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."
I would like to give you a bath in it. Ever been burnt by it? It isnt funny jeark.
This glorified high-output space heater costs $50,000. It is obviously for the rich. Rich people with no taste- probably nouveau riche. They're building absurdly large and gaudy houses all the time and desire to blow their money as conspicuously as possible. Sounds to me like they know their target market...
People are always referring hydrogen as an "energy source", but hydrogen is not an energy source at all because there is currently no way to get hydrogen without expending more energy than you can obtain from burning the hydrogen you get. As a result, hydrogen is currently at best an energy storage medium, and NOT an energy source.
... well ... producing. While I'm not sure that pure hydrogen is quite the answer (as there are, after all, considerable difficulties containing and storing large amounts of it in a high-density form), the research into what amounts to an attempt at replicating nature's ultimate chemical "battery" (fossil fuels) is certainly intriguing.
By this logic, there is no such thing as an "energy source" of any type, as the fisrt law of thermodynamics precludes any fuel source producing more energy than originally went into its creation. It's all a matter of scope. If I spend my entire life collecting and compressing hydrogen, and then hand it off as an anonymous gift to you, is it still not an "energy source"? What do you think is so special about fossil fuels that makes them so-called energy sources? Hint: It starts with an H.
Consider that there is enough energy to vastly exceed all of humanity's needs or wants for the forseeable future, located a scant 150 million kms away. Unfortunately, they are some technical issues involved with the capturing, transportation and storage of this energy. But, it's definitely out there doing nothing but