Review of Condensed-Matter Nucleosynthesis

This article describes evidence for low-energy nuclear reactions (LENRs) in condensed matter reported by 15 independent laboratories in six countries. We summarize three types of experimental observations in LENRs that indicate nuclear reactions: anomalous isotopic abundances, nuclear transmutations from one element to another, and tritium production. LENRs are produced under special conditions on the surfaces of metallic hydrides or deuterides. Methods used include electrolysis, electrolytic co-deposition, gas-absorption and gas-desorption. The evidence suggests a new area of science that encompasses condensed-matter physics, nuclear physics, surface physics, metallurgy, materials science, nanotechnology, and chemistry. This research was incorrectly labeled by the news media in 1989 as “cold fusion.” Subsequent experimental results and theoretical work do not support the fusion hypothesis. Further, these newer insights help to explain a series of experimental anomalies reported a century ago. The Widom-Larsen theory, introduced in 2006, based on standard physics, provides the first reasonable explanation for LENRs. Rather than fusion, this theory explains the phenomena based on coherent, many-body, collective effects and neutron-catalyzed electroweak interactions. It explains how macroscopically low levels of external input energy can lead to microscopically high levels of localized energy. As such, the theory suggests that, in some condensed-matter conditions, LENRs may produce effects analogous to stellar neutronization—the production of neutrons from free electrons and protons—a phenomenon usually associated with the cores of dying stars. Neutron-capture and decay mechanisms then lead to nuclear transmutations and isotopic anomalies resulting in condensed-matter nucleosynthesis. LENRs have the potential to produce useful energy, synthesize elements and stable isotopes, and mitigate harmful radioisotopes from nuclear fission.