Editing Cold fusion (section)

====Reproducibility====
In 1989, after Fleischmann and Pons had made their claims, many research groups tried to reproduce the Fleischmann-Pons experiment, without success. A few other research groups, however, reported successful reproductions of cold fusion during this time. In July 1989, an Indian group from the [[Bhabha Atomic Research Centre]] ([[P. K. Iyengar]] and M. Srinivasan) and in October 1989, [[John Bockris]]' group from [[Texas A&M University]] reported on the creation of tritium. In December 1990, professor [[Richard Oriani]] of the [[University of Minnesota]] reported excess heat.{{sfn|ps=|Taubes|1993|pp=364–365}}

Groups that did report successes found that some of their cells were producing the effect, while other cells that were built exactly the same and used the same materials were not.{{sfn|ps=|Platt|1998}} Researchers who continued to work on the topic have claimed over the years that many successful replications had been made, but still had problems getting reliable replications.{{sfn|ps=|Simon|2002|pp=145–148}} [[Reproducibility]] is one of the main principles of the scientific method, and its lack led most physicists to believe that the few positive reports could be attributed to experimental error.{{sfn|ps=|Platt|1998}}<ref group="text" name="reger"/> The DOE 2004 report said among its conclusions and recommendations:

{{blockquote|text=Ordinarily, new scientific discoveries are claimed to be consistent and reproducible; as a result, if the experiments are not complicated, the discovery can usually be confirmed or disproved in a few months. The claims of cold fusion, however, are unusual in that even the strongest proponents of cold fusion assert that the experiments, for unknown reasons, are not consistent and reproducible at the present time. (...) Internal inconsistencies and lack of predictability and reproducibility remain serious concerns. (...) The Panel recommends that the cold fusion research efforts in the area of heat production focus primarily on confirming or disproving reports of excess heat.{{sfn|ps=|US DOE|2004}}}}