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Google revives controversial cold-fusion experiments

Researchers tested mechanisms linked to nuclear fusion at room temperature — but found no evidence for the phenomenon.
  1. Elizabeth Gibney
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Since 2015, Google has been funding experiments into the controversial science of cold fusion — the theory that nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun, can produce energy in a table-top experiment at room temperature. Two scientists first made sensational claims about achieving the phenomenon — promising endless, cheap energy — 30 years ago, but their results were quickly debunked and the topic is now considered a scientific taboo.

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Nature 569, 611 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01683-9

Updates & Corrections

  • Clarification 28 May 2019: An earlier version of this story said that Google’s Matthew Trevithick recruited 30 researchers for the cold-fusion project. In fact, Trevithick recruited four principal investigators, who put together their own teams.

References

  1. Berlinguette, C. P. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1256-6 (2019).

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