Re: RE Word Hydrogen vs Hybrid

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 16 Sep 2005, Bill Strobel wrote:

>  Hydrogen cars will not
> reduce our dependence on Middle East oil as current
> technology has us cracking oil and natural gas for the
> hydrogen.  Don't even fall for the myth of making
> hydrogen from water, the energy needed to do it is
> more than the work received from the resultant
> hydrogen.

Thanks for pointing this out. The system cost of H2 is not less
than other systems (eg. oil --> gasoline).

It's possible that some cheaper way to split water will be found,
but it's not that likely -- pure physics is the limiting problem
-- the oxygen::hydrogen atomic bond has a known and absolutely
invariant binding energy. Whether it's chemical or electrical, you
have to overcome that bond, it's a bunch of electron-volts per
molecule, and that's that.  Facks is facks.

There's this idea that "conservation" means "giving up". It's
silly.  Using less is smart, not some commie plot to deprive us of
pleasure.