It’s been some months since the Deuterium drama almost put a stop to my cold fusion experiments. Luckily, I was still able to run a couple of experiments in January and the results were extremely encouraging.
Data from my first #coldfusion / #lenr experiment using deuterium shows significant changes in reactor temperature that don't appear to correspond to changes in the surroundings. More experiments needed to rule out possible errors, but it's a strong start💪https://t.co/IabL1j9fYr pic.twitter.com/H5i5mCLaV8
— Matt Lilley (@CasualPhysics) January 24, 2020
Since then, I’ve been working hard to try and rule out any prosasic explanations for the “excess heat” that I think I’ve observed in the higher than expected temperature readings.
If you’ve followed along with my experimental log, you’ll know it took quite a bit of effort to finally nail the culprit - AC voltage fluctuations in my heating pad.
2) Reactor temperature lags behind the change in heating current as expected. Max cross-correlation of 0.52 when the signals are properly aligned. Seems likely that the previous 7C temperature rise is largely due to these fluctuations in the power grid. Need more stable power. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/KoOy8P6CFy
— Matt Lilley (@CasualPhysics) March 2, 2020
Today, I finally got around to performing a deuterium experiment using a stable DC power supply and the results confirmed my suspicion - no excess heat, no cold fusion.
@nathanwpyle sums my current situation up wonderfully in my favourite StrangePlanet scene https://t.co/wGRpZpRxPD pic.twitter.com/4Eyqg3ueyZ
— Matt Lilley (@CasualPhysics) September 3, 2020
Obviously I’m a bit disappointed, but really only a smidgen. I’ve learnt a TONNE since I started this experimental adventure and I’ve met some great collaborators along with way. Hugely thankful to Alan Smith and Ed Storms in particular - I would not have been able to get this far without their support 🙏.
And how did the expenses stack up in the end I hear you say? You may recall, the original idea was the build something for under £1000. Including the heavy water, total money spent = £4300, total life experience gained = priceless 😊.