Any article that starts out this way is going to grab my attention:
For obvious reasons, scientists long have thought that salt water couldn't be burned. So when an Erie man announced he'd ignited salt water with the radio-frequency generator he'd invented, some thought it a was a hoax. [From Salt water as fuel? Erie man hopes so]
Of course, it is not actually the saltwater that is burning. It turns out that the radio waves release the hydrogen in the water as a gas, which can then be burned. This is interesting on a lot of levels (including the little boy in me who once—okay, more than once—lit hairspray on fire), but I think the most interesting is this discovery's potential for transportation fuel. We won't be driving saltwater powered cars tomorrow, but this could be an excellent alternative energy source in the future. This discovery does raise a few questions in my mind, as well.
What would this do to the sea water if we used it in a billion cars?
How clean would the sea water have to be? (Would there need to be a purification step?)
From whence would the energy to run the radio frequency generator come? (Solar power could be an option.)
What kind of combustion engine redesign would be needed to implement this new fuel? (I am guessing that plain steel fuel tanks would not work, with corrosion caused by saltwater.)
Interference from big oil companies is almost a given, they have a lot to lose; What can be done to prevent that?
I am not the person to figure all this out, but I certainly hope that this potential resource does not go un-researched. This story is also pretty ironic in a humorous way for several reasons:
I am not one to make a habit of fun names—I received enough of that for a lifetime already—but the irony here is to good: One of the scientists involved is named Dr. Rustum Roy. Since saltwater causes rust... :D
The same person made the following quote:
This is the most abundant element in the world. It is everywhere.
Poetic irony anyone? "Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink." Samuel Taylor Coleridge
John Kanzius was doing research for the fight against cancer when he made this discovery (Can it really be an "invention" since it is taking advantage of the laws of nature, and naturally occurring substances to produce the flame?).
At any rate, this is a really cool discovery. The coolest parts are yet to come though, I hope. For more reading on this subject: Can Saltwater Be Burned As Fuel?
That's really interesting. I wonder if the burning produces enough energy (explosion or whatever) fast enough to power a vehicle? If so, that would be amazing. It would be cool to see more research along those lines...
One of the many things I left out is that they can control the color and intensity of the flame by the amount of salt in the water. So the salt-water solution has influence on the combustion, which in turn could be controlled for energy output in an engine environment.
The flame is very hot: In several of the test cases, the test tube was melted by the flame!
Another of my major questions would be if they would just harvest the hydrogen this way, store it, then burn it, or if it would be instantly burned.
Interesting. I'm all for alternative energy. I'm not necessarily an activist who goes out of his way to inconvenience myself to use something out of the mainstream, but I'd love if gas guzzling cars became a thing of the past and all cars manufactured going forward were made to use something more environmentally friendly.
I wonder also if the energy could be stored... like hydro power or wind power. Then it could be used to power homes and businesses or to recharge well made electric cars of the future if direct fueling with the intense heat isn't possible.
Science always interested me greatly, mainly physics.
Well, the salt water burns because its broken to hydrogen and oxygen and then those two burn again to become water again. It takes alot of energy to break those bonds between hydrogen and oxygen in water, and what this blurb doesn't say is that energy provided by radio waves has to come from somewhere, so no this doesn't provide any net gain of energy. It may be useful if the conversion from electricity to radio wave to heat(burning water) is highly efficient but something tells me an engine based on burning water, which is electricity to radio wave to heat to motion would be much less efficient than an electric motor which is electricity to motion. So no, this is probably not useful in a car.
Hey Jeff, thanks for the comment. Yeah, I think you are right that it is not exactly usable directly in a car. However, it is possible that the process is efficient enough to use to separate the hydrogen, then store it for later burning.
But yeah, there will have to be a lot more research on this to know if/how it can be used most efficiently.
That's really interesting. I wonder if the burning produces enough energy (explosion or whatever) fast enough to power a vehicle? If so, that would be amazing. It would be cool to see more research along those lines...
ReplyDeleteOne of the many things I left out is that they can control the color and intensity of the flame by the amount of salt in the water. So the salt-water solution has influence on the combustion, which in turn could be controlled for energy output in an engine environment.
ReplyDeleteThe flame is very hot: In several of the test cases, the test tube was melted by the flame!
Another of my major questions would be if they would just harvest the hydrogen this way, store it, then burn it, or if it would be instantly burned.
Interesting. I'm all for alternative energy. I'm not necessarily an activist who goes out of his way to inconvenience myself to use something out of the mainstream, but I'd love if gas guzzling cars became a thing of the past and all cars manufactured going forward were made to use something more environmentally friendly.
ReplyDeleteI wonder also if the energy could be stored... like hydro power or wind power. Then it could be used to power homes and businesses or to recharge well made electric cars of the future if direct fueling with the intense heat isn't possible.
Science always interested me greatly, mainly physics.
Well, the salt water burns because its broken to hydrogen and oxygen and then those two burn again to become water again. It takes alot of energy to break those bonds between hydrogen and oxygen in water, and what this blurb doesn't say is that energy provided by radio waves has to come from somewhere, so no this doesn't provide any net gain of energy. It may be useful if the conversion from electricity to radio wave to heat(burning water) is highly efficient but something tells me an engine based on burning water, which is electricity to radio wave to heat to motion would be much less efficient than an electric motor which is electricity to motion. So no, this is probably not useful in a car.
ReplyDeleteHey Jeff, thanks for the comment. Yeah, I think you are right that it is not exactly usable directly in a car. However, it is possible that the process is efficient enough to use to separate the hydrogen, then store it for later burning.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, there will have to be a lot more research on this to know if/how it can be used most efficiently.
the first thing i thought was what if someone started the whole oceans burning this place would be dust particles in "the twinkling of an eye"
ReplyDeleteThe radio waves are separating the hydrogen from the water. Then the hydrogen is burning. Two different things.
ReplyDeleteThe only important questions are:
How much energy is used to produce the radio waves to release the hydrogen?
How much energy does the burning hydrogen produce?
Is the difference big enough to be useful?