article by Neuronatrix (OmniNerd.com) on 12 October 2007, tagged as chemistry, cold fusion, and fusion
What if there existed a cheap, never-ending supply of energy that
produced no nuclear or environmental waste? Sound too good to be true?
If the theories behind cold fusion were made feasible, it may not be
just a dream. But fusion reactions at room temperature have been
plagued by experimental problems, lack of reproducibility, and flat out
lies. Therefore, the field and its proponents have been looked upon
with skepticism, or even as quacks. Yet, the scientific community has
demonstrated repeatedly its keen interest in this pie-in-the-sky
phenomenon.
Nuclear Reactions
Nuclear fusion is the process by which several separate nuclei
'fuse' together to form one heavier nucleus - the byproduct of this
reaction being either the release or absorption of energy. The factor
that dictates whether energy is absorbed or released is the binding
energy of the molecule's nucleus (i.e., the energy required to split
the molecule apart). Hence, the higher the binding energy, the more
stable the molecule and the more difficult it is to disrupt it through
fusion or fission. Nickel and iron have the highest binding energy of
the elements, and are the most stable; this is also the reason iron and
nickel are quite common in planetary cores, since they are produced
profusely in supernovas. Fusion produces energy by combining very light elements into more tightly-bound elements, such as hydrogen into helium, while fission produces energy by splitting very heavy elements, such as uranium and plutonium, into tightly-bound elements.
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More: http://www.omninerd.com/articles/The_Facts_and_Myths_Behind_Cold_Fusion
