Who's going to teach the Saudis to surf?
This ought to make Sponge Bob the next Donald Trump.
A former broadcaster has reportedly discovered that salt water will burn when exposed to certain radio frequencies, raising the possibility that sea water could someday be used for fuel.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported over the weekend that cancer researcher John Kanzius - who once owned a radio/TV combo in Erie, PA - discovered while experimenting with a frequency generator that the hydrogen in salt water can burn with a 3,000-degree flame when exposed to radio frequencies.
Penn State University chemist Rustum Roy told the Post-Gazette that he was able to re-create Kanzius' results in university laboratories. Roy called the discovery "the most remarkable in water science in 100 years."
Kanzius once co-owned what is now WQHZ-FM in Erie (formerly WJET-FM).
He and partner Myron Jones also owned WJET-TV in that market. Jones was CEO and Kanzius was President of the licensee of both stations, The Jet Broadcasting Co.
If sea water can be used as fuel then I suppose rising sea levels due to global warming will be a good thing. Makes sense. But I'm more excited about the possibility of thumbing our noses at the Arabs while we fly down the highway blasting Jan & Dean tunes on our sea powered Hummers and other "land yachts".
I read that same article and I don't know. It sounds too good to be true. A few years back, a guy had this idea that he could turn any waste into oil. He attracted a bunch of big time investors including Warren Buffet. He started with a prototype to turn turkey offal into oil.
ReplyDeleteIt basically was a rendering plant that produced so much stink that the town was up in arms and hardly produced any oil.
I love stuff like this but I'll need to hear more.
Well, I'm definitely not ready to bet the bank. The whole water as fuel concept has an even shakier history. This does sound interesting, but my first question is how strong does the radio signal need to be. Could be yet another "perpetual motion machine".
ReplyDeleteEvery time an alternative energy idea comes up I think the same thing: why the hell are we not using more nuclear energy?
Nukes are the way to go right now. Somehow the cheese eaters have got that one right. Are you familiar with Dr Bill Wattenburg. He worked for Teller and is on a personal crusade to revive nuclear power.
ReplyDeleteHave to check out Dr. Bill, thanks Steve. Yeah -- nuke is the "elephant in the middle of the living room."
ReplyDelete