Generation of Nuclear Tracks during Electrolysis

We show that energetic charged particles are produced during electrolysis of a D2O solution of Li2SO4 in a cell with a platinum anode and a palladium cathode. CR-39 plastic detectors, designed for recording alpha particles from radon decay, were immersed in the electrolyte during electrolysis. They recorded significantly larger numbers of energetic particle tracks than were recorded by control detectors not subject to electrolysis. Statistical analysis shows only a 3 10 6 probability that the electrolysis tracks and the control tracks could have arisen from a common population. We conclude that there is a causal relationship between electrolysis and the production of energetic charged particles. Because track formation requires particle energies substantially greater than thermal or electrochemical energies it seems inescapable that a nuclear reaction was responsible. [DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.41.6180]