Salt Water into Fuel?

[file83]

Video Link at WKYC.com for NBC News (it takes a few seconds to load - be patient)

Water into fuel?

Retired TV station owner and broadcast engineer, John Kanzius, wasn't looking for an answer to the energy crisis.
He was looking for a cure for cancer.

(snip)

But John also came across yet another extrordinary breakthrough.

His machine could actually make saltwater burn.

John Kanzius discovered that his radio frequency generator could release the oxygen and hydrogen from saltwater and create an incredibly intense flame.

"Just like that. If that was in a car cylinder you could see the amount of fire that would be in the cylinder."

The APV Company Laboratory in Akron has checked out John's amazing invention. They were amazed.

"That could be a steam engine, a steam turbine. That could be a car engine if you wanted it to be."

Imagine the possibilities. Saltwater as the ultimate clean fuel.

A happy byproduct of one man searching for the cure for cancer.

source: http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=68227">NBC News at WKYC

Burning the salt water was interesting, but how much energy does it take to generate the radio waves which separates the hyrdrogen and oxygen? If it takes more energy to generate the radio waves than you can harness by burning the gas coming off the salt water, then this invention may not be directly useful.

The story seemed legit, but I wonder why it's a local NBC news affiliate reporting this and not PBS's NOVA or something.

[Cleetus]

1. Do you get more energy out than you put in?

That's the question. Does the amount of energy released by this reaction exceed the amount of energy necessary to cause the reaction? My guess is that the answer is no. Breaking apart solidly bonded molecules requires quite a bit of energy, and water is a stable molecule.

I hope I'm wrong.

Cheers

[file83]

3. You're probably right.

When I see that huge machine and compare it to that stupid little motor being turned, I figure there is a LOT more energy going into the "frequency generator".

Still, it's pretty cool. I don't think I'd be putting my hand in front of it like that guy was though! Is he insane? It breaks apart salty water - *ahem* - we ARE salty water - not smart!

[BlooInBloo]

5. You realize there are laws against that, right?

[tularetom]

2. You put your finger on it - the problem with generating hydrogen

is that it takes more energy to generate the heat needed to liberate the hydrogen than the hydrogen contains. It's a totally bogus concept like a perpetual motion machine.

[mahina]

4. If the energy is from fossil fuels, you are correct.

But if it's from solar energy, as we are doing here in Hawaii, you are mistaken.

[JMDEM]

6. Depends where you get the energy from...

I heard a plan several years ago of creating huge floating windmills that would be towed to sea and anchored. The wind would supply the energy to convert the sea water to hydrogen (and oxygen too?) which would be bottled and shipped back to land.

In this sense, the hydrogen serves as a storage medium for the wind power. Even if 5x wind power is needed to generate 1x hydrogen power, this may a good way to "capture the wind power" so it can be used whenever needed.

[davekriss]

7. EROEI

Energy Returned on Energy Invested. It must be positive, otherwise the "source" of energy is a net energy sink.

Oil in the 50s used to return an EROEI of 80:1. It took the energy equivalent of 1 barrel of oil to get 80 barrels out of the ground and to market. As reserves of cheap, easy to get and refine oil decline, and as it gets harder to get to oil (new reserves under miles under oceans, or found deep in some remote geological strata), EROEI declines so that the average today is something like 30:1. Things like tar sands and shale oil have EROEI as low as 1.7:1. You see the trend. Net available energy declines even though we may be manufacturing barrels of the suff at accelerated speed. These dynamics will send the price of oil through the roof, as well as the price of food as its production is based on oil. Economic chaos is ahead.

As Hunter Thompson once said, Big Dark Coming, Soon.