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Nano Tanks Could Store Hydrogen in Microscopic 'Soccer Balls
popularmechanics.com — While hydrogen gas and fuel cells remain far-off realities for solving the fuel crunch, new computer models of interlocked carbon chambers have proven to store hydrogen at similar pressures to the cores of huge planets.
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- mattnyc99, on 04/01/2008, -2/+4“It looks to me like this is a really cool piece of science,” says Dennis Witmer, a professor at the University of Alaska who regularly evaluates hydrogen fuel cells and other alternative energy sources, “but in terms of expecting to fuel a car with them anytime in my lifetime, I don’t expect it to happen.” That's the bottom line: hydrogen ain't comin' soon. Though this is pretty damn cool...
- mwalker52, on 04/01/2008, -0/+3BMW already has a hydrogen car - Google BMW-H7 Just need more fueling stations.
- dboy3587, on 04/01/2008, -3/+1lets hope the inventor doesn't randomly assassinated by the oil company like the guy that invented the dune buggy that ran on water
- Ramble, on 04/01/2008, -0/+4I believe free bucky balls can cause all sorts of medical problems (cancers, etc.). I hope these guys have managed to tie them down somehow.
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1Bucky balls! oh, Buckminster Fuller, where would we be without your geodesic domes? in all reality, more people would have been hurt in the GA dome during the tornado.
- DDBdestroyer, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1Look, everything and everyone in this day and age causes cancer - its a well known fact that breathing air can probably give you cancer - or how do the people that never smoke, have never had any smokey environments, live completly healthy lives eating only the best food and the best water can end up with lung cancer?
- dsmx, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1As opposed to now where we use benzene in unleaded fuel which causes cancer, or lead in leaded fuel which causes lots of health problems.
- ilves7, on 04/01/2008, -0/+2"proven to store hydrogen at similar pressures to the cores of huge planets."
umm... boom?- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -1/+1with great power comes... you saw spiderman.
- DDBdestroyer, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0with great power comes...... Free electricity with absolutely NO harmful waste - just water - and this water can be used to fuel your car again and again
now im not 100% sure if that was the line but it was something like tht
- DDBdestroyer, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0with great power comes...... Free electricity with absolutely NO harmful waste - just water - and this water can be used to fuel your car again and again
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -1/+1with great power comes... you saw spiderman.
- digginDigs, on 04/01/2008, -1/+2It is the most efficient form of energy. We need to be investing much more into the science
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -1/+2I dugg you up as fast as someone buried you down.
- sienar, on 04/01/2008, -1/+1and i buried you both
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -1/+2I dugg you up as fast as someone buried you down.
- TheWhiteOtter, on 04/01/2008, -2/+1Did anybody else read that and think that the military were developing a nano army?
- philod, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0i agree, investment is a must
- russ3, on 04/01/2008, -0/+2The guy who named those "buckyballs" is my kind of scientist. Thumbs up.
- atact88, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0It's short for Buckminster Fullerene
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -0/+2A little elaborate for an April fools, yes? but seriously, wouldn't they be highly explosive?
- DDBdestroyer, on 04/01/2008, -1/+0where do you think the Hydrogen Bomb gets its name?
- atact88, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0With the hydrogen stored inside of a molecular cage (with various side groups), it wouldn't be free-floating molecular hydrogen. Molecular interactions between the hydrogen molecules and the organic container effectively makes the hydrogen inert while it's stored (at least another system that someone is working on would do that - in theory). Special chemical processes would be needed to retrieve the hydrogen before it gets combusted.
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1good point, I think I'm going to be sick :P jk..but, the potential is there even if the probability is unlikely.
- kurtu5, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Some chemical process like oxidation of the fullerene at high temperature, and then oxidation of the stored h. Chain reaction?
- lamiaconfitor, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1good point, I think I'm going to be sick :P jk..but, the potential is there even if the probability is unlikely.
- ralphthemagi, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1Buckyballs are the most amazing thing ever. Period.
- linkerjpatrick, on 04/01/2008, -0/+2I wouldn't want to breath those things in once they are depleted.
- kurtu5, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Then for gods sake don't use candles.
- Emused, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1Buckminster Fuller, still contributing from the grave, gotta love em.
- KDyneria, on 04/01/2008, -0/+2Hope this doesn't end up like it did in seinfeld, when Kramer tried to solve the world's energy problem and putting a barrel of oil inside a large rubber ball.
- designerutah, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0Nice concept. Would love to see it in a real world engineering situation.
- DouglasScott, on 04/01/2008, -1/+2So the energy is stored in carbon, kinda like... gasoline!
- oscenester, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0I dont understand why people keep saying this is all a "far off reality". They had cars running off hydrogen in the eighties. Big oil and car companies bought out the technology and patents to forever destroy them so we keep hanging on to our gas guzzling ways. Hell, the french even have a WORKING car that runs off of PURE COMPRESSED AIR. @ 175mi a fill, the tank costs $2.00 at any gas station. When will people open their eyes and realize that we're just being ***** with.
- Texmurphy01, on 04/01/2008, -0/+1Tell us about this wonder machine
- atact88, on 04/01/2008, -0/+0Hydrogen vehicles developed so far were mostly military or industrial usage / experiments. The processes needed to manufacture the hydrogen consumed just as much crude oil as burning fuel.
The issue isn't what goes in the car, the issue is the energy expenditure that goes into making the fuel. You can go electric all you like, but a coal , oil, or nuclear plant still has to make the electricity in most of the world. Go with hydrogen, and the hydrogen plant still has to extract the hydrogen atoms from hydrocarbon fuels. These alternative fuels also have a higher price to the end consumer because of the extra steps needed for manufacturing. Energy is not free, and its sources are limited.
- ConradCserjen, on 04/01/2008, -1/+1its a bit like the human lung. why don't why use stretchy skin so that the so that the tanks can expand and then disperse the hydrogen when needed.
- bobnease, on 04/02/2008, -0/+1Cool!
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