Is Cold Fusion Finally Here?

Transcript

Have you ever heard about cold fusion? Back in the 1980s, two scientists thought they found a way to make free energy in a glass of water, no less. It was March 1989. Stanley Ponds and Martin Fleshman, these respected scientists and chemists in their field, announced that they had fused hydrogen atoms at room temperature using nothing but a metal rod and heavy water. They ran electricity through a palladium electrode which absorbed the detium, the heavy water. Then the cell got hotter than it should have.

They claimed it was fusion. It was a nuclear reaction. The media at that time lost it. The government investigated. Labs tried to replicate the results and most couldn't.

The math just didn't add up. Nothing was really consistent. But here's the twist. They never said they were wrong. And even today, there's still a small research group that's still chasing it, just under a new name.

It's called Leonard, low energy nuclear reactions. Some say it's a cover up. Others say it's junk science. And even NASA at one point tested it. But no one's shown conclusive proof, at least not yet.

And if you want to go deep on what happened to ponds and fleshmen and why some folks still believe that there might have been something to it, check out the full episode on the archive podcast. The links in my bio and more on nuclear fusion and other types of reusable energy.