Cold Fusion (or not?) 

By on

AndreaRossiColdFusion
Cold Fusion Machine
Recently I have seen a few interesting articles on viable cold fusion; the combining of atoms at room like temperatures to create boundless energy. Now after a bit of research I have discovered the are a few proponents [believers] and a lot of skeptics. The jury is not out, but just in case the technology comes in as a winner here is the latest and it happens to be a working machine.
 
Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi, researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy, claim to have constructed a working and economically viable machine. Two versions of the machine been demonstrated and appear to produce about 15 times more energy than consumed by fusing together nickel powder and hydrogen:
  • Initial models fused nickel and hydrogen, turning 292 grams of 20o water into hot steam, in the process generating 12.4 kW of energy using just 400 watts of input power
  • Later models produce 4.69 kW using 330 W of input power, although in a much smaller foot print and weighing only 4 kg.

The machine consists of a stainless steel reactor filled with nickel powder with water and hydrogen inlet pipes. The reactor is placed in a copper pipe and activated by current flowing through a resistor wrapped around the outside of the pipe. At the correct temperature the reaction begins. Copper is produced as a by product.

 
Given the potential of the technology, I would have expected a lot more interest and hype. With this missing you do have to consider the possibility that something is not right and the machines are not working as promised. Time will tell.

More information…. Google News for Cold Fusion

December 2012 - Been doing a some research to see if anything has come of this.  To date not a lot.  Articles abound - some say it works, some say it’s a scam; I suppose we will still have to wait. 



Steven McFadyen's avatar Steven McFadyen

Steven has over twenty five years experience working on some of the largest construction projects. He has a deep technical understanding of electrical engineering and is keen to share this knowledge. About the author

myElectrical Engineering

comments powered by Disqus



Induction Motor Equivalent Circuit

Induction motors are frequently used in both industrial and domestic applications.  Within the induction motor, an electrical current in the rotor is induced...

Electromagnetic Fields - Exposure Limits

Exposure to time varying magnetic fields, from power frequencies to the gigahertz range can have harmful consequences.  A lot of research has been conducted...

Star-Delta Motor Starting - Performance

Many questions sent in to the site are in connection with motor starting and in particular star-delta.  For all but the simplest application, there is...

Understanding electric motor insulation & temperature

Anyone specifying or using electric motors should have a basic understanding how the insulation is related to temperature. Three classes of insulation...

HTML Symbol Entities

HTML supports a variety of entity symbols which can be entered using either numbers or an entity name.  The number or name is preceded by the ‘&’ sign...

Meeting room of the future

The IET site has a video of a visit showing of a high tech meeting room developed at Napier University in Edinburgh. It a good demonstration of innovative...

Battery Sizing

This article gives an introduction to IEEE 485 method for the selection and calculation of battery capacity.

9 power supply issues solved by using a UPS

Installation of a UPS can help in reducing problems due to issues with the power supply.  A lot of people relate this to nine key issues.  Depending on...

Lighting Design - An Introduction

From the earliest times, humans have found ways to create light. Pre-historic peoples used natural materials (moss, grass, etc.) soaked in animal fat and...

IEC 61439 Verification Methods

The (relatively new) switchgear and control gear standard, IEC 61439 'Low-voltage switchgear and controlgear assemblies' has three methods which can be...

Have some knowledge to share

If you have some expert knowledge or experience, why not consider sharing this with our community.  

By writing an electrical note, you will be educating our users and at the same time promoting your expertise within the engineering community.

To get started and understand our policy, you can read our How to Write an Electrical Note