Slashdot Mirror
Making Fire From Water
LexNaturalis writes "Gizmodo has a story out about a new product that makes fire from water. Gizmodo explains how it works: 'Ordinary tap water (preferably distilled) is supplied to the fireplace through a pipe or tank, a 220 volt electrical service then separates the hydrogen and oxygen atoms through electrolysis, the Aqueon ignites the hydrogen, and ta-dah, fire! The oxygen is then added for color and brightness, while the rest is released into the room. It doesn't require venting because it doesn't produce any harmful emittents like carbon monoxide -- just water vapor.' The manufacturer's website has more information on the science behind this new product. While splitting water to get hydrogen and oxygen is not new, this product will likely make the technology more accessible to the masses and might hopefully show that hydrogen is a more attractive fuel than petroleum-based fuels."
What sort of crap are you guys smoking?
Q1. WERE THE FUCK DOES THE ELECTRICITY COME FROM?
Hint: It's not from cow farts and rainbows.
Ans: It's from oil and coal.
Q2. You know why hydrogen is a shitty fuel source?
Hint: Hydrogen isn't a fuel source
Ans: You burn more petroleum to:
1. make the electricity to make hydrogen
2. send the electricity to hydrogen generating plants
3. generate the hydrogen
4. package the hydrogen to a safe non-combustable form
5. transport the hydrogen to were the cars can get it
6. put it into cars and use it as fuel.
To put it another way:
It's more efficient to simply take the fuel and put it into a car then it is to burn the fuel to generate the electricity to generate the hydrogen to power the car.
Lets put it another way.
You won't lessen the demand for Oil by switching to hydrogen because by using hydrogen you will use more oil.
By switching to hydrogen, right now, you would INCREASE THE DEMAND FOR OIL. Not lessen it.
The hydrogen isn't a fuel source. It's a fucking transport mechanism.
It's like a liquid form of a gas tank that needs it's own gass tank.
It's like saying:
"Hey, my power company shut off my elecrity because I didn't pay the bill... I know what I can do! I can use a hydrogen generator to generate my own electricity, now all I need to do is find a electrical plug for my hydrogen generator that works..."
To solve the problem we need a NEW FUCKING POWER SOURCE. Not a new way to transport energy.
We have:
Hydroelectric (most of that is used up now)
Wind (completely worthless. There is not enough land mass in the united states to be able to power the energy needs of even part of the US)(get it: not enough wind exists, it's completely delusional imaginary source source)
Thermal (not practical, except mainly for Iceland were is the only place your going to find a practical use for hydrogen fuel at this time)
Nuclear (could be practical, but politics and ignorance keep it expensive and unusable)
Solar (very inefficient, very expensive)
Oil/Coal/Natural gass (what we currently use. Due to run out in 200 years)
I beleive we should be switching to nuclear energy. That way hydrogen would be a GOOD idea. Right now hydrogen is a BAD idea because it would increase the demand for oil and not decrease it for obvious reasons.
Then in addition nuclear we should devote large budgets to solar power to make that a practical, efficient, and inexpensive power source.
We could standardize our nuclear facilities so that they can be produced inexpensively and efficiently. That would allow us to use hydrogen fuel to stretch out the patroleum reserves to 1000's of years instead of 100's and over the next century devote nessicary resources to make solar practical then eventually ween ourselves off of nuclear.