Comments on “Thermal behavior of polarized Pd/D electrodes prepared by co-deposition”

Szpak et al. have published a report [S. Szpak, P.A. Mosier-Boss, M.H. Miles, M. Fleischmann, Thermal behavior of polarized Pd/D electrodes prepared by co-deposition, Thermochim. Acta 410 (2004) 101] that attempts to present more evidence for the nuclear nature of the Fleischmann–Pons (–Hawkins) effect, and in that process attempt to reject recombination as the alternative cause of their observations. Unfortunately, they have misunderstood the at-the-electrode, under-the-surface recombination issue. This paper presents the basics of this model, including what physical conditions could produce a calibration constant shift and what might cause those conditions to arise. The new evidences are discussed and it is shown that the possibility of at-the-electrode recombination cannot be eliminated; in fact prior photographic evidence is shown to be reasonable evidence of this phenomenon. Thus in the absence of definitive data, the conclusion that apparent excess heat arises from a nuclear cause is premature.