Is Cold Fusion Possible?

    

       Italian inventor Andrea Rossi really wants us to believe in cold fusion. He claims that his Energy Catalyzer, or E-Cat,  a liter-sized device he designed, can output three times as much energy as it draws via low- energy nuclear reactions, or LENRs. As  hydrogen  passes  over  an electrified  nickel-based  catalyst, hydrogen nuclei supposedly fuse to the nickel, transmuting the metalinto copper and releasing heat in the process. If we could harness that heat, the process could furnish cheap electricity  while  simultaneously banishing   the   production   of greenhouse   gases-all   without creating any harmful waste. 

      

    There's only one problem: Cold fusion is almost certainly a myth. Backers aside, Rossi  has  yet  to  perform  a  truly independent test of his E-Cat; in most tests by  third  parties,  Rossi  handled  the materials or was involved in some way. Critics argue that Rossi's device doesn't produce nearly as much energy as he cIaims and that his suggestion of building factories for large-scale production of electricity is baseless. They also note that his backers refuse to publicly reveal themselves and that the physics behind the project are at best unclear.   

      

    Worst  of  all,  every  purportedly successful attempt at cold fusion up until now has been the result of experimental error  or  downright  fraud.  Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons. chemistry professors at the University of Utah, claimed to have discovered cold fusion in 1989. No one has been able to replicate their results since and their ideas were discredited. Rusi Taleyarkhan, a Purdue University professor who claimed to have produced a "bubble fusion" reaction, was found guilty of "research misconduct." Besides, most physicists say that the findings just don't make sense: The energy required to bond hydrogen is simply too high for a catalyst to achieve at earthly temperatures.   

    

     Except in one case: Muon catalyzed fusion is the only instance in which a catalyst is known to enable nuclear fusion. Muons are subatomic particles that occur on Eanh principally as a result of cosmic rays slamming into the atmosphere. When muons replace the hydrogen atom's electrons, they can draw those hydrogen atoms close enough to fuse together. Unfortunately, muons require substantial energy to produce, and they don't last long enough for the chain reaction to produce more energy than goes into the reaction. Until physicists overcome these barriers, cold fusion will remain elusive.