Cold-fusion is one of the most controversial topics in science in the last few decades. In the late 1980’s, two electrochemists, Fleischmann and Pons from the University of Utah believed they had discovered this new source of energy. Both were denounced by their peers and had their careers jeopardized. Despite MIT’s position that the phenomena is non-existent, the U.S. Navy has been quietly investigating the subject, as have several companies in Israel. Now a pair of Italian physicists claim to have created a working, marketable device that produces, by many magnitudes, more energy than it consumes. Read more and a see a video of the alleged Italian cold-fusion breakthrough and reactions from other scientists. Read about the science of cold fusion here.
(At a meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration last year, I asked someone knowledgeable about the subject to explain the discrepancy in results between different labs. He explained that the chemistry is very exacting and slight changes in the composition of the palladium rods, an important part of the process, could affect the results.)