Think City

The internet and power grid connected, Stirling engine hybrid electric car.

Think

Okay, their official website is lacking some of the technical information regarding the internet/power grid connectivity and the possibilities of an integrated Stirling engine generator. Read this excellent article for a deeper insight into the company and what they’re trying to do. There’s a lot to digest there, ranging from technical achievements to reinventing the automobile sales experiences. A whole lot of green.

Saltwater = Fuel?

Here’s a recent article that covers a surprising find by an inventor who stumbled upon a strange phenomenon of burning saltwater. Granted, it’s probably not what you think – no, the water isn’t burning. What is burning, however, is the hydrogen released from the saltwater by a radio frequency machine (which was what inventor John Kanzius was actually working on as a possible treatment for cancer).

There’s obviously a lot of analysis to be done before one can declare this a viable energy source, but it does give something to think about. The hydrogen economy and the fuel cell technology has long been in a predicament of being a “clean” energy source, except that there is no efficient way of mass producing pure hydrogen. Although it’s yet to be determined, if this process of using radio frequency waves to release hydrogen from saltwater deems to be a (relatively) efficient process, it might give fuel cell technology its much needed boost.

Notes: Of course, something has to power the RF generator…and more energy will be needed to produce the hydrogen than is released when the hydrogen burns.  What will still be interesting is to see the efficiencies of this process versus other methods of extracting hydrogen.

Oh, and despite what the video says, “water” is not an “element”…