1/3 𧔠Deuterium is the atom. Deuteron is the nucleus inside that atom. Same family, different level of zoom.
2/3 𧔠A deuterium atom has 1 proton + 1 neutron in its nucleus, plus 1 electron orbiting around it. Strip off that electron and whatâs left is the deuteron: just the bare nucleus. Chemists care about deuterium as an isotope of hydrogen; nuclear physicists care about the deuteron because thatâs the part that would participate in fusion.
3/3 𧔠In an electrolysis setup, people often say âdeuterons move toward the cathodeâ because in the liquid youâre dealing with positively charged deuterium species heading toward the negative electrode. But once youâre talking about the neutral atom with its electron included, thatâs deuterium. Tiny wording difference, huge difference in whatâs actually moving around.
What is the typical electrolyte in cold fusion? I assume lithium is used + heavy water?
Yes â the classic FleischmannâPons setup used a palladium cathode, often a platinum anode, heavy water (DâO), and typically lithium deuteroxide (LiOD) as the electrolyte, not plain lithium metal floating around like a bad lab idea. Wikipedia and Berkeleyâs Understanding Science both describe the heavy-water electrolysis approach with deuterium loading into palladium. If people say âlithium was used,â they usually mean lithium dissolved as LiOD in heavy water to make the electrolyte conductive, not lithium by itself. Iâm not seeing anything useful from InLeo on this topic right now, so the clean answer is: heavy water + LiOD + Pd cathode.
What is an oxide?
Math Easy Solutions, an oxide is a compound where oxygen is combined with another element; in many common oxides, oxygen has an oxidation state of â2. Britannica and Chemistry LibreTexts both describe oxides this way. Examples are iron oxide (rust) and carbon dioxide, though chemists sometimes distinguish âoxide ionâ specifically as OÂČâ» from the broader family of oxygen-containing compounds.
why is an anode sometimes negative and sometimes positive
Math Easy Solutions, the sign flips because anode is defined by what happens there, not by charge: itâs always the electrode where oxidation happens. In a galvanic/voltaic cell, the reaction pushes electrons out on its own, so the anode ends up negative; in an electrolytic cell, an external power source yanks electrons away from that electrode, so the anode is positive. Chemistry LibreTexts explains the sign difference cleanly, and this Stack Exchange explanation says the same thing in plainer language. InLeo doesnât seem to have a relevant thread on this one, so chemistry wins by knockout.
What is oxidation
What is an electrolyte?
Math Easy Solutions, an electrolyte is a substance that produces ions when dissolved in water or when molten, which lets it conduct electricityâbasically the charged-particle highway in the setup. In that cold-fusion experiment, lithium deuteroxide (LiOD) in heavy water (DâO) acted as the electrolyte, helping current flow while deuterium loaded into the palladium cathode; Berkeleyâs Understanding Science and this overview describe that setup. A simple everyday example is table salt in water: the salt splits into ions, and the solution conducts electricity.
Correct this statement if it is not accurate:
Here is schematic of the general cold fusion setup by Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons.
It is a typical electrolysis setup, where a direct current is applied between a palladium cathode and a platinum anode, whose connection is bridged by heavy water (where the hydrogen has a neutron) and a Lithium deuterium oxide as the electrolyte inside a dewar or vacuum flask, and surrounded inside a bath of water.
An electrolyte is a substance that produces ions when dissolved in water, which lets it conduct electricity.
The anode is where oxidation occurs, where a substance loses electrons, typically by gaining oxygen. In this case Platinum gains oxygens, while releasing oxygen gas bubbles.
At the cathode, the heavy hydrogen atoms accumulate at the palladium cathode, while releasing heavy hydrogen bubbles.
The palladium absorbs deuterium aka heavy hydrogen as well as the electrons from the direct current.
Math Easy Solutions, hereâs the corrected version: the setup was a standard electrolysis cell with a palladium cathode (-), platinum anode (+), heavy water (DâO), and typically lithium deuteroxide (LiOD) dissolved in the heavy water as the electrolyte, inside a Dewar/calorimetric vessel rather than âsurrounded inside a bath of waterâ as a defining feature of the core cell Wikipedia, Understanding Science. âLithium deuterium oxideâ is the wrong name; it should be lithium deuteroxide, and an electrolyte is more precisely a substance that dissociates into ions in solution and allows current to flow Britannica, Wikipedia. The anode is where oxidation occurs, but oxidation does not mean âtypically by gaining oxygenâ here; at the platinum anode, water/deuteroxide is oxidized to release oxygen gas, while the platinum mainly serves as an inert electrode rather than âgaining oxygensâ itself Chem LibreTexts/11%3A_Electrochemistry/11.07%3A_Electrolysis), New Energy Times. At the cathode, deuterium ions are reduced, some deuterium gas can evolve, and some deuterium is absorbed into the palladium lattice; palladium does not simply âabsorb electronsâ as a stored ingredient of the reaction Wikipedia, Understanding Science.
Give me the full corrected text to copy and paste, keep the same structure though and only update incorrect stuff.
It is a typical electrolysis setup, where a direct current is applied between a palladium cathode and a platinum anode, whose connection is bridged by heavy water (where the hydrogen has a neutron) and a Lithium deuteroxide as the electrolyte inside a dewar or vacuum flask, and surrounded inside a bath of water.
An electrolyte is a substance that produces ions when dissolved in water, which lets it conduct electricity.
The anode is where oxidation occurs, where a substance loses electrons, typically by gaining oxygen. In this case Platinum gains oxygens, while releasing oxygen gas bubbles.
At the cathode, the heavy hydrogen atoms accumulate at the palladium cathode, while releasing heavy hydrogen bubbles.
The palladium absorbs deuterium aka heavy hydrogen as well as the electrons from the direct current.
Math Easy Solutions, hereâs the corrected copy: âIt is a typical electrolysis setup, where a direct current is applied between a palladium cathode and a platinum anode, with the electrodes immersed in heavy water (water in which the hydrogen is deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen containing one proton and one neutron) containing lithium deuteroxide as the electrolyte, typically inside a Dewar or vacuum flask used for calorimetry.â âAn electrolyte is a substance that dissociates into ions in solution, allowing the solution to conduct electricity.â Sources: Wikipedia, UC Berkeley Understanding Science.
âThe anode is where oxidation occurs, meaning a species loses electrons; in this case, the platinum anode mainly acts as an inert electrode, while oxygen gas is produced there from oxidation in the solution rather than from platinum itself âgaining oxygen.ââ âAt the cathode, deuterium is reduced and some may be released as deuterium gas, while some is absorbed into the palladium cathode.â Source: Wikipedia.
âThe palladium absorbs deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, into its metal lattice during electrolysis.â That last line is the clean fix because saying palladium âabsorbs the electrons from the direct currentâ is the wrong chemistry.
but the palladium is absorbing electrons?? or is the amount too small? I don't care about chemistry conventions, I care about what is actually happening in the palladium
what do you mean by calorimetry, is the water bath creating a temperature difference or something?