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Man Finds Secret To Turn Water Into Fuel

lep.co.uk — Never mind turning water into wine – inventor Philip Thompson can turn water into fuel. At a time when petrol costs are spiralling, Philip has spent the last six months creating a hydrogen fuel generator which transforms water into a petrol-boosting substance. Inspiration struck when former lecturer Philip, 40, from Leyland, read about an existing

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  • WordsnCollision, on 07/25/2008, -2/+8He's gonna be more popular than Jesus.
    • fluidfoundation, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1What does the guy that cuts my lawn have to do with this?
      • kpsfire, on 07/25/2008, -1/+1It wasn't funny the first time, and it sure as hell is not funny now.
  • dupeduperson, on 07/25/2008, -1/+7Why does this stuff keep coming up? (I know the answer: 1) people don't understand or don't believe the idea of conservation of energy 2) people want to believe they can run their car on water).

    Here is an analogy. Suppose I took a $10 bill and paid 20 cents for someone to give me change. So they give me two $5 bills and I pay the 20 cents from my other wallet or something. Then I use these two $5 bills and and add some another $10 bill and get it converted to a $20 bill by paying another 20 cents. Holy cow! I just made like $10 bucks! I started with a $10 and ended up with a $20! WOOT!

    Seems silly, huh? This is the same thing with this water stuff. You use energy to break it down into hydrogen and oxygen (and that is not 100% efficient) and then you combine it back to water (again at not 100% efficient). You don't use water as a fuel, you are using water as a battery.

    • johndi, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1It's the same with crude oil except the energy input to the system was done a long time ago. I agree with your point that there is no free energy, but under your explanation a rock on a hill is a kinetic battery.
  • johnnick, on 07/25/2008, -0/+6Hyperbolic headline. I'm suspicious for a lot of reasons, but mostly because the article claims that the process boosted the gas milage of a Land Rover from 30 mpg to 45 mpg. Land Rovers don't get 30 mpg to begin with. The 2006 Land Rover HSE gets 14 City and 18 Hwy.
    • TheStooge1, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1Perhaps they meant Kilometers Per Hour... it would make sense... 18 miles is about 29 kilometers.
      • shortyjacobs, on 07/25/2008, -0/+1and 1 hour is like a billion gallons?

        Europeans measure in mpg or lpk, (liters per hundred kilometers)
  • shortyjacobs, on 07/25/2008, -0/+8Awww, fatal mistake:

    Philip said: "Something like this, maybe a little more compact in time, could be mounted in a car and you wouldn't have to refuel. You could drive along and produce the gas as you're driving."

    Wouldn't have to refuel, eh? Water turns to gas burns to water turns to gas burns to water ad nauseum, eh? Go back to school, dumbass.
    • seraph582, on 07/25/2008, -0/+3Tesla is spinning in his grave as we speak.
      • Diggnabbit, on 07/26/2008, -0/+3Attach some kind of turbine to him, then!

        (also, kudos on the malapropistic use of "ad nauseum" instead of "ad infinitum!"
  • lucy22, on 07/25/2008, -5/+2At such a time with expensive fuel, I welcome this discovery.
  • InsaneOni, on 07/25/2008, -0/+7In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics.
  • Qubous, on 07/25/2008, -1/+2FYI: These sorts of contraptions do NOT claim to be extracting their extra energy from the combustion of hydrogen. The principle is that the lighter molecular weight gas (hydrogen gas) increases the speed of combustion (speed of combustion is related to the speed of sound which is much higher in a lighter gas). The faster combusion of the GASOLINE increases the efficiency of combustion of GASOLINE improving mpg. There is no violation of thermodynamics required for these to work.

    It doesn't mean they can gain you the improvements claimed though. I have no idea if they work, but there are lots of people claiming they do.
  • TheMachine1, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Water injection alone explains the limited utility this water fuel hyped claim is observing.
    Water is an octane booster and the car's computer will use its knock sensor to adjust the timing to a more energy efficient setting when it is not detecting knocks that water can suppress. If a person modified their engine to a much higher compression ratio they would see even greater fuel savings with water injection. Alcohol cars in Brazil are made higher compression and the alcohol that is sold for fuel has 10% water in it.

    So a realistic summation of "Water fuel" is its water injection and that will minorily increase MPG in most cars and perhaps moderately in higher compression engines.
  • ryan83189, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1I am tired of hearing about this junk "science". Every time a story like this comes up people buy into this crap and these ridiculous claims become more and more plausible in the minds of idiots. Sure you can explain that water is a product of combustion, and in it's lowest energy form, and the laws of thermodynamics have made such a device impossible. In the end you must say "Well, if it really worked, why isn't it in every car in the world?"
    I am aware that this guy is probably burning brown's gas, H2 H2 O2, in conjunction with normal gas.
    but think about the combustion of hydrogen gas 2 H2 + O2 -> 2H2O + energy
    but there is no net gain of energy, even at 100% efficiency all of it was previously put into the electrolysis process (and no that was not excess energy from the alternator)
    There is nothing else left of the browns gas to combust, or aid in the combustion of gasoline, it is a wash, and IMO a hinderence to the normal combustion process, for which most cars are programed, to optimise air intake .
    PS: I know very little about chemistry or cars, so correct me if im wrong.
  • Rxbrent, on 07/26/2008, -0/+1Again?!?!

    It's been done. At least a dozen times. Someone should tell him.
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