Could Cold Fusion Work?

There is currently no accepted theoretical model that would allow cold fusion to occur. In 1989, two electrochemists, Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, reported that their apparatus had produced anomalous heat ("excess heat") of a magnitude they asserted would defy explanation except in terms of nuclear processes

What would happen if cold fusion worked?

Cheap cold fusions devices would transform poor areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, especially by enabling the purification of water supplies via the simple process of boiling.

Why is cold fusion difficult?

The big difficulty is that because the initial nuclei are all positively charged, they are strongly repelled as they approach one another. Therefore, only nuclei having a high kinetic energy approach closely enough to fuse.