Here is a revised version of the text with some of the Google translate artifacts removed. I also translated the figure labels. I cannot upload the figure here. You can see it here:
https://www.lenr-forum.com/forum/thread/5562-january-2018-nikkei-article-about-cold-fusion/?postID=82534#post82534 The figure is nothing to get excited about. - Jed Cold fusion: overturning the conclusion that it was “fake” After 30 years, a series of confirmations Jan. 14, 2018 Nikkei Shimbun morning edition In “cold nuclear fusion,” hydrogen atoms generate a nuclear fusion reaction at room temperature to produce energy. When this phenomenon was first observed in 1989, many researchers began studying it, but the experimental results were not replicated and the boom quickly subsided. Roughly 30 years have passed since then. The occurrence of excess heat, which is thought to be caused by a nuclear reaction, has been repeatedly confirmed, mainly in Japanese research groups which have continued this research with quiet dedication, and which have uncovered clues about the nature of the reaction. Observations of excess heat which is thought to be caused by a hydrogen fusion reaction have made by members of a research group, including Toyota’s technological think tank Technova (Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku), Nissan Motor, Tohoku University, Kobe University, Kyushu University, Nagoya University. They obtained research funding from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) and conducted experiments for two years, ending in October 2017. In order to compare the experimental results from different groups with each other, researchers installed similar laboratory equipment at Kobe University and Tohoku University, and used experimental specimens with common specifications. This duplicated experiment was carried out 16 times while varying conditions such as sample composition and temperature, and the conditions of heat generation were investigated. In the best-performing case, a 120-gram sample was used, which produce excess heat of 10 to 20 watts, lasting about 1 month. In the experiment of the same group, a sample of a metal powder was made with a combination of palladium and nickel, copper and nickel, and deuterium gas (which is hydrogen formed by one proton and one neutron in the nucleus) or ordinary hydrogen gas, was injected and the reaction occurred on the metal surface. This method of injecting hydrogen gas into a metallic material with a microstructure is the prototype that was developed in 2005 by Professor Emeritus Yoshiaki Arata of Osaka University. In 2001, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries succeeded in “transmutation” in which cesium and strontium are changed to other elements by permeating deuterium gas through a multilayered film made from palladium or the like. Dr. Yasuhiro Iwamura who was the lead researcher in this project moved to Tohoku University and participated as a core member in this research project. The cold fusion method announced by researchers in the United States about 30 years ago was to electrolyze heavy water with palladium electrodes. Although this method has been attempted extensively abroad, research groups such as Technova have concentrated on the method of permeating deuterium (or hydrogen) gas into the metal rather than the electrolysis method, because they consider it more promising. Based on these experiments, the conditions under which an exothermic reaction occurs have been clarified. First of all, it is necessary to combine two kinds of metal such as palladium and nickel, rather than using a single type of metal. Moreover, when the ratio of palladium and copper was decreased to palladium 1: nickel 7 or copper 1: nickel 7, the generation of heat was enhanced. “A specimen made at an appropriate ratio has an interstitial structure smaller than a nanometer (one-billionth of a meter) on the surface, and hydrogen seems to enter into this space and a reaction occurs.” Professor Emeritus of Osaka University explains Prof. Akito Takahashi, who is a senior adviser to the research group and Technova. If the proportion of palladium or copper is high, these metals surround the specimen around the specimen tightly, and it is impossible to create “places” where hydrogen react with each other. “Heat is generated in experiments by electrolysis, probably because these nanostructures were made by accident on the metal electrode surface,” said Prof. Takahashi. It is also clear that exothermic reaction occurs even when the species of hydrogen gas injected is not deuterium gas but normal hydrogen gas. Also, when injecting gas, when the temperature inside the device was raised to 200 to 400 degrees Celsius, it was found that the exothermic reaction did not stop within a short time, but rather continued for several weeks. At Tohoku University’s equipment, a temperature so high that in some cases it melts ceramics attached to the metal specimen. “There is no doubt that an unknown reaction that cannot be explained by ordinary chemical reactions is occurring” (Prof. Iwamura). What kind of reaction is actually going on? “Multibody fusion”, which is said to occur in an extremely small space, has been proposed by Prof. Emeritus Takahashi. Four deuterium atoms condense to one point and nuclear fusion occurs once beryllium is formed. This breaks into two helium and heat is generated. In this case there is no radiation emitted, unlike the case of normal fusion. The research group expects that it is possible to generate 1 kilowatt of heat, which is two orders of magnitude larger than the present reactions, by improving the structure of the sample, increasing the amount reactant, devising changes to the temperature conditions and so on. Cold fusion, which was once said to be “fake science” because the experiment could not be reproduced, is still distrusted by many researchers. Professor Emeritus Takahashi says: “I would like to demonstrate results that will convince anyone, and to ask the world to once again evaluate the significance of this research.” (Editorial Member Kazuki Yoshikawa)