Definition
Plain language
A silvery metal that soaks up hydrogen gas like a sponge.
As stated in the literature
Group 10 transition metal with high hydrogen solubility forming α and β hydride phases; the electrode material in classic cold-fusion claims.
Why it matters: Its unusual appetite for hydrogen is genuinely useful in real chemistry and was also the hook for the cold fusion claims.
For example, a piece of this metal can absorb many times its own volume in hydrogen gas and swell slightly as it does.
Heard on the show
“There's an electrolysis cell, volume fractions of vacancy phases in palladium, citations to neutron diffraction and density functional theory.”Episode 240 — Frontier Models Designed Follow-Ups To Fraudulent Papers 93% Of The Time