Hacking the Atom: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 1
The new science of low-energy nuclear reactions (1990-2015)

Fusion Fiasco: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 2
The behind-the-scenes story of the 1989-1990 fusion fiasco

Lost History: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 3
A precursor to modern research in low-energy nuclear reactions (1912-1927)

Steven B. Krivit's Explorations in Nuclear Research three-book series describes the emergence of a new field of nuclear science, one that bridges chemistry and physics. The books give readers an understanding of low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR) research and its history and provide a rare behind-the-scenes look at the players and personalities involved. The books present the results of in-depth historical research and draw on formerly inaccessible archives to describe what occurred in the research that has been inaccurately identified as "cold fusion." The "cold fusion" conflict was, and is still to a lesser extent, the biggest controversy in modern science history.

Hacking the Atom: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 1
This book covers the period from 1990 to 2015, sheds new light on physics and chemistry, and explains how changes to atomic nuclei can occur with low-energy methods. Written for scientists and non-scientists alike , Hacking the Atom reveals the hidden story of how the science initially and erroneously called "cold fusion" continued to progress slowly but incrementally after its near-death in 1989. The book shows that 100 years of chemistry and physics is not wrong but is incomplete and that there is something new and exciting in the physical sciences.

Hacking the Atom:
• Explains why LENRs may lead to a new form of nuclear energy without harmful radiation.
• Shows why LENRs do not appear to be based on nuclear fusion but instead on neutral particle (or neutron) interactions.
• Gives examples of experimental evidence of isotopic shifts and elemental transmutations that confirm LENRs as real nuclear reactions.
• Provides an easy-to-follow tutorial on the Widom-Larsen ultra-low-momentum LENR theory.
• Provides explanations for the lack of dangerous radiation from the experiments.
• Explains the basis for the stigma as well as the root causes for the lack of progress in the field.
• Provides case studies of surprising behavior by scientists, ranging from zealotry to outright fraud.
• Does it all in an easy-to-follow chronology and an engaging, page-turning narrative.

Fusion Fiasco: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 2
This book covers the period from 1989 to 1990 and tells the most accurate and complete story of the 1989-1990 "cold fusion" conflict. Relying heavily on archival records, the book documents one of the most divisive scientific controversies in modern science history. Written for scientists and non-scientists alikes, Fusion Fiasco explains why credible experimental LENR research emerged from the erroneous idea of room-temperature "cold fusion," as claimed by Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons at the University of Utah. It reveals how credible scientific corroboration existed in the first year of the field but was ignored or suppressed.

Fusion Fiasco:
• Presents the first look behind the scenes at what actually occurred in the 1989 Department of Energy "Cold Fusion" review.
• Reveals details of a little-known but crucial scientific workshop that took place at the National Science Foundation headquarters in 1989.
• Describes, for the first time, Edward Teller's prescient insight about these reactions, based on what he learned at that NSF workshop.
• Shows evidence of confirmations of neutrons, tritium, and excess heat from around the world within months of the Fleischmann-Pons announcement.
• Reveals that Nathan Lewis, who allegedly disproved Fleischmann and Pons' heat measurements, never published a scientific paper with that critique. Instead, Lewis held a one-man press conference at the American Physical Society national meeting.
• Provides evidence, courtesy of Frank Close at Oxford University, that sheds new light on the accusations that Fleischmann and Pons had manipulated a gamma-ray graph.
• Clarifies facts regarding the accusations that Steven Jones, at Brigham Young University, had pirated Fleischmann and Pons' ideas.
• Clarifies facts regarding the accusations that Pons' graduate student, Marvin Hawkins, had stolen Fleischmann and Pons' lab books.
• Reveals the origin of the erroneous idea that "room-temperature fusion" produces helium-4 as its dominant product.
• Reveals how scientists with vested interests in prevailing scientific ideas used their influence to deny and hold back the new science.
• Reveals the key behind-the-scenes roles that physicist Richard Garwin played in the "cold fusion" conflict.

Lost History: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 3
This book covers the period from 1912 to 1927 and explores the story of forgotten chemical transmutation research, a precursor to modern LENR research. Lost History is written for scientists and science historians and relies heavily on journal articles. The book tells the story of century-old research that has been absent from the scientific dialogue for a hundred years — research that is surprisingly similar to events in the modern era following the Fleischmann-Pons announcement.

In the formative years of atomic science in the early 20th century, at the same time that Niels Bohr introduced his model of the atom, and when nuclear science belonged to chemists and physicists alike, some scientists reported inexplicable experimental evidence of elemental transmutations. Papers were published in the top scientific journals of the day, including Physical Review, Science, and Nature. Prominent scientists around the world participated in the research. The research was reported in popular newspapers and magazines, such as the New York Times and Scientific American. The book relies heavily on published journal papers.

The relatively simple benchtop experiments caused atomic transmutations with only low input energy. The experiments did not use radioactive sources, which would have provided high input energy, so the results defied prevailing theory. This, coupled with the fact that the experiments were not easily repeated, caused most scientists to dismiss the entire body of research as a mistake by 1930.

This history of research was omitted from historical references — until now. With the benefit of hindsight, and in light of modern low-energy nuclear research (LENR) and theory, this lost history, after a 60-year hiatus, is told here for the first time. Lost History is the first book that provides critical analyses of the original published scientific papers of the transmutation experiments performed between 1912 and 1927. This book reveals the fascinating story of these experiments and provides significant insights about our understanding of the history of physics, chemistry, and nuclear science.

Lost History chronicles the key events that were forgotten or misreported:
• From 1912 to 1914, several independent researchers detected the production of noble gases: helium-4, neon, argon, and an as-yet-unidentified element of mass-3, which we now know was tritium. Two of these researchers were Nobel laureates.
• In 1922, two chemists at the University of Chicago created helium using the exploding electrical conductor method.
• In 1924, a German scientist accidentally found gold and possibly platinum in the residue of mercury vapor lamps that he had been using for photography.
• In 1925, scientists in Amsterdam carried out a similar experiment, but starting with lead, and observed the production of mercury and the rare element thallium.
• In 1925, a prominent Japanese scientist, in a related experiment, reported the production of gold and another metal that was later identified as platinum.
• In 1926, two German chemists pumped hydrogen gas into a chamber with finely divided palladium powder and reported the transmutation of hydrogen into helium. One of them later tried to dismiss the results, but he was never able to completely explain the data as a mistake.
• Contrary to nearly all accounts that credit physicist Ernest Rutherford with the first nuclear transmutation — of nitrogen to oxygen — the credit belongs in fact to a research fellow who was working under Rutherford.

Citations
Krivit, Steven B. (Sept. 2016) Hacking the Atom: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 1, Pacific Oaks Press, Sept. 1, 2016 Hardback/Color (978-0-996886444); Paperback/BW (978-0-996886451); Kindle (978-0-996886468); ePub (978-0-996886475) Available in bookstores and on Amazon.com

Krivit, Steven B. (Nov. 2016) Fusion Fiasco: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 2, Pacific Oaks Press, Nov. 11, 2016 Hardback/Color (978-0-976054559); Paperback/BW (978-0-976054528); Kindle (978-0-976054566); ePub (978-0-976054535) Available in bookstores and on Amazon.com

Krivit, Steven B. (Dec. 2016) Lost History: Explorations in Nuclear Research, Vol. 3, Pacific Oaks Press, Dec. 12, 2016 Hardback/Color (978-0-996886406); Paperback/BW (978-0-996886413); Kindle (978-0-996886420); ePub (978-0-996886437) Available in bookstores and on Amazon.com