Hydrogen Fuel

A University of Colorado Boulder team has developed a radically new technique that uses the power of sunlight to efficiently split water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen, paving the way for the broad use of hydrogen as a clean, green fuel.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-team-technique-hydrogen-fuel.html#jCp

One of the key differences between the CU method and other methods developed to split water is the ability to conduct two chemical reactions at the same temperature, said Musgrave, also of the chemical and biological engineering department. While there are no working models, conventional theory holds that producing hydrogen through the metal oxide process requires heating the reactor to a high temperature to remove oxygen, then cooling it to a low temperature before injecting steam to re-oxidize the compound in order to release hydrogen gas for collection.

This could be a very big deal. Of course there are always "antis" so expect the complaints to be around water usage.

Interesting.

But how much? How much hydrogen can be produced by a plant that's, let's say, 500 meters by 500 meters? They have done the calculations. They know how much sunlight will hit the mirrors to be bounced up to hit the magic hydrogen producing chamber. They know how much energy is in that sunlight. Will such a plant produce enough hydrogen to run a small town? A neighborhood? A single house? A car? A lawnmower? A camp stove?

We're going to have to build a shellworld around the sun.

glatt;872151 wrote:

Interesting.

But how much? How much hydrogen can be produced by a plant that's, let's say, 500 meters by 500 meters? They have done the calculations. They know how much sunlight will hit the mirrors to be bounced up to hit the magic hydrogen producing chamber. They know how much energy is in that sunlight. Will such a plant produce enough hydrogen to run a small town? A neighborhood? A single house? A car? A lawnmower? A camp stove?

Apparently ancient civilizations in South America were able to concentrate sunlight into beams hot enough to cut blocks of stone to a mirror finish.

I don't know what that has to do with this, exactly, but people have always been very good imagining solutions to engineering problems.

Perry Winkle;872159 wrote:

We're going to have to build a shellworld around the sun.

That's a Dyson Sphere

Flint;872168 wrote:

Apparently ancient civilizations in South America were able to concentrate sunlight into beams hot enough to cut blocks of stone to a mirror finish.

I don't know what that has to do with this, exactly, but people have always been very good imagining solutions to engineering problems.

That was done by ancient aliens ;)

Spexxvet;872169 wrote:

That's a Dyson Sphere

Time to brush the dust off our old Larry Niven paperbacks.

Spexxvet;872169 wrote:

That's a Dyson Sphere

Yeah, I didn't want to use the brand name. That Dyson guy gets enough credit for the vacuum cleaners.

(I know. I know.)

That guy (I know, I know) did come up with a pretty neat fan.

So we're going to set up a spherical vacuum to extract hydrogen from the sun?

(I know, I know.)

Flint;872168 wrote:

Apparently ancient civilizations in South America were able to concentrate sunlight into beams hot enough to cut blocks of stone to a mirror finish.
I don't know what that has to do with this, ...

It demonstrates how far we have fallen behind our ancestors - ethically.

Clearly the gods are no longer with us.

Flint;872197 wrote:

So we're going to set up a spherical vacuum to extract hydrogen from the sun?

(I know, I know.)

No, you use the vacuum to suck photons :p: