Xann Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 That's pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted April 9, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted April 9, 2014 US Navy Scientists Converts Seawater into Fuel; Allowing Ships to Cut on Oil Price By Parismita Goswami: Subscribe to Parismita's RSS feed | April 9, 2014 1:15 PM IST Follow Parismita Goswami on 0 0 0 US Navy Scientists Coverts Seawater into Fuel; Allowing Ships to Cut on Oil Price (Reuters) After years of experiments, scientists from the U.S Navy believe that they have finally resolved one of the greatest problems faced by the military: how to turn seawater into fuel. With the development of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel, scientists could now aid in easing out military's dependence on oil fuels. It is called the "game changer," as it could now help military ships to produce their own fuel, which in turn would help them stay operational at any point of time. The cost of the newly developed fuel is about $3 to $6 per gallon, according to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. At present, 289 navy vessels depend on oil-base fuel, whereas 72 submarines and some aircraft carriers rely on nuclear propulsion. With the development of the new fuel, dependence on oil-based fuel would reduce and would in turn free the military from fluctuations in fuel price and shortage. "It's a huge milestone for us. We are in very challenging times where we really do have to think in pretty innovative ways to look at how we create energy, how we value energy and how we consume it. We need to challenge the results of the assumptions that are the result of the last six decades of constant access to cheap, unlimited amounts of fuel." Defense News quoted Philip Cullom, Vice Adm. FOLLOW US Follow @ibtimesindia The breakthrough came after military scientists found a way to extract hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide from seawater. The gases are then converted into a fuel through gas-to-liquids process aided with catalytic converters. "For the first time we've been able to develop a technology to get CO2 and hydrogen from seawater simultaneously. That's a big breakthrough." said Dr Heather Willauer, a research chemist who was involved with the project. "For us in the military, in the navy, we have some pretty unusual and different kinds of challenges. We don't necessarily go to a gas station to get our fuel. Our gas station comes to us in terms of an oiler, a replenishment ship. Developing a game-changing technology like this, seawater to fuel, really is something that reinvents a lot of the way we can do business when you think about logistics, readiness." said Cullom. Navy's next challenge is to produce the fuel for industrial purposes. It is also expected that they will collaborate with universities in order to increase the amount of CO2 and carbon that can be recaptured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted April 9, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted April 9, 2014 Middle eastern snipers on standby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted April 9, 2014 Administrator Share Posted April 9, 2014 Any links to any science on that story? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted April 10, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted April 10, 2014 The process behind it... clicky HOW TO MAKE JET FUEL FROM WATER A beaker of fuel(right) made from seawater by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, DC The NRL process begins by extracting carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater. As seawater passes through a sepcially built cell, it is subjected to a small electric current. This causes the seawater to exchange hydrogen ions produced at the anode with sodium ions. As a result, the seawater is acidified. Meanwhile, at the cathode, the water is reduced to hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide is formed. The end product is hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas, and the sodium hydroxide is added to the leftover seawater to neutralize its acidity. In the next step, the hydrogen and carbon dioxide are passed into a heated reaction chamber with an iron catalyst. The gases combine and form long-chained unsaturated hydrocarbons with methane as a by-product. The unsaturated hydrocarbons are then made to form longer hydrocarbon molecules containing six to nine carbon atoms. Using a nickel-supported catalyst, these are then converted into jet fuel. The general process has been around for a while now. It isnt really a substitute for the average motorist as in total the process is not so much a better way of obtaining energy rather a way of getting it without using fossil fuels; The process uses similar if not more actual energy to deliver the results. However the Navy would struggle to carry much resources on the ships themselves but already carry power plants on it vessels, so they can make use of the more profitable fuel manufacture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted April 10, 2014 Administrator Share Posted April 10, 2014 As this isn't a new catalyst to improve yield or a new method to bind the chlorine, it's simply old science but now on a ship. I thought it might have been something new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legov Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Bonobos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Frozen light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Electric car manufacturer Tesla becomes open source, releasing all its patents to the public to further advance the development of the electric carriage. Yeah Man! On Thursday, Tesla Motors released a statement on its blog saying that its patents for electric motor vehicles will now be open to the public. The company stated that it wants to be part of the open source movement. It will let the public have access to its technology, have an open conversation about it, to share ideas and improve it. Tesla Motors is not intimidated by other technology and automobile companies having access to its designs, but it welcome engineers to take on new projects to advance the production of more electric cars. The company wants technology savvy designers to embrace this open source viewpoint to create and improve the market of electric cars. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk stated that by having patents, the company had been building road blocks in the creation of new improved technologies of electric cars, and had been going against its own goal. The company has been successful in making profits with their electric-powered vehicles, but the price does not suit the average American. According to International Business Times, Tesla’s Model S3 sells for $70,000, and other electric cars not owned by the company are as high as $40,000. By opening its patents to the public, it could make electric cars more available for competition, and this might drive costs down, and make these types of cars more accessible to many U.S. drivers. Tesla also expressed on its blog that the real competitors are factories making gas-powered cars, and not small companies already making electric vehicles. The motor company pointed out that electric cars constitute only one percent of total vehicles sales. Tesla Motors would like other car companies and start-ups to embrace its release of patents to the public, and improve on their technology to spur more competition for electric car sales. According to International Business Times, in the United States there are approximately 200,000 electric cars on the road, but only as many as 20,000 charging stations, which might make some buyers fearful of running out of power while driving. For gas motorized vehicles there are more than 120,000 gas stations around the country. The company’s vision is not to just improve on electric cars’ technology, but also to expand on the quantity of charging stations around the U.S and the globe. These will serve not just the Tesla vehicles, but also other electric cars on the road. Currently Tesla Motors has the “Supercharging Station” which, according to the company, allows owners of the Model S to charge their vehicle in just 20 minutes, with enough battery power to get to the next station. This charging station is also free of charge and it can be found on most U.S. highways. Globally, the company has 97 “Supercharging Stations” in North America, 20 in Europe and 3 in Asia. The stations also provide the customer with a place to rest, as they are located near restaurants and roadside shopping centers. Even though some are still skeptical of the intention of Tesla Motors’ release of its patents to the public, it has also been applauded by many of its customers and shareholders. The company’s statement went viral on the internet, and it has more than 400 comments on its blog. Tesla has even removed the “Patents Wall” that decorated the company’s headquarters in Palo Alto as a symbol of its new beginning as an open source enterprise. Edited June 16, 2014 by limpid added quote 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 A Dutch renewable energy start-up called The Archimedes is working to solve both of those problems in a new class of small-scale wind turbine -- one that is almost silent and is far more efficient at converting wind into energy. The company states that the Liam F1 turbine could generate 1,500 kWh of energy per year at wind speeds of 5m/s, enough to cover half of an average household's energy use. The most realistic domestic wind generator to date. Should come in at around £3200 Clicky Notice how it's the independent companies that are making the strides forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted June 17, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted June 17, 2014 The company states that the Liam F1 turbine could generate 1,500 kWh of energy per year at wind speeds of 5m/s, enough to cover half of an average household's energy use. I assume rather heavily that that excludes any form of heating, which is (for me) about 80% of my energy use. 1500 kwh is nothing. A company where I live is developing a vertical wind-turbine with the goal of 8000-10000 kwh. I will fall under the same rules as a flagpole and thus requires no building permits. Prototypes are up and running and I hope they meet their goals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Just popped up in my sub box this morning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 Synsepalum dulcificum The miracle fruit, or sweet berries, is a very strange berry native to West Africa. What makes the fruit strange and miraculous, is miraculin (a sugar substitute), which is found in large quantities in the fruit, combined with a glycoprotein. The fruit itself does not contain a lot of sugar, and tastes only mildly sweet but when eaten, the glycoprotein binds to the tongues taste buds, which, for about an hour after eating the fruit, distorts any other taste into sweetness. With that effect you could technically eat a lemon, and it would taste like a ball of syrup. Although the definite reason for this occurrence is not fully understood, it would seem as if the miraculin distorts the shape of the sweetness receptors in the tongue so that they pick up on acid instead of sweetness. The sweetness receptors on your tongue then transmit to the brain to taste sweetness when they come in contact with any acidity. In the 70s attempts were made to commercialize and sell the fruit as a diet aid, as it has the potential to turn any meal sweet, without affecting your calorie intake. These attempts were shattered when the FDA declared it a food additive, due to pressure from sugar companies who could foresee big losses in profits. In the last two years the berries have been making a comeback, by being the guest star of many tasting parties in the states. The berries are dried and exported, and the party guests each have one and then taste all kinds of common foods to experience a new taste sensation with every bite. Link Experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted July 27, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted July 27, 2014 Parties aint what they used to be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted July 27, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted July 27, 2014 It amazing the pull that the sugar companies have to get something like that banned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 Yep, big corporations have way too much power. They shouldn't be allowed to hold back science because of their greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Nasa is a major player in space science, so when a team from the agency this week presents evidence that "impossible" microwave thrusters seem to work, something strange is definitely going on. Either the results are completely wrong, or Nasa has confirmed a major breakthrough in space propulsion. British scientist Roger Shawyer has been trying to interest people in his EmDrive for some years through his company SPR Ltd. Shawyer claims the EmDrive converts electric power into thrust, without the need for any propellant by bouncing microwaves around in a closed container. He has built a number of demonstration systems, but critics reject his relativity-based theory and insist that, according to the law of conservation of momentum, it cannot work. According to good scientific practice, an independent third party needed to replicate Shawyer's results. As Wired.co.uk reported, this happened last year when a Chinese team built its own EmDrive and confirmed that it produced 720 mN (about 72 grams) of thrust, enough for a practical satellite thruster. Such a thruster could be powered by solar electricity, eliminating the need for the supply of propellant that occupies up to half the launch mass of many satellites. The Chinese work attracted little attention; it seems that nobody in the West believed in it. However, a US scientist, Guido Fetta, has built his own propellant-less microwave thruster, and managed to persuade Nasa to test it out. The test results were presented on July 30 at the 50th Joint Propulsion Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Astonishingly enough, they are positive. Clicky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted August 2, 2014 Administrator Share Posted August 2, 2014 The conservation of momentum only applies in a closed system. This seems to be a radiation pressure effect on a shaped waveguide. Special relativity means that we use different frames of reference as we approach C; in this case one for the microwaves and another for the waveguide making the resultant system open. Definitely plausible. Bloody useful if you are launching satellites though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted August 2, 2014 Author VT Supporter Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) You are definitely more Asimov than Cox Si. Edited August 3, 2014 by Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Could cut down on the time spent being hurled into the middle of nowhere for gravity slingshots, at least in the close system where there's sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts