Burning Salt Water?

[Geogaddi]

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070911_ap_salt_water.html
I'm not familiar with the source, but it seems legit.

ERIE, Pa. (AP)?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."

Darn, and I was hoping to see the end of civilization as we know it.

 

[Ennui]

That's pretty cool.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

salt water fueled automobiles!

 

[Raziaar]

I just now read this on yahoo news. heh. I contemplated posting it, but decided against it until I saw someone else has.


On the wikipedia page however, it says he admitted the machine requires more energy than it releases. It also says that none of his claims are peer reviewed or tested.

 

[Tagaziel]

I'm all for providing this guy with resources to continue his research.

If he fails, we surgically swap his anus with his lips.

 

[Raxxman]

man glad he didn't try that on a person seeing how we're mainly water with salts...

 

[<RJMC>]

what if you put that in the oceans?

 

[Naudian]

The planet catches on fire.

(no not rly)

 

[Mr. Banana]

It would look like then end of ze world video.

 

[Raziaar]

what if you put that in the oceans?

Nothing that doesn't already occur on a daily basis other than boiling ocean?

 

[tehsolace]

what won't scientists come up with?? this is awesome...

 

[Geogaddi]

what if you put that in the oceans?

It's the opposite of Ice nine

 

[Lucid]

what won't scientists come up with?? this is awesome...

Flying DeLoreans.

 

[Fliko]

Haha, it's funny. My teacher today said you couldn't burn salt water ;P

 

[Dekstar]

Flying DeLoreans.

First they need to find a way to make DeLorians better.

 

[Stigmata]

First they need to find a way to make DeLorians better.

The only way to make DeLoreans better is to make them fly.

 

[MiccyNarc]

****ing ridiculous. Salt water is not an energy source. Takes energy to generate the radio waves, you might as well just use the energy used to create the radio waves to power whatever needs the energy.
1st law of thermodynamics, people.

 

[Raziaar]

****ing ridiculous. Salt water is not an energy source. Takes energy to generate the radio waves, you might as well just use the energy used to create the radio waves to power whatever needs the energy.
1st law of thermodynamics, people.

Well to be fair, not all forms of energy generation are very efficient in their first incarnations most likely. Further technology and R&D might be able to offset the excess energy used.

 

[MiccyNarc]

It only delays the inevitable, regardless. We need a NEW source of energy, not an energy derivative.
http://www.energybulletin.net/34120.html

 

[Stigmata]

Well to be fair, going with the First Law argument, one could say that the salt water holds a lot of potential energy, which originated as massive amounts of solar energy, and the radio waves simply act as a low-energy catalyst. It's analogous to a nuclear bomb, only the fuse is a radio transmitter, and the uranium was pre-processed by nature

 

[Kula Meenur]

Sounds cool

 

[MiccyNarc]

Well to be fair, going with the First Law argument, one could say that the salt water holds a lot of potential energy, which originated as massive amounts of solar energy, and the radio waves simply act as a low-energy catalyst. It's analogous to a nuclear bomb, only the fuse is a radio transmitter, and the uranium was pre-processed by nature

Water doesn't store energy, sorry. Yes, the ocean can store large amounts of energy, enough to power hurricanes. But what happens when you take a glass of it and put it in a metal container (like a gas tank)? The solar energy goes away, you're left with the room temperature salt water.

 

[tehsolace]

Question is: Does the hydrogen within the salt water contain more energy (after burning it, of course) than is needed to produce the radio waves?

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

SO, correct me if I'm wrong (and trust me, I probably am) but couldn't we create an epic weapon of mass destruction by creating an extremely potent radio signal, aiming it at the ocean and igniting it.

Someone try it.

Probably better (ed. worse?) off just dropping a nuke.

 

[Cormeh]

How much power to fuel a radio-frequency generator?

 

[tehsolace]

SO, correct me if I'm wrong (and trust me, I probably am) but couldn't we create an epic weapon of mass destruction by creating an extremely potent radio signal, aiming it at the ocean and igniting it.

Someone try it.

Probably better (ed. worse?) off just dropping a nuke.

I doubt its that easy for the radio waves to break apart the hydrogen atoms in such quantities that would allow for a significant ignition.

 

[<RJMC>]

what about grabing one of those hand radios and trow it into the ocean while on?????

 

[Beerdude26]

Woohoo! Now I can pee in my fuel tank AND get away with it (literally!)

 

[Mr Stabby]

This is just electrolysis by another process, instead of the energy being applied to the water molecules by an electric current, it is applied by the radio waves. However considering this would rule out the need for platinum anodes, it could make hydrogen production more economically feasible, but not more energy efficient. As regards to our future energy we need to go nuclear

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Well to be fair, going with the First Law argument, one could say that the salt water holds a lot of potential energy, which originated as massive amounts of solar energy, and the radio waves simply act as a low-energy catalyst. It's analogous to a nuclear bomb, only the fuse is a radio transmitter, and the uranium was pre-processed by nature

As far as I remember, the creation of salt is the exothermic bit. I.e. you'd get more energy out of making salt than from burning it. Or something. But I've not done chemistry in years.

-Angry Lawyer