Global warming, antediluvian fuels and clean energy: the essence of the effervescence.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 8:18:35 PM
Dear Mr. Prager,
I heard you divulge on the radio that you were once fond of saying, "The quintessence of effervescence is its essence". That saying kind've inspired me as I've pondered the concept of converting solar radiation at the surface of the open tropical oceans into hydrogen and oxygen by means of electrolysis to be used as clean fuel to power the needs of twenty-first century civilization. There are two very serious obstacles that prevent the ready use of hydrogen and oxygen as an ordinary fuel supply. First, both are highly explosive and therefore extremely potentially hazardous. Second, they generate extremely high temperatures during combustion (referred to as "exothermic') and therefore require extreme tolerances of any material exposed to them as part of a powerplant.
To follow through with my cogitations, here's the essence of the effervescence: what if the hydrogen and oxygen gases were proportionally dissolved in pure water like carbon dioxide is in soda pop? (We'll call it "hydra-pop". Or, maybe...."effort-lessence"? Na-a-a-a-ah!) This hydroxygenated water could be stored and transferred with specially designed, fail-safe tanks and leak-proof transfer couplings with redundant interlocks, etc. and employed as a fuel supply.
(Update:6-27-09. I've decided that "Solar-pop" captures the essence of the fuel concept and has a more phonetically "catchy" appeal.)
Here's the concept behind "Solar-pop": the carefully proportioned hydrogen/oxygen/water mixture could be injected as an aerosol into the combustion chamber of say, a turbine. As the hydrogen and oxygen are burned, the explosive and exothermic properties of the fuel could be offset by the ordinary water, which would impede the rate of combustion and absorb excess heat as it evaporates. The product of combustion would be pure steam, assuming all of the hydrogen and oxygen is consumed. The steam would be directed through the vanes of the turbine, generating mechanical power. The driveshaft could be connected to a fan at the front of the turbine (to drive air past the combustion chamber for the purpose of further cooling, instead of supplying air for combustion, as in conventional jet engines) and attached to reduction gears to drive electrical generators, automotive transmissions, or even aircraft propellers and helicopter rotors.
The idea is to devise means to safely and practically exploit the totally green, clean, renewable and anti-greenhouse supply of fuel that could be extracted straight from the surface of the ocean through solar-generated electrolysis.
I'm highly suspicious of "global-warming" hysteria, as it sounds alot like "global terror" hysteria, which has been monotonously drummed into the cultural consciousness as a reason to aquiesce to hyper-State encroachment on personal and civil liberties. The "Imus Incident" and others also fall under this category of a suspiciously universal "new conventionality" that seems to arise simultaneously from nowhere and everywhere. Most people have been intellectually tranquilized and successfully conditioned not to question these phenomena because the messages come as "entertainment" and "information" rather than as articulations of official government authority. Pretty sneaky. Don't you think?
Thad Jones
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From: Thad Jones
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 7:49 PM
I love to hate the National Geographic Channel. On a program called "Global Warning" or some such nonsense, there was much hand-wringing and consternation over the thawing of a subterranean layer of ice in the arctic tundra (great truck, by the way) known as "permafrost". It seems that under this permanently frozen layer of ice, there are the remnants of some former biomass consisting of grasses, roots and other defunct humus, that are now resuming decomposition due to rising global temperatures. This decomposition is known to produce methane, which is a dreaded "greenhouse gas", and will contribute to accelerated global warming, which will contribute to more thawing of permafrost and its attendant production of methane, etc. etc. Its a half-empty glass that is getting half-emptier by the minute! I look at that same scenario and I see two very significant implications.
First, what is all that biomass doing under this permanently frozen layer of ice? ( Paleontologists have found the fossil remains of tropical and subtropical species of plants and reptiles above the arctic circle! Hmmmm! Stupid species. They don't know that "science" cannot account for their presence there or the radical changes in the environment between their time and ours that it implies. They don't have the good sense to obey Darwin 's rules, preferring rather to live and die where God put them! The sheer effrontery! )
And second, if the environment in the tundra is warming so that biological processes that normally are prevented from taking place in the region due to colder temperatures are now possible, then doesn't that mean a net gain in arable or otherwise habitable land? ( I know. I'm a member of a plague species, and it is immoral of me to think in such "species-ist" terms. Sorry. I'm so depraved and wicked that I'm not even ashamed of it.)
Immediately after the "Global Warning" program, there was a suspense-filled thriller about the coming oil crunch, and how it will eclipse "global warming" as the premier hysteria of the world when it reaches socio-economic "critical mass". I've been thinking about that, and I've come up with a concept. ( When 9-11-01 exposed the vulnerability that U.S. dependence on oil imports creates in American foreign policy, I conceived of insulated, photo-electric roofing systems that could be installed in the Sunbelt and hooked to the electrical grid to simultaneously reduce structural cooling demands and increase the supply of electricity. I e-mailed both President Bush and Vice President Cheney , among others, about the idea. If anything is happening with it, it is definitely under my radar. This concept is a refinement of that idea. I think that Kim Clement will appreciate this)
(Update 5-24-09:
Reducing oil prices
e-mailed 6-25-04
bill oreilly
It has occured to me that the U. S. energy supply could be bolstered substantially by developing a roofing material that has photo-electric properties similar to the arrays used to make power from sunlight for electronic satellites. In the warmer months it could reduce heat entering structures through the roof while simultaneously generating electric power that could be routed into the grid through transformers, thus simultaneously reducing cooling demand and boosting the power supply. If such materials were put into widespread use, the synergystic effect on the electrical supply and demand would be phenomenal, not to mention the additional "green" benefit of reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and the attendant emissions generated for the production of electrical power. And anyone with a rudimentary grasp of economics knows that if you reduce the demand for oil, you reduce its price.Ta-da! End of 5-24-09 update.)
Here's the quintessence of the effervessence: capturing solar radiation at the surface of the open tropical ocean, converting it to electricity, using the electricity to convert sea water to hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis, liquefying the hydrogen and oxygen and shipping it in tankers as fuel to supply the energy needed to generate electricity, power industrial processes, and fuel motor vehicles of all descriptions. This will take research and development in fuel-containing, -carrying, and -transferring technology, of course, as well as engine design, but I think the turbine may come into its own as the hydroxy-burning powerplant of choice.
Get this: when hydrogen oxidizes, as in fuel consumption, it becomes water! Water vapor is the opposite of greenhouse gases in that the more of it there is in the atmosphere, the more clouds form. Clouds reflect solar radiation back into space, counteracting global warming! But wait! There's more! The electricity-generating apparatus arrayed across the surface of the open tropical ocean will create shaded areas, reducing ocean temperatures, which will mitigate weather extremes, especially hurricanes and typhoons, which are generated and sustained over warm water!
According to "Blue Planet: Seas of Life", there are vast reaches of open ocean in the tropics that are virtually devoid of living organisms. This is very conducive to overcoming objections over the environmental impact that this concept will have. I think that the main hurdles to implementation of this concept are conflicts with ocean-going surface traffic, development and durability of the infra-structure in the ocean environment and possible international disputes over this use of the surface area of international waters. If this concept is viable, however, then upside considerations will probably overwhelm objections handily.
Here's the sublime poetry of this concept: we will essentially be capturing otherwise excessive solar radiation, converting it to fuel to be employed when and where needed, and when we are done, the spent fuel will return harmlessly to the hydrological cycle and ultimately back to the ocean. Additionally, if sufficient energy can be captured and exploited in this way, we can let the antediluvian fossil fuels rest in peace, making the generation of climate-warming greenhouse gases a thing of the past, not to mention violent conflicts over fossil fuel supplies. I call that a glass filled to overflowing! And being already in international territory, use of the oceans in this way may actually foster international cooperation, as opposed to competition, lending itself to the idea that the Earth and its resources have been abundantly provided by God for the benefit of humankind and the glory of God.
Jesus, there is no one in Heaven or on Earth that even begins to compare with You. You are the Sun of Righteousness, and Your enemies will have all eternity to regret even thinking of opposing You.
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