Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the James Mahaffey Cold Fusion Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1393
Creators:
Mahaffey, James A.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Medicine and Science
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Dates:
1989 - 1992
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Cubic foot
1 box
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection contains archival materials relating to the subject of cold fusion, and experiments conducted to corroborate the supposed discovery of the phenomenon. The collection includes Mahaffey's heavily illustrated laboratory notebook, dating from the beginning of the experiment on April 8, 1989 through April 20, 1989, documenting the experiment's research plan, budget, ingredients and instruments used, the time line and Mahaffey's and his fellow scientists' observations; and a report, April 30, 1989, on the results of Georgia Tech Research Institute's experiments. These two items were donated by GTRI. Additional items, donated by Mahaffey include: letters and emails to Mahaffey, photographs and slides used in a lecture, copies of papers given and bibliographies on the subject, abstracts of accounts of cold fusion research presented at a Santa Fe workshop, audio recordings of the same conference, a patent, articles, and video recordings of press coverage.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Collection is unarranged.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Physicist at Georgia Tech Research Institute. He, and others at GTRI made efforts to replicate results reported by two scientists, Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, in which they asserted they'd discovered a way to achieve nuclear fusion at room temperature (so-called "cold fusion.") Despite their high hopes at the beginning of the project, Mahaffey and his team soon concluded that they were unable to achieve cold fusion.

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by the Georgia Institute of Technology and James A. Mahaffey, 2016.
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center by the Division of Medicine and Science in 2016. Gifts of two separate donors, James Mahaffey and the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
James Mahaffey Cold Fusion Collection, 1989-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Use
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Patents -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reports -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Audio cassettes -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Slides (photographs) -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Letters (correspondence) -- 20th century. Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Laboratory notes -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Science -- History Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Abstracts -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Videocassettes -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Nuclear reactions Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Articles -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Research Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chemistry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Low-energy nuclear reactions Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Electrochemistry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cold fusion Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Georgia Institute of Technology Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pons, Stanley Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Fleischmann, Martin Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu