Examination of Cathodically Charged Palladium Electrodes for Excess Heat, Neutron Emission, or Tritium Production

A search for steady-state “excess” heat, neutron emission, or tritium production was carried out for palladium electrodes electrolytically charged with deuterium. No substantial deviation in cell temperatures was observed, and the upper limit to excess heat production was 320 m W/cm³ for the largest palladium cathode. No increase in neutron production above background levels was observed, and the sensitivity of the neutron detection system yielded an upper limit of 2.18 × 10⁻²² (3-σ) fusion/s·atom⁻¹ pair. The tritium levels in the cells increased by 50%, but the cells were run in the open configuration and the tritium increases were consistent with electrolytic enrichment. An approximate upper limit for tritium production was 2 × 10² tritium /ml · C⁻¹. The cell temperatures were recorded once daily and monitored intermittently, but no transient excess heat excursions were observed throughout the experiment.