Cold fusion is back in the public eye, together with low-energy nuclear reactions, or LENRs.
Consider a blurb on page 26 of the preliminary program of the American Nuclear Society's November 2012 winter meeting that explains the panel discussion of LENRs:
This session will explore the surprising possibility that highly energetic nuclear reactions and elemental transmutations result from low-energy nuclear reactions (LENRs). Although the term was not used a century ago, examples of LENRs go back that far. LENRs are weak interactions and neutron-capture processes that occur in nanometer-to-micron scale regions on surfaces in condensed matter at room temperature. Although nuclear, LENRs are not based on fission or any kind of fusion, both of which primarily involve the strong interaction.
According to a report from the New Energy Times news service, the American Nuclear Society last held a session on LENRs 14 years ago. (On its About page, the news service says the service "began in 2000 and specializes in investigating and reporting the myths, realities, strengths, and challenges associated with low-energy nuclear reaction research.")
Whatever is to be said about scientific validity for either cold fusion or LENRs, and whatever the overlap or lack of it, a few media outlets have lately been considering the general topic of new potential for nuclear energy. Here's a sampling:
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