Cold fusion — the largely discredited science of making more energy from less — may be making a comeback.

Controversial yet high-profile demonstrations in Italy last month purported to show a cold fusion device turning 400 watts of heat power into 12,400 watts. The eye-popping 31-fold increase — also known as an ‘excess heat effect’ — illustrates why lay observers say cold fusion is the ‘holy grail of energy independence’ and why many scientists doubt, some to the point of apoplexy.

Twenty-two years ago, University of Utah chemist Stanley Pons and University of Southampton chemist Martin Fleischmann made similar but ultimately unreproducible claims that turned their 15 minutes of fame into banishment from the scientific community.

Since he’s only seen second hand accounts of this latest project, University of Missouri Vice Chancellor for Research Robert Duncan, Ph.D., an expert in low-temperature physics, said he ‘can neither criticize nor endorse’ it.

‘But I do know that excess heat effects are real, and although we do not fundamentally understand their origins, the world’s scientific community would be remiss if it does not seriously pursue these fascinating new observations,’ Duncan told TechNewsWorld.

The Italian Project

The reactor demonstrated in Italy is the brainchild of University of Bologna physics professor […]