From the Science Desk

I've been a member of a science forum that goes by the name, FreeNRG-L. It's a group of amateur experimenters that bounce ideas off each other. Anyway, the other day I received a message with a link to the following news article. If true, this news is pretty exciting:

Radio Frequencies Help Burn Salt Water

 

By David Templeton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

Tue, 11 Sep 2007, 11:41AM

ERIE, Pa. - An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century.

 

John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies, it would burn.

 

The discovery has scientists excited by the prospect of using salt water, the most abundant resource on earth, as a fuel.

 

Rustum Roy, a Penn State University chemist, has held demonstrations at his State College lab to confirm his own observations.

 

The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen, Roy said. Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies, he said.

 

The discovery is "the most remarkable in water science in 100 years," Roy said.

 

"This is the most abundant element in the world. It is everywhere," Roy said. "Seeing it burn gives me the chills."

 

Roy will meet this week with officials from the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to try to obtain research funding.

 

The scientists want to find out whether the energy output from the burning hydrogen -- which reached a heat of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit -- would be enough to power a car or other heavy machinery.

 

"We will get our ideas together and check this out and see where it leads," Roy said. "The potential is huge."

 

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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Obviously, he's not burning the saltwater. What appears to be happening is the hydrogen is disassociating from the oxygen atoms creating a burnable gas, Oxyhydrogen, when a certain radio frequency is introduced. If you've ever looked at how microwave ovens work, you'll understand what is happening in this experiment. Imagine being able to "burn" a tank of saltwater for heating your home, producing all your electrical needs, maybe even running your car. Pretty cool.