The need for control in condensed matter nuclear heat production

A 15-year research program at SRI International developed accurate means of measuring heat released in electrolysis reactions, and studied in detail the loading of deuterium into Pd metal. Excess heat defined as heat output exceeding the sum of electrical and chemical energy in, was many times observed at levels up to 90 times the measurement uncertainty and the sum of all known chemical reactions. An empirical formula involving a threshold electrochemical current density, a threshold minimum D/Pd loading ratio, and a fluxing of deuterium into and/or out of a Pd cathode was found to match observed excess heat. A quantitative match of observed integrated excess heat and integrated helium production showed that most of the reaction product was helium formed on or near the cathode surface, and that the heat of reaction was near the expected 24 MeV per helium atom produced. The program tested heat-producing hardware and methods developed in other laboratories, confirming cold fusion both in a cathode containing nano-crystalline Pd and in a non-isothermal Pd-on-carbon catalyst.