Electromigration approach to verify cold fusion effects

This paper reports that following recent announcements of the occurrence of nuclear fusion between deuterium nuclei in palladium near room temperature in an electrolysis cell, explanations for the incredibly large increase in fusion probability have been sought. Two pointers seem to emerge: the high density of deuterium ions sustained by the cathode material and, more importantly, the substantial screening effect produced by the conduction electrons in the host metal, which reduces the D{sup +}-D{sup +} barrier. This latter mechanism appears to be a function of the concentration of the D{sup +} ions. To investigate this phenomenon, a two-compartment electrolysis cell is built. A titanium rod suitably shaped for the application of the simultaneous electric field is employed as the cathode. Electrolysis of heavy water is conducted for several hours. Neutron counters are employed for continuous detection of neutrons. With the size of electrode used and for electric fields of up to 20 mV/cm, neither a significant neutron emission nor any rise in the tritium level in the heavy water are detected. Faint traces of autoradiographs are, however, observed for the cathode.