Investigation of the Effect of Mechanical Stress on Cold Fusion
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to see if the phenomenon known as cold fusion could be observed after loading a sample of titanium with deuterium gas and then subjecting the sample to mechanical stress. Samples of commercially pure titanium were loaded with deuterium by heating them inductively to 643 + or - 4 C while they were in a deuterium atmosphere. After loading, the samples were subjected to either dynamic tensile stress, a static load, or shear stress. The samples were surrounded by a 4-pi neutron detector during the application of stress and data from the detection system was analyzed for either large bursts of neutrons or continuous low-level emission of neutrons. Despite the fact that the neutron detection system was sensitive to certain environmental factors, application of tensile stress caused no positive indications of cold fusion. One suspiciously large count did occur during the application of shear stress, but that part of the experiment was relatively uncontrolled, and it is believed that the one large count was caused by environmental factors. An upper limit of 1.2 x 10 to the -24th power neutrons/deuteron pair/s has been calculated for the samples involved in the research. This is based on the limits of sensitivity of the neutron detection system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA220123
Entities
People
- Barton H. Wohl
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology