The Radio Wave-Hydrogen Economy vs. Coal

Focus for Discussion = “Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future” by Jeff Goodell © 2006 (available from your local library or in paperback from Amazon.com for $10.17 new/$8.88 used + shipping).
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johnkarls
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

The Radio Wave-Hydrogen Economy vs. Coal

Post by johnkarls »

Editorial Note:

This is a very interesting AP wire service story about using radio waves to obtain hydrogen as a fuel. If the report is accurate, it would mean that virtually all oil, natural gas, and coal could be displaced with hydrogen – without having to go to nuclear power (please see “Global Warming/Energy Independence/Hydrogen-Nuclear Economy” under “October Meeting – Possible Topics (historical) which is being reproduced simultaneously in this “Background Materials” section -- for more information regarding why nuclear power has been thought to be the only way to obtain hydrogen from water).

Queries re the AP report – (1) what is the source of power for the “radio-frequency generator” that breaks apart the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen molecules (the re-combination of which is the oxidation of hydrogen that releases energy), and (2) is the amount of power used to break apart the water molecules less than is produced by oxidizing the hydrogen???


Radio Frequencies Help Burn Salt Water
By David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
AP Wire Service -- Tue, 10 Sep 2007, 5:35 PM EDT

ERIE, Pa. - An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century.

John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies, it would burn.

The discovery has scientists excited by the prospect of using salt water, the most abundant resource on earth, as a fuel.
Rustum Roy, a Penn State University chemist, has held demonstrations at his State College lab to confirm his own observations.

The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen, Roy said. Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies, he said.

The discovery is "the most remarkable in water science in 100 years," Roy said.

"This is the most abundant element in the world. It is everywhere," Roy said. "Seeing it burn gives me the chills."

Roy will meet this week with officials from the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to try to obtain research funding.
The scientists want to find out whether the energy output from the burning hydrogen — which reached a heat of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit — would be enough to power a car or other heavy machinery.

"We will get our ideas together and check this out and see where it leads," Roy said. "The potential is huge."

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