Is reported 'excess heat' due to nuclear reactions?

A portable X-ray detector has been developed to complement 'cold fusion' studies. Our reasoning is that any set of nuclear reactions which produce measurable heat must also produce abundant secondary X-rays. However, at the Nagoya meeting and elsewhere, we found that errors and uncertainties in current experiments prevent unambiguous interpretation of claims of excess-heat generation. Hence, this paper also outlines criteria for establishing calorimeter performance for definitive measurements of 'excess heat' in cold-fusion experiments. (author)