Relationship between Open-circuit-voltage and Heat Production in a Pons-fleischmann Cell

INTRODUCTION Lack of reproducibility is still the major reason CANR is not generally accepted and has not advanced into commercial use. The ability to reproduce any phenomenon depends on knowing the major variables and conditions required for the events to operate. In the case of cold fusion, even fundamental factors such as the D/Pd ratio and the crystal structure of the nuclear-active regions are not known. It is the intent of this paper to demonstrate several techniques for obtaining such information and the results obtained from their application to the Pons-Fleischmann Effect. Reproducibility is a materials problem. The nuclear reactions only occur when the required chemical environment is created, the so-called nuclear-active-state (NAS). Some techniques and environments create these conditions more easily than others. This paper will address the electrolytic method of reacting deuterium with palladium. Considerable experience now demonstrates that a critical D/Pd ratio is required for anomalous energy to be produced. It is also clear that this critical composition first occurs in the near-surface region of the Pd cathode. The composition that can be reached in this region depends on a number of factors including surface barriers and surface penetrating cracks. I would like to discuss several methods used to investigate the characteristics of the surface region and the understanding obtained therefrom. In addition, I would like to show the results of a direct measurement of the near-surface composition. The average bulk composition can be measured in several ways. However , this quantity is only indirectly related to the near-surface composition where the nuclear reactions actually occur. The problem is to determine the surface composition more directly. This can be done in a relative way using the open-circuit-voltage (OCV), which is proportional to the Gibbs Energy of deuterium. While the exact relationship between Gibbs Energy and composition is not known, especially in the high deuterium region, the relative behavior of the OCV is useful in understanding the behavior of the surface. An approximate value for this composition also can be measured directly using thin films of palladium deposited on an inert substrate. Another useful method is the loading efficiency. This quantity is sensitive to the presence of surface barriers, hence can quickly identify material which is not capable of achieving high compositions. The final method uses the deloading behavior. This quantity is sensitive to the presence of cracks as well as to surface impurities which affect the ability …