Re: [Amc-list] Hydrogen thoughts and replies

[Archimedes <Freedom@xxxxxxxx>]

Mark Price <Wrambler242@xxxxxxxxxxx> said:


>I only know enough to know I can't do anything to produce it safely and my orginal intend in replying was in response to the crakpots who push "waterpowered" cars and electrolysis as a means of powering them.


I happen to be one of those crackpots.  I've often expirimented with electrolysis with several surplus, monstrous 4" Radio Shack monocrystalline solar cells since I first started mucking around with alternative fuels in the mid-eighties.  It's especially fun now that I have kids and can show them the things one can do with pure hydrogen.


>I stand by my thought that we need to use many alternative energy means and that there is no one magic bullet.


One thing we must all remember is that it's simply **not true** that the cost of oil has risen.  The real reason we're seeing $4/gal gas is that our cash has become essentially worthless because the Fed has been printing so many paper dollars at a mad pace.  Gasoline costs as much now in silver as it did in 1922.  According to the government's own CPI, what cost $5 in 1922 would cost $57.50 in 2007.

Technology eventually conquers most problems.  Right now the challenges are basically efficiency-related.  Both on the supply and consumption sides.  Technology isn't there yet for high-efficiency conversion of other molecules into Hydrogen; so producing hydrogen is horridly inefficient -- but only for the moment.

Piston engines, for their part, are also horridly inefficient; converting a rather low percentage of the the energy locked in dinosaur grease into motion.

The only reason the economy still runs on dinosaur grease is that it's still cheaper to extract than the alternatives.  But the alternatives will come.

For the short term, it's better to park the car if you can.  In a couple of years, more efficient designs, like the Loremo http://evolution.loremo.com/index.php?lang=en will become generally available.


>As for solar panels, I have a contact who has used cheapy Harbor frieght panels for quite some time and is well pleased with their output and cost. The newer technologies will be better producers, but the older technologies are now available to cheapskates too!!!


I didn't realize Harbor Frieght was even into solar.  I'll have to check them out.

I think I have my wife convinced that if/when we move again, our next house must be off-grid, Zero Energy (that is, the property produces as much or more power than it consumes - see http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=zero+energy+house ), earth-sheltered, and well-enough insulated that energy needs for keeping it habitable will be either nil or negligible.  I'm frankly very weary of sending money to the Middle East so 8th century holdouts can continue funding madrassas and ambulances for the royals' falcons.

That said, I will always have a Rambler around when I really feel the need to hear dino grease burning!!

-- Marc




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