffusion of D-atoms.KEYWORDS: cold nuclear fusion, deuteron, deuterium gas, palladium, heterostructure, out-diffusion, neutron emission, biaxial strain, heat evolution, cooperative phenomenon Since Jones et al. 1} and Fleischmann and Pons 2) reported that nuclear fusion occurred at room temperature in Pd or Ti cathodes during the electrolysis of D 2 O, much effort has been made to reinvestigate the possibility of the electrolytically induced cold fusion in condensed matter.3-12) Spontaneous neutron emission due to the fusion of D-atoms has also been observed during the process of soaking Ti powder into D 2 gas up to 40 atm, followed by cooling with liquid nitrogen and heating.13) More recently, it has been reported that D + ions accelerated to more than 1 keV caused fusion at a high rate in deuterated Ti 14) or Pd. 15) Although the "high-energy" nuclear fusion in solids can be well understood within the current theory because the fusion rate at 1 keV has been calculated to be more than 10 13 times larger than that at 300 eV or less, * the observed neutron emission without application of high voltages 15) has given evidence of cold nuclear fusion. In this letter, we report a new technique for inducing "low-energy" nuclear fusion at room temperature in solids. By making use of this technique, we have observed a gigantic neutron burst and, at the same time, an explosive release of D 2 gas from deuterated Pd (Pd:D) plates as well as a biaxial bending of the samples. We have also detected excess heat evolution.The key process in the present study is the formation of D accumulation layers at solid surfaces by controlling the D-atom out-diffusive transport with hetrostructures. Namely, one of the surfaces of a Pd:D (α-phase) substrate is covered with a thick Au-film in order to prevent the leakage of D-atoms from this side. In the present experiment, the substrates were obtained by immersing annealed Pd plates (99.9%; thickness =1.0 mm) into D 2 gas (99.9%; 0.5 atm) for 24 hours. The other surface is covered with a thin film having a diffusion constant of D less than Pd. This layer appropriately controls the out-diffusion of D-atoms passing through this interface. In the present work, we used a film with a thickness of less than 100 Ǻ containing mainly Mn and O, which we call Mn-O film in this letter. Thus, the D accumulation layer can be formed at the interface during the out-diffusion processes of D-atoms by decreasing the pressure of ambient D 2 gas. It will be shown later that the formation of the β-phase layer can provide cooperative feedback to cause further accumulation of D-atoms.As soon as the sample p...

Analysis by Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy for Nuclear Products in Hydrogen Penetration Through Palladium

“…The possibility of inducing nuclear reactions at low temperature in solid-state has been widely investigated for these years. Among several experimental methods for the reaction, the controlled gas out-diffusion with palladium (Pd) deuteride or hydride in the evacuated chamber is one of the unique methods [1,2]. It was developed by Yamaguchi et al and called "in vacuo" method.…”