A clarification has been made to this story. See below for
details. Twenty years ago it appeared, for a moment, that all
our energy problems could be solved. It was the announcement of
cold fusion--nuclear energy like that which powers the sun--but
at room temperature on a table top. It promised to be cheap,
limitless, and clean. Cold fusion would end our dependence on
the Middle East and stop those greenhouse gases blamed for
global warming. It would change everything. But then, just as
quickly as it was announced, it was discredited. So thoroughly,
that cold fusion became a catch phrase for junk science. Well, a
funny thing happened on the way to oblivion--for many scientists
today, cold fusion is hot again. "We can yield the power of
nuclear physics on a tabletop. The potential is unlimited. That
is the most powerful energy source known to man," researcher
Michael McKubre told "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley.
McKubre says he has seen that energy more than 50 times in cold
fusion experiments he's do