Observation of Neutrons and Tritium in the Early BARC Cold Fusion Experiments

Soon after the Fleischmann-Pons announcement of 1989, a number of groups at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai independently set up experiments to confirm if nuclear products such as neutrons and tritium are generated when samples of Pd and Ti metal are loaded with deuterium, using both electrolytic as well as gas/plasma-based loading techniques. Twelve independent research groups involving about 50 scientists were engaged in this massive effort during 1989-95, before institutional support for research on this topic was withdrawn, emulating global trends. This article briefly summarizes the results obtained during those early BARC studies.