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Physics -not just a good idea - it's the law Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:57:24
In Reply to: Hydrogen generator add-on to improve mpg?, Mitch, Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:50:42 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Gas prices go up, and these things come out of the woodwork like roaches.
Bottom line - no, it won't work. Yes, it is likely a scam. I say likely, because by definition, a scam implies somebody knows they're trying to rip you off. I guess it isn't a scam if they deluded themselves into thinking it works.
The "theory" on this is to take water, split it into hydrogen and oxygen, and by adding the hydrogen to the incoming air, it burns and makes everything run better.
Let's ignore that the engine control probably doesn't know what to do with this stuff. The reason it doesn't improve economy is that it violates a few laws of thermodynamics.
Yes, burning hydrogen releases energy. Yay! But where do you get hydrogen? Well, by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, and water is cheap. But it takes energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. In fact, it takes just as much energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen as you get back when you burn hydrogen and oxygen. But of course, that's ideal; because every system has some waste - so you get back less energy than it took to split them.
Now, if you were taking 'waste' energy to split them, that might work. But the best way to do this is to use electricity, which the car makes. So just hook up the alternator and through electrolysis, you can split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Bad news- that electricity puts a load on the engine, and that load takes fuel. Now, an engine is, at best, 30% efficient. An alternator is, at best, 50% efficient.
So, using the electricity the engine produces to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, the process is only 15% efficient. So it takes 6 times as much energy to make the hydrogen than you can get back from the hydrogen.
So, yes, you can burn hydrogen. But getting the hydrogen takes more energy to make than it gives back. Look up the Three Laws of Thermodynamics.
Yes, they talk about hydrogen cars, and the good news is that they do only produce water vapor as an emission. But in this case, hydrogen is just a compact way to transfer energy. Somebody had to make that hydrogen, and making hydrogen uses energy. No free lunch.
Yes, it sounds like a great idea. Just if it only worked.
posted by 76.196.10...
, Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:57:24 <-- Viewing This Message
, Fri, 5 Sep 2008 13:21:36
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