Publication Type: Peer-Reviewed Journal Article
Research Type: Experimental
Solid State Fusion Type: LENR/Cold Fusion
Reactor Set-Up: Electrolytic Cell
Observables: Transmuted Elements (particle capture), Unatural Isotopic Ratios (transmuted elements), Gamma Radiation
Stimulation: Electrolysis, Laser Irradiation (CW), High Pressure
Material: Palladium, Calcium oxide
Isotopic Hydrogen Reactants: D2
Summary: Iwamure et al. report on an electrochemical instantiation of their previously reported transmutation experiments of dopants on the surface of multilayer palladium, oxide, and palladium material stacks upon a deuteron flux through the sample. The electrochemical method is thought to accelerate transmutations by increasing the available deuteron density, which is also observed at elevated deuterium gas pressures. Additional control experiments further increased confidence in prior results by performing both time-of-flight secondary ion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry at the sample center and corner; since the former would be subject to more deuterium permeation and indeed, transmutations are prominent in the former and absent in the latter. Prosaic explanations for purported transmutations by electrolyte contamination were addressed by an absence of mass spectrometry peaks corresponding to observed transmutation products in the solution and because control samples, under nearly identical conditions but without dopant implantation, showed no transmutation signals. Yttrium oxide was a successful alternative to calcium oxide, but magnesium oxide was not, which was attributed to its higher work function. Despite previous gaseous-based experiments yielding no gamma rays, the electrochemical method occasionally produced 609 keV gammas in a low-current density regime and 511 keV gammas at higher current densities, the latter closely matching the electron-positron annihilation energy. Lastly, UV laser stimulation was found not to affect the results significantly.
