Low energy nuclear reactions have been established in metals, not only palladium but also titanium, tantalum and other transition metals where the concentration of protons can be high.
There are other possibilities where the evidence is tenuous but very exciting, and that is the evidence for nuclear reactions occurring in biological organisms.
May the original promise, which was hinted at by Fleischmann in 1989, be achieved: clean nuclear heat with helium as the only byproduct? Are we seeing the beginnings of a possibility (claimed in one case from research at Texas A&M in 1992) of making any metal we want in the cold by nuclear transformation? Will we see the day when noble metals such as expensive platinum ? so vital for the use as a catalyst in chemical industry ? can be produced from cheap metals for less than 1/10th the cost of obtaining them from ores in the ground?
To say that this book is worthwhile would be an understatement. It is a gem and, historically, will be treasured when one looks back, in 2020, say, upon the very turbulent birth of a new field in science. The fluency and relaxed accuracy of the translation depends upon the happy accident that the translator is a significant figure in the field ? and married to a Japanese.
