Aside from being the plotline in bad Val Kilmer movies, cold-fusion is the subject of heated debate in scientific circles. It was first in 1989 that two researchers announced at a press-conference that they had observed excess heat in a very simple experiment at room temperature (hence the “cold”, fusion is normally achieved at high temperatures). They proposed that this excess heat was because of nuclear fusion. This obviously turned the world upside down, because cold fusion would mean almost free and clean energy for all (again, much like the Val Kilmer movie). It didn’t really work out though, as you may have noticed when you fill up your car, the world is not full of free and clean energy, almost 20 years after it’s announcement.

There were several problems that lead to severe skepticism over cold fusion, like the failure of consistently reproducing the results (not for the lack of trying), the lack of nuclear products (you would expect this from a fusion process) and the fact that there is no theory today that could explain how cold fusion could occur (although it’s obviously possible that we just haven’t made that theory yet). You can check out the wikipedia article on cold fusion for more detail on both the history and the skepticism (and supposed findings).

Fast-forward to today, and there are yet again news reports circulating about researchers having achieved cold-fusion. This time it is from the University of Osaka, in Japan, a fairly reputable University, putting some weight behind the claims. Although there is no mention of measurements of nuclear products that were always missing in the past, they do claim to have a completely reproducible system, with scientists at the scene saying that the data they saw being produced live, was giving the same result as the data they had shown in their previously published article (J. High Temp. Soc. Jpn, Feb. and March issues, 2008).

Everyone of course is hoping for the best, cold-fusion would be a great thing of course, but given the dirty past it has, i’m afraid we’ll need a lot more then a flashy press-conference to lay off the skepticism.