New Aluminum "Catalyst" Makes Hydrogen From Water (i.e., liberals going crazy over perpetual motion)

Science Magazine ^ | January 23, 2009 | Patrick J. Roach, W. Hunter Woodward,1 A. W. Castleman, Jr., Arthur C. Reber, Shiv N. Khanna

[OldGuard1]

Sometimes it's all too easy to find liberals embarrassing themselves, but this time it's particularly amusing. If you know anything about science, check out the thread for a good laugh at their expense.

[Doogle]

ah s**t, now Algore has another crusade

[jmcenanly]

These guys must have slept through their high school chemistry classes.It probably costs more in energy to make the aluminum than the hydrogen would provide.

[OldGuard1]

Prepare for the conspiracy theories about how the evil oil companies are suppressing the water/aluminum car.

[BipolarBob]

didn’t go to the thread but if scientists can efficiently break the covalent bond of hydrogen to oxygen in water, then good on them. This will speed the hydrogen fuel process.

[Doogle]

yeah this could be fun

[djf]

I can do better than that!

Take some water. Mix in about a teaspoon of sodium hydroxide.

Chuck in the aluminum foil, it will bubble like crazy, and give off hydrogen.

Until the aluminum is consumed and you’re left with this toxic sludge type stuff that I would recommend you bury deep, deep in the ground.

As a matter of fact, I was doing better than that when I was in eighth grade or so...

[norwaypinesavage]

"It probably costs more in energy to make the aluminum than the hydrogen would provide."

Of course. However, there have been proposals to use aluminum as a storage medium for energy. As a fuel, it is light weight and safe to store. It is nearly as good as gasoline. There is an abundant supply of bauxite and all you do is add energy. It is, however, much more expensive.

[Vinnie]

Let’s not forget the energy required to extract the aluminum from the ore.
It’s electric and considerable.

[OldGuard1]

Anything involving hydrogen is really wasteful. This probably even moreso. Plus, fuel cells cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for one big enough to run a car.

[eclecticEel]

We all know if it wasn’t for the evil oil companies we’d all be sipping our double frapachimochas while driving electric cars that charged themselves via solar panels produced from fully biodegradable materials. Those bastards.

[VanShuyten]

Creating aluminum requires huge amounts of cheap electricity. That’s why Alcoa and Boeing moved to Washington, to take advantage of the cheap hydro-electric supply there. If this uses up any aluminum, it’s probably not cost efficient.

[HangThemHigh]

This is not a catalyst.

Aluminum is very reactive if you powder it and don’t let the surface oxidize. When dumped into water it steals the oxygen off the water molecules and discards the hydrogen (and there are other ways to achieve the reaction).

A guy made patented a device that let an engine run on aluminum and water back in ‘82.

http://members.tripod.com/~anon99/water_engine/index2.html

This is interesting, but the energy put into making the aluminum is more than you get running the engine.

[WildcatClan]

Paging the Not This *#@! Again, guy. You are needed.

[IndispensableDestiny]

I can make hydrogen from water by dropping a stick of metallic sodium or potassium into it. The potassium is especially exciting when wet.

[valkyry1]

Now thats quite a Catalyst if it works

[ThomasThomas]

I am working on a car that run on Alka-Seltzer and water. I thought I had something with pop rocks but there were unforeseen issues.

[MrEdd]

[FunkyZero]

"We all know if it wasn’t for the evil oil companies "

Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here?

I am still trying to get my hands on that 150MPG carburetor that evil oil companies are hiding from us.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

It probably costs more in energy to make the aluminum than the hydrogen would provide.

Much like the "benefits " of ethanol.