Observation of nuclear fusion driven by a pyroelectric crystal

B. Naranjo (), J.K. Gimzewski and S. Putterman
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B. Naranjo: University of California
J.K. Gimzewski: University of California
S. Putterman: University of California

Nature, 2005, vol. 434, issue 7037, 1115-1117

Abstract: Fusion comes in from the cold Many methods of reproducing nuclear fusion — the process that powers the Sun — at the table-top scale have been tried, but failed to convince. Remember ‘cold fusion’? More recently, fusion linked to sonoluminescence is still controversial. Now comes a claim from the labs of the University of California at Los Angeles of unequivocal evidence of nuclear fusion in a simple room-temperature experiment. They report that gently heating a pyroelectric crystal — material that becomes charged when heated — causes ionization of a surrounding deuterium gas. The ions bombard a deuterated solid target with such energy that a large neutron signal is detected, a hallmark of deuterium fusion. Though not a viable power source, ‘crystal fusion’ may find application as a generator of neutrons for imaging technology.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature03575

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