Researcher figures out how to make saltwater ignite

[pokerpunchout]

Interesting news here, a scientist working on using radio waves to treat cancer, and desalinize water has stumbled upon a way to release the Hydrogen atoms from saltwater.

This is legit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kKtKSEQBeI

[Kaj]

That's interesting. But probably of little practical value.

[Metric]

"...I'd probably guess that you could power an automobile with this eventually."

In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!!!

[bobman0330]

[ QUOTE ]
This is legit.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, no it isn't.

Basically, this a standard con. The experiment itself is not very complicated, nor is it useful, because of thermodynamics. The next step is to find a scientifically illiterate reporter to do a story on it. Then write to a scientifically illiterate industry guy (auto industry is apparently good for this stuff) and get him to express interest. Then write to another industry guy, say "Ford has expressed interest," and eventually parlay it into some kind of licensing deal.

[pokerpunchout]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This is legit.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, no it isn't.

Basically, this a standard con. The experiment itself is not very complicated, nor is it useful, because of thermodynamics. The next step is to find a scientifically illiterate reporter to do a story on it. Then write to a scientifically illiterate industry guy (auto industry is apparently good for this stuff) and get him to express interest. Then write to another industry guy, say "Ford has expressed interest," and eventually parlay it into some kind of licensing deal.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it is similar to the kind of stuff you do in high school and junior high chemistry where you extract hydrogen from water using electricity to do so.

With this particular method he seems to have found a new way of extracting hydrogen.

Does this method (unlike using electroysis) produce more energy than you have to put in? (I know, thermodynamic problem, but is it close) Is this method more efficient than electrolysis of H20? Could it eventually be made more efficient?

[bobman0330]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This is legit.

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, no it isn't.

Basically, this a standard con. The experiment itself is not very complicated, nor is it useful, because of thermodynamics. The next step is to find a scientifically illiterate reporter to do a story on it. Then write to a scientifically illiterate industry guy (auto industry is apparently good for this stuff) and get him to express interest. Then write to another industry guy, say "Ford has expressed interest," and eventually parlay it into some kind of licensing deal.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree it is similar to the kind of stuff you do in high school and junior high chemistry where you extract hydrogen from water using electricity to do so.

With this particular method he seems to have found a new way of extracting hydrogen.

Does this method (unlike using electroysis) produce more energy than you have to put in? Is this method more efficient than electrolysis of H20? Could it eventually be made more efficient?

[/ QUOTE ]

He puts in water. The result of burning hydrogen in air is water. If he really got more energy out than he put in, he could just recollect the water and use the extra energy to create a perpetual motion machine. Impossible.

There's nothing special or new about his method, just a gullible reporter. (This very story was on the front page of Yahoo moments ago.)

[TimM]

I won my 6th grade science fair by doing the same thing with a 7.5 volt lantern battery instead of a huge RF machine.

[ChrisV]

I just wanted to say I enjoyed this comment on the YouTube video:

[ QUOTE ]
This does respect the laws of thermodynamics. The energy behind this is basically gravity. Using electromagnetic resonance to break molecular bonds is a way of using natural forces to pull atoms apart. These forces exist more than you'd like to admit. Matter actually is very fragile. An opera singer can shatter glass with her voice in much the same way.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ahh, the wonders of science.