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Dispense with the water, just use air Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:00:13 In Reply to: water as fuel, steve, Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:19:17 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Why water? Why not just burn air?
This won't work. The reason it won't work has to do with the laws of thermodynamics.
Here's the equation:
hydrogen + oxygen = water + energy. (when combined by burning)
So yes, mix hydrogen and oxygen, add a spark, and you'll get water and energy. Cool - hydrogen powered car.
Here's the downside - where do you get the hydrogen? Well, you can split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The trouble is that to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, you need to add energy. Those atoms are stuck pretty well together. And it turns out you need to add exactly as much energy to split the water apart as you'd get burning it. If it were any other way, you'd have perpetual motion, which just hasn't happened yet.
So assuming this system worked (which it doesn't), the best you could get is a break even. And since no system is 100% efficient (another one of those pesky thermodyamics laws), you'll end up with less energy than before.
Shucks. Nice try, please be sure to play again.
posted by 76.227.24...
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