What happens when you put a tank of hydrogen compressed to 10000 psi into a fire? While it’s probably really cool to watch from a safe distance I’m guessing it’s much much worse for anyone near by than what happens when a conventional gas tank ruptures in a fire.
Cars burn because gas leaks so easily. High impact hydrogen tanks may actually save lives because there would almost never be fire.(Maybe, no data, just sayin…)
Sure you do. You just have to distill it out of oil. You get more energy than you put in.
If you vent high pressure H2 incorrectly, it can combust immediatly.
BED: you can build house #2
http://www.swagelok.com/markets/alternative_fuels/renewable_energy_starts_at_home.htm
edit: They did light the stack manually.
But, the velocity is what will get you burned.
So… practically I don’t see the difference.
The key IMHO is producing hydrogen using the sun(free energy). See how easy that is?
Edit: I just now looked at the link above and it confirms my belief in solar.
This thread is so full of fail…
Gas = energy source
coal = energy source
solar = energy source
wind = energy source
hydrogen = energy transport
electricity = energy transport
I’m just saying it doesn’t help in terms of energy independence or the environment.
Now as you mentioned, if it’s used to store solar energy then we’re getting somewhere. :tup:
I have already constructed a crude, experimental parabolic mirror. Speaking of that, if anyone has a source for old(free) satalite dishes I need some.
I have also purchased a Stirling engine.:snky: Yeah this is all new high tech stuff from the 1700s.lol
How much power can you get from Solar panels these days, and how much hydrogen does a fuel cell require to run a home at night?
Great website with TONS of information. Although hydrogen is a power carrier, I really really enjoy that the only bi-product is WATER!
I, unlike most people on the planet, DO think about my great grand children. Unlike everyone here who probably has the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. Ever been to a land fill and seen it in person? It’s pretty f@*)#d up… makes you think a little different about the small things you do.
^Those landfills are mountains of energy. That website gives me visions of a world free from the chains of OPEC.
I am not sure of the current solar numbers on solar panels but they do seem to be advancing with new technology. Like I said the sun is free and it hits us with a ton o energy everyday.
Maybe those with a greater chemistry background than me can weigh in on this, but last I knew the general issue with Hydrogen cell saftey (the whole OMG it’s going to blow up argument) was solved by packing the cell with Boron. Boron (gas) would arrange the Hydrogen molecules in a way that prevented sudden explosions and instead, if the cell was punctured or damaged and caught on fire, there would still be a fire but it would be a slow, steady burn.
I’m pretty sure those numbers should be even greater. Last I heard, the amount of light hitting the earths surface in a day can meet our energy needs for 27 years. But it’s obviously impossible to tap that much power. Especially with current technology. I’ll see if I can find that stuff again.
Most photovoltaic cells are at most %15 efficient. Now depending on where you are, you will not see enough light to meet your own household needs unless you had an acre of solar panels. Here is a solar map for reference.
Current solar panels are about %15 of what hits them, turn into electricity. Thin film solar panels (like solar shingles) are at most %12. There are some very exciting things happening in the solar panel industry, though. So those numbers should be climbing steadily in the next decade or so.
hence FL has a lot of waste-to-energy facilities, granted the smell from the is awful.
I use to do operation reports for this one in another life
Yeah WNY is about the worst place for solar, I looked into when I built my house.
I have seen Fresnel lenses double the solar gain however.
Yeah Solar isn’t your best bet around here. Wind power however…
Coincidentally last night on NOVA there was a show about this subject.
Did anyone watch it? They had Tesla Motors on the show too.
most of that reflects off the earth before it can make its way through the atmosphere.
Lets get our space program back on track and build huge space solar power fields?
I don’t understand what you are saying.
“most of the rays reflect off the Earth…”
If we capture those rays we harness lots o energy.:gotme:
Anywho, The show last night made a lot of good points including one that officerK made, the infrastructure would need a major rebuild.
One point that really stuck with me was not new but reminded me that 9X% of the fuel is not used to move the passenger of a car but the car itself. It makes me think maybe fuel isn’t the issue but weight is. Cars weigh an average of 1000 more than they did in the 1980s.
CF & Ti FTW!!! Spend more money developing these items maybe.
Is there a formula for weight vs. fuel use?
If I remove half of the weight will my mileage double?