Cars Really Can Run Themselves On Water
A motor vehicle in which the fuel is water without any other energy output is called a water-fuelled car. The fuel in water-fuelled cars is hydrogen, from the compound of water. This type of vehicle is not a steam engine due to using the hydrogen as energy not steam.
A source, such as wood or coal, is burned to heat up the water in a steam engine. The water becomes steam, which then moves the engine after the water has been heated. The water is not the fuel source in this case, the wood or coal is.
Due to water being a waste product, it is hard to convert it into fuel. When petrol (gas), wood or coal is burned, it is converted into a substance with less energy. This process converts unstable bonds into stable bonds.
Being a very stable bond already, it is hard to convert it. This stability allows water to resist most reactions. In order for water to be converted into fuel, a high-energy compound must be added to it.
Adding calcium carbide to water makes a fuel called acetylene. In this stance, the fuel is the calcium carbine not the actual water. The only real way to make water a fuel is by electrolysis.
Electrolysis is a process of a current of power is sent through the water to separate the bond. The hydrogen then from the compound of 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen, is used as the energy source. It takes a lot of power to separate the bond.
However, because this type of engine needs a battery to be able to convert the water into energy by electrolysis, it is not completely considered a water-fuelled engine. The hydrogen can be converted at an efficiency of 50-70%. However, using that much energy from the battery does not allow it to last very long, thus the vehicle does not stay moving long.
A proper and successful water fuelled car has yet to be designed. Creating a truly water-fuelled vehicle is blocked by the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Many vehicles that have been created with the idea that they are water-fuelled have been classified as perpetual motion machines due to the strictness of these two laws.
There is an invention that could quite possibly be a true water-fuelled car, in Japan, but it still hasn’t received its patent. To be marketed, an invention must receive a patent. Other companies cannot copy an invention if there is a patent.
With the intent to get a patent, it is possible that a way to use the abundant resource of water for fuel has truly been found. We, who have been hurt by the rise in the price of petrol, will be able to breathe a little easier if this is true. In the not so distant future, a line of water-fuelled cars will produce a cleaner and cheaper way to get around.
This truly wonderful invention has not yet been leaked to other manufacturers. The Japanese are strictly keeping their secret to themselves. Within the next ten years, however, they do believe that they will have it patented.
Filed under: Computers & Technology