Nuclear Fusion in Crystal Hydrides of Light Elements

A new physical object called the E-cell can be used as an appropriate catalyst to facilitate nuclear fusion reactions in solids. The E-cell is a radiation defect in a crystalline lattice of A_xH_y hydride [ordering number Z and mass number N of element A must be equal to one of the following pairs: (2,3), (3,6), (4,7), or (5,10)] formed by the capture of a thermal neutron in a crystal. Two features of hydrogen nuclear dynamics are of interest:

1. suppression of the Coulomb barrier between hydrogen nuclei due to many-body screening effects
2. sufficient acceleration of hydrogen nuclei up to a few hundred electron-volts.

Experimental research in this area may lead to the creation of equipment for the effective enhancement of the fusion rate to values that are of practical interest.