IIT-K prof to do research on LENR as new energy source

LUCKNOW: With the future of fossil fuels bleak, many alternative energy sources are being explored by scientists across the globe. One such cheaper, pollution free source— Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) or cold fusion technique is being explored by Japanese scientists.

In India, though, research in this field has remained on the back burner for almost 30 years mainly due to the ‘unstable’ nature of the experiments using LENR technique. The cold fusion or LENR is a field of condensed matter nuclear sciences.

Now, professor KP Rajeev from the department of physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-K) has taken up the cudgels to explore the possibilities of various uses through LENR. Giving details Prof Rajeev said at present the concept was not included in the physics curriculum anywhere in the world as the science community generally considered it as ‘unproven.’

“My experiments in this regard have given encouraging results and I strongly feel that the LENR phenomena could turn out to be very important for the future of mankind especially in the light of fossil fuels running out in the next 100 years or so. It is hard to say at these initial stages of research whether we will be able to generate power from LENR in the near future. But if we work hard enough then it is possible through researches worldwide to get a pollution and radiation free method for generating energy in future,” he added.

He said that the biggest difficulty in carrying out research in this field was scarcity of team members. Students avoid taking up research in this sector for fear of not getting jobs as the wider scientific community has not accepted the truth of the phenomenon till date, said Prof Rajeev.