A series of experiments using deuterium gas and deuterium plasma in the presence of palladium has been designed to observe the possibility of cold fusion. Two kinds of preliminary experiments were recently performed. One involved the diffusion of deuterium gas into palladium. The gas was cooled by liquid nitrogen, and then the temperature was permitted to rise to room temperature, going from near −34 to 19°C (−30 to 67°F) in 75 min. A spherical lithium neutron detector, 21 cm from the palladium, gave an audible indication of neutron levels approximately equal to, but above, background. A second experiment used a deuterium ion beam (1 keV) that bombarded a palladium target. An average counting rate of 36 ± 6 counts for 2 min was measured by a BF3 tube with a paraffin moderator, 50 cm from the target. The background varied from 1 to 7 counts for each 2-min counting period and averaged 4 ± 2 counts in 2 min. A nitrogen ion beam impinging on the same palladium target produced 6 counts for a 2-min counting period. The palladium specimens were a piece of foil and a tube that was used as a palladium leak in a neutron generator. These preliminary experiments will be repeated, improved, and extended later.
