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Submitted on request from The White House for President Bill Clinton-February, 2000
The Strange Birth of the Water Fuel Age:
The Cold Fusion "Miracle" Was No Mistake
by Eugene F. Mallove, Sc.D.
SUMMARY for President Clinton
Beginning in 1989, a class of new energy technologies has been devel-
Anything that is theoretically possible will be achieved in
oped that has the potential to provide pollution-free energy of a magni-
practice, no matter what the technical difficulties,
tude far greater than fossil fuel, using forms of hydrogen from water as
if it is desired greatly enough."
the fuel in novel catalytic conditions. The technologies challenge the
Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future, 1963
understanding of physics which has been used to justify continued
investment in fossil fuels, nuclear power plants, and the so-called "hot
fusion" energy research programs. The U.S. government has spent at
I
t was 1870, just five years after the carnage of the American
Civil War. Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island challenged
least $15 billion on hot fusion without achieving the "breakeven" point
already achieved by the new energy technologies.
readers with an audacious prediction: "I believe that water
Hydrogen as a fuel in engines and fuel cells has been discussed and
will one day be employed as a fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen
demonstrated for several decades. Fuel cells are emerging into the com-
which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inex-
mercial market, using hydrogen-rich chemical compounds. These sys-
haustible source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal
tems are based on chemical reactions whose energy density (energy per
is not capable I believe then that when the deposits of coal are
unit of fuel) is very low. There are serious problems in making, storing,
exhausted, we shall heat and warm ourselves with water. Water
and transporting hydrogen. The new energy technologies use hydrogen
will be the coal of the future." Though Verne predicted
in a far different way that extracts thousands to millions of times the
advanced submarines and flights to the Moon- even the com-
ordinary chemical combustion energy of hydrogen. Thus, water is fuel!
In 1989, after five years of work and investment of $100,000 of their
petition between the United States and Russia in a lunar race, he
own money, Professors Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann
was more prescient than anyone could have imagined, at least
announced the release of nuclear-scale energy from an electrochemical
not until the last decade of the 20th Century. He turned out to
cell using palladium as the cathode metal. In the cell, heavy hydrogen is
be more than right about the power of water. Water will begin
forced into the palladium until a new class of nuclear reactions occurs,
to be the fuel of the future, in all probability this decade.
in which energy of great intensity is released without the deadly radia-
There is an incontrovertible fact well known to scientists
tion or radioactive by-products produced by other nuclear energy
working to control thermonuclear fusion energy for peaceful
processes. The Pons-Fleischmann announcement ignited a controversy
power production: Within only one cubic kilometer of water,
that is documented in the body and references of this memorandum.
The DOE Energy Research Advisory Board "Cold Fusion Panel" was
there exists enough heavy hydrogen isotope, deuterium (heavy
onvened at the direction of President Bush to review the "cold fusion"
hydrogen), such that if it is fused to the element helium at
controversy in its early days. The panel relied heavily on misleading
multi-million-degree temperatures, enough energy is released
reports from the California Institute of Technology, Harwell (England),
to equal the combustion energy of all the world's known oil.
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Reports from all three
This planet has at least one billion cubic kilometers of water;
sources were negative, and ERAB recommended against any govern-
there is no danger of running out of this fuel. Or, look at it this
ment investment in "cold fusion." This had far-reaching consequences,
way: In only one gallon of ordinary water, there is enough
which seriously impeded but did not stop advances in the field.
heavy hydrogen to produce the energy equivalent of 300 gal-
After over a decade of work, hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific
papers from laboratories around the world confirm the Pons-
lons of gasoline. For worry warts: The heavy hydrogen com-
Fleischmann discovery. It was just the tip of an iceberg of a whole class
prises only 0.015 percent of all the hydrogen in the ordinary
of nuclear reactions-and other new hydrogen reactions-which occur
water, ergo there is no danger of a water depletion crisis from
in metals that are heavily loaded with heavy or normal hydrogen by any
fusion energy! Heavy hydrogen or deuterium, by the way, is
of several means. These are often called Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions
simply hydrogen that bears an extra neutron in its nucleus. It is
(LENR), or Chemically-Assisted Nuclear Reactions (CANR). There is
non-radioactive and easy to extract from water very cheaply.
also a process, pioneered by BlackLight Power, Inc., that produces cat-
If we only had a way to tap this fusion energy safely and
alytically altered hydrogen atoms. What these processes have in com-
cheaply, the world's energy problems would be over; most if
mon is the release of intense, nuclear-scale energies without damaging
radiation or radioactive by-products. Reactors are small scale, requiring
not all environmental problems would be well on their way to
simple apparatus and common materials with hydrogen as the fuel.
solution. If we could find a way to release this fusion energy
Transmutations of the metal cathode materials are commonly produced.
benignly without deadly radiation, and on a small scale, rather
In some cases, where radioactive materials such as uranium and thori-
than in the stadium-like tokamak thermonuclear fusion reac-
um are used in the cells, these are rapidly transmuted into harmless by-
tors-smaller, dysfunctional prototypes of which are being test-
products without production of harmful radiation or explosions. In prin-
ed at fantastic cost at Princeton, MIT, and elsewhere-a millen-
ciple, radioactive waste from nuclear reactors can similarly be deactivat-
nial revolution in energy technology would break out. It would
ed without the political and economic costs of burial.
mean an age in which the recurring cost of energy production
Collectively, these emerging technologies point to a much brighter
future for mankind. They do not require resources controlled by any
would approach zero, since the heavy hydrogen is virtually
small group of countries. They are concentrated, portable, and democra-
free. The scope of that revolution would dwarf today's Internet-
tic. Low cost realization and distribution of devices and systems based
World Wide Web upheaval. The age of "free information"
on these technologies will require the resources of a market economy
would have a partner: the age of virtually free energy! It may
nd the removal of internal opposition from vested interests in the U.S.
surprise you to learn that the energy discovery described above
overnment and industries, including arbitrary blocking of "cold
was made in the United States in the early 1980s, announced
usion" patent applications by the U.S. Patent Office. Originators of
in 1989, and subsequently confirmed by solid published scien-
these technologies may make fortunes, but in the end mankind will be
tific research-some of that by Federal laboratories. 1-7
the beneficiary. Mr. President, you need do only one thing now: Publicly
state that you are going to investigate this matter and then do it.
So why have you not heard about it? This new energy revo-
1
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"ocrText": "Submitted on request from The White House for President Bill Clinton-February, 2000\nThe Strange Birth of the Water Fuel Age:\nThe Cold Fusion \"Miracle\" Was No Mistake\nby Eugene F. Mallove, Sc.D.\nSUMMARY for President Clinton\nBeginning in 1989, a class of new energy technologies has been devel-\nAnything that is theoretically possible will be achieved in\noped that has the potential to provide pollution-free energy of a magni-\npractice, no matter what the technical difficulties,\ntude far greater than fossil fuel, using forms of hydrogen from water as\nif it is desired greatly enough.\"\nthe fuel in novel catalytic conditions. The technologies challenge the\nArthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future, 1963\nunderstanding of physics which has been used to justify continued\ninvestment in fossil fuels, nuclear power plants, and the so-called \"hot\nfusion\" energy research programs. The U.S. government has spent at\nI\nt was 1870, just five years after the carnage of the American\nCivil War. Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island challenged\nleast $15 billion on hot fusion without achieving the \"breakeven\" point\nalready achieved by the new energy technologies.\nreaders with an audacious prediction: \"I believe that water\nHydrogen as a fuel in engines and fuel cells has been discussed and\nwill one day be employed as a fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen\ndemonstrated for several decades. Fuel cells are emerging into the com-\nwhich constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inex-\nmercial market, using hydrogen-rich chemical compounds. These sys-\nhaustible source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal\ntems are based on chemical reactions whose energy density (energy per\nis not capable I believe then that when the deposits of coal are\nunit of fuel) is very low. There are serious problems in making, storing,\nexhausted, we shall heat and warm ourselves with water. Water\nand transporting hydrogen. The new energy technologies use hydrogen\nwill be the coal of the future.\" Though Verne predicted\nin a far different way that extracts thousands to millions of times the\nadvanced submarines and flights to the Moon- even the com-\nordinary chemical combustion energy of hydrogen. Thus, water is fuel!\nIn 1989, after five years of work and investment of $100,000 of their\npetition between the United States and Russia in a lunar race, he\nown money, Professors Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann\nwas more prescient than anyone could have imagined, at least\nannounced the release of nuclear-scale energy from an electrochemical\nnot until the last decade of the 20th Century. He turned out to\ncell using palladium as the cathode metal. In the cell, heavy hydrogen is\nbe more than right about the power of water. Water will begin\nforced into the palladium until a new class of nuclear reactions occurs,\nto be the fuel of the future, in all probability this decade.\nin which energy of great intensity is released without the deadly radia-\nThere is an incontrovertible fact well known to scientists\ntion or radioactive by-products produced by other nuclear energy\nworking to control thermonuclear fusion energy for peaceful\nprocesses. The Pons-Fleischmann announcement ignited a controversy\npower production: Within only one cubic kilometer of water,\nthat is documented in the body and references of this memorandum.\nThe DOE Energy Research Advisory Board \"Cold Fusion Panel\" was\nthere exists enough heavy hydrogen isotope, deuterium (heavy\nonvened at the direction of President Bush to review the \"cold fusion\"\nhydrogen), such that if it is fused to the element helium at\ncontroversy in its early days. The panel relied heavily on misleading\nmulti-million-degree temperatures, enough energy is released\nreports from the California Institute of Technology, Harwell (England),\nto equal the combustion energy of all the world's known oil.\nand the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Reports from all three\nThis planet has at least one billion cubic kilometers of water;\nsources were negative, and ERAB recommended against any govern-\nthere is no danger of running out of this fuel. Or, look at it this\nment investment in \"cold fusion.\" This had far-reaching consequences,\nway: In only one gallon of ordinary water, there is enough\nwhich seriously impeded but did not stop advances in the field.\nheavy hydrogen to produce the energy equivalent of 300 gal-\nAfter over a decade of work, hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific\npapers from laboratories around the world confirm the Pons-\nlons of gasoline. For worry warts: The heavy hydrogen com-\nFleischmann discovery. It was just the tip of an iceberg of a whole class\nprises only 0.015 percent of all the hydrogen in the ordinary\nof nuclear reactions-and other new hydrogen reactions-which occur\nwater, ergo there is no danger of a water depletion crisis from\nin metals that are heavily loaded with heavy or normal hydrogen by any\nfusion energy! Heavy hydrogen or deuterium, by the way, is\nof several means. These are often called Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions\nsimply hydrogen that bears an extra neutron in its nucleus. It is\n(LENR), or Chemically-Assisted Nuclear Reactions (CANR). There is\nnon-radioactive and easy to extract from water very cheaply.\nalso a process, pioneered by BlackLight Power, Inc., that produces cat-\nIf we only had a way to tap this fusion energy safely and\nalytically altered hydrogen atoms. What these processes have in com-\ncheaply, the world's energy problems would be over; most if\nmon is the release of intense, nuclear-scale energies without damaging\nradiation or radioactive by-products. Reactors are small scale, requiring\nnot all environmental problems would be well on their way to\nsimple apparatus and common materials with hydrogen as the fuel.\nsolution. If we could find a way to release this fusion energy\nTransmutations of the metal cathode materials are commonly produced.\nbenignly without deadly radiation, and on a small scale, rather\nIn some cases, where radioactive materials such as uranium and thori-\nthan in the stadium-like tokamak thermonuclear fusion reac-\num are used in the cells, these are rapidly transmuted into harmless by-\ntors-smaller, dysfunctional prototypes of which are being test-\nproducts without production of harmful radiation or explosions. In prin-\ned at fantastic cost at Princeton, MIT, and elsewhere-a millen-\nciple, radioactive waste from nuclear reactors can similarly be deactivat-\nnial revolution in energy technology would break out. It would\ned without the political and economic costs of burial.\nmean an age in which the recurring cost of energy production\nCollectively, these emerging technologies point to a much brighter\nfuture for mankind. They do not require resources controlled by any\nwould approach zero, since the heavy hydrogen is virtually\nsmall group of countries. They are concentrated, portable, and democra-\nfree. The scope of that revolution would dwarf today's Internet-\ntic. Low cost realization and distribution of devices and systems based\nWorld Wide Web upheaval. The age of \"free information\"\non these technologies will require the resources of a market economy\nwould have a partner: the age of virtually free energy! It may\nnd the removal of internal opposition from vested interests in the U.S.\nsurprise you to learn that the energy discovery described above\novernment and industries, including arbitrary blocking of \"cold\nwas made in the United States in the early 1980s, announced\nusion\" patent applications by the U.S. Patent Office. Originators of\nin 1989, and subsequently confirmed by solid published scien-\nthese technologies may make fortunes, but in the end mankind will be\ntific research-some of that by Federal laboratories. 1-7\nthe beneficiary. Mr. President, you need do only one thing now: Publicly\nstate that you are going to investigate this matter and then do it.\nSo why have you not heard about it? This new energy revo-\n1"
}