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Interesting skepticism, but if you remember 4 years back a guy figured out how to make a torch that is powered by seawater and when off, does not burn skin (he

Interesting skepticism, but if you remember 4 years back a guy figured out how to make a torch that is powered by seawater and when off, does not burn skin (he lights up a metal ball in seconds, then turns off the torch and touches the business end). If you are at sea, no reason why his mechanism cannot create thrust given unlimited supply of fuel.

parfe 15y ago
No, he built a hydrogen powered torch. Water did not provide a power source. Hydrogen merely stored the resulting energy from the externally powered hydrolysis process which separated water.
sharkbot 15y ago
Um, do you have a reference for the seawater-powered torch? Google isn't coming up with much. The reason why his mechanism cannot create thrust is in the linked article: the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Unless there is evidence that the boat suspends the laws of physics, this is the end of discussion.
- icegreentea 15y ago
  He is referring to this I think: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/335674/water_fueled_torch/ http://www.metacafe.com/watch/335674/water_fueled_torch/ The "HHO" they are talking about is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyhydrogen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyhydrogen In other words, dude is converting water to a hydrogen, oxygen gas mixture (somehow! they won't say in the stupid news segment), and then burning it. So yeah. Some magic conversion shit going on here.
qdog 15y ago
Where is this miracle flashlight? In my younger days, I thought that perhaps we would use solar power to split water for this type of thing, but I think it takes more energy to do the water splitting than hydrogen is produced. If the approach was to have a hydrogen cell that was slowly filled with hydrogen by some constant low-power source, that might work, but a tank with pure hydrogen of any quantity is a very dangerous bomb.
- yock 15y ago
  a tank with pure hydrogen of any quantity is a very dangerous bomb. That seems like a solvable problem to me. By limiting concentration, removing oxygen, and investing heavily into rupture-resistant tanks, is it feasible that the risk could be brought in line with other fuel storage standards?
  - ryandvm 15y ago
    I actually have a vehicle that is powered exclusively by a very efficient hydrogen storage technique. It basically relies on a liquid that is made up of long chain hydrocarbons. This makes the fuel source both very energy dense and relatively stable.
    - sharkbot 15y ago
      Wow! The wonders of such a storage technique! Hopefully the production of this liquid doesn't peak anytime soon... :)
  - qdog 15y ago
    According to Wikipedia, hydrogen is flammable in concentrations from 4% to 75%. Its likely any tank and transfer system for hydrogen fuel would be cost prohibitive or risky. It's been a long time since I had chemistry, so I don't know, a lot of people are interested in hydrogen fuel. However, the original post about the boat succeeding at this seems unlikely with current technology.

parfe 15y ago

No, he built a hydrogen powered torch. Water did not provide a power source. Hydrogen merely stored the resulting energy from the externally powered hydrolysis process which separated water.

sharkbot 15y ago

Um, do you have a reference for the seawater-powered torch? Google isn't coming up with much. The reason why his mechanism cannot create thrust is in the linked article: the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Unless there is evidence that the boat suspends the laws of physics, this is the end of discussion.

icegreentea 15y ago
He is referring to this I think: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/335674/water_fueled_torch/ http://www.metacafe.com/watch/335674/water_fueled_torch/ The "HHO" they are talking about is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyhydrogen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxyhydrogen In other words, dude is converting water to a hydrogen, oxygen gas mixture (somehow! they won't say in the stupid news segment), and then burning it. So yeah. Some magic conversion shit going on here.

qdog 15y ago

Where is this miracle flashlight? In my younger days, I thought that perhaps we would use solar power to split water for this type of thing, but I think it takes more energy to do the water splitting than hydrogen is produced. If the approach was to have a hydrogen cell that was slowly filled with hydrogen by some constant low-power source, that might work, but a tank with pure hydrogen of any quantity is a very dangerous bomb.

yock 15y ago
a tank with pure hydrogen of any quantity is a very dangerous bomb. That seems like a solvable problem to me. By limiting concentration, removing oxygen, and investing heavily into rupture-resistant tanks, is it feasible that the risk could be brought in line with other fuel storage standards?
- ryandvm 15y ago
  I actually have a vehicle that is powered exclusively by a very efficient hydrogen storage technique. It basically relies on a liquid that is made up of long chain hydrocarbons. This makes the fuel source both very energy dense and relatively stable.
  - sharkbot 15y ago
    Wow! The wonders of such a storage technique! Hopefully the production of this liquid doesn't peak anytime soon... :)
- qdog 15y ago
  According to Wikipedia, hydrogen is flammable in concentrations from 4% to 75%. Its likely any tank and transfer system for hydrogen fuel would be cost prohibitive or risky. It's been a long time since I had chemistry, so I don't know, a lot of people are interested in hydrogen fuel. However, the original post about the boat succeeding at this seems unlikely with current technology.