cold fusion

In nuclear physics, the supposed fusion of atomic nuclei at room temperature. If cold fusion were possible it would provide a limitless, cheap, and pollution-free source of energy, and it has therefore been the subject of research around the world. Few physicists believe it is possible.

In 1989 Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons of the University of Utah, USA, claimed that they had achieved cold fusion in the laboratory, but their results could not be substantiated. The University of Utah announced in 1998 that they would allow the cold fusion patent to elapse, given that the work of Pons and Fleischmann has never been reproduced.