A new preprint on Arxiv.org describes a method to induce room temp D+D-->He fusion by waveform shaping and overlap instead of high speed collision.
"HOW LOW - ENERGY FUSION CAN OCCUR" - B. Ivlev http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1211/1211.1243.pdf ABSTRACT: Fusion of two deuterons of room temperature energy is discussed. The nuclei are in vacuum with no connection to any external source (electric or magnetic field, illumination, surrounding matter, traps,etc.) which may accelerate them. The energy of two nuclei is conserved and remains small during the motion through the Coulomb barrier. The penetration through this barrier, which is the main obstacle for low-energy fusion, strongly depends on a form of the incident flux on the Coulombcenter at large distances from it. In contrast to the usual scattering, the incident wave is not a single plane wave but the certain superposition of plane waves of the same energy and various directions, for example a convergent conical wave. The wave function close to the Coulomb center is determined by a cusp caustic which is probed by de Broglie waves. The particle flux gets away from the cusp and proceeds to the Coulomb center providing a not small probability of fusion. [[[EXCERPT - CUSP DRIVEN TUNNELING In classical physics the Coulomb center cannot be reached at low energy. In quantum mechanics this depends on a form of an incident particle flux. When the flux is a usual plane wave the probability of barrier penetration is exponentially small and is generic with conventional WKB. The situation becomes different when the incident flux is of a convergent shape. In this case a cusp caustic is formed. Unlike classical physics, there is a flux along the caustic surface which decays inside the classically forbidden region but it is not small on the surface... the flux is directed along the narrow channel and reaches the center. The wave function inside the channel and at the caustic region is of the same value with the exponential accuracy. As a result, the probability of barrier penetration becomes not exponentially small. This can be called cusp driven tunneling. Mechanisms, described in this paper, constitute a phenomenon of low-energy nuclear fusion. Nuclei can be of room temperature energy. Below we briefly mention experimental schemes for formation of a proper flux of particle resulting in the cusp phenomenon. One of experimental ways to produce the conical flux of deuterons is to confine them in a tube, for example, in a nanotube. One can use a set of nanotubes for a wide flux of nuclei. Another way is to push deuterons (atoms) to pass through a diffraction grid of a conical shape. Since the de Broglie wave length is of the order of 1 Angstrom , one can use a natural crystal lattice. A setup with slits can be also suitable. This is a situation of quantum lens...]]] -- Lou Pagnucco
