The Hydrogen Society
Written by Major Tom
Filed under: News & Info
October 22, 2007
If cars would run with water as fuel, then every motorist would be transported into his or her own dreamworld. Imagine running around uninhibited by the amount of gas one has in his/her fuel tank. That would just be sublime.
Researchers in Japan have most recently pronounced that in the future, cars would be running on water…no not exactly…. on water-components to be exact, with highly pressurized hydrogen firing up the car engines.
This would result in radically lessened expense on fuel and in fact would be so clean that it would boasts of zero rate emission of carbon dioxide. With the issue on climate change and global warming at the forefront in recent times, this hydrogen fuel prediction is none lesser than what could be termed as timely.
An executive of Mazda Corporation had boldly announced how his company foresees “The Hydrogen Society”, explaining how a rotary engine would make hydrogen fuel fully viable fuel for cars and other road transports. He said that the rotary engine would resolve the problem of abnormal combustion that common-type internal combustion engines poses when using highly-pressurized hydrogen gas. Apparently, hydrogen burns faster than gasoline and at a much lower temperature thus common engines would not be able to function efficiently on it. Mazda had found a solution to this problem by using the rotary engine technology and it is applying it now on its latest RX-8 Hydrogen RE model.
In 1996, Mazda had gained permit from the Japanese government to make commercially available the RX-8 Hydrogen RE model car, one that has two fuel tanks and could run both on the usual petroleum gasoline as well as hydrogen and had been leased to a number of companies there as well as to some government agencies. Apparently, that test-marketing had resulted in some positive gains that now, Mazda is audaciously pronouncing a future of wide hydrogen use.
But is the “Hydrogen Society” really a practicable idea?
In my mind, the hydrogen technology is such a viable idea and there’s no question about its feasibility—simply said, hydrogen is for certain a proven combustible element that could produce sizable energy. However, I feel that Mazda may be a little bit unrealistic by painting this “future” as very nearby when in fact, at the rate that the advancement in hydrogen technology (as fuel in cars) had been going and the not-so-ideal reception of the public to hybrid cars (hybrid electric cars and those powered by hydrogen fuel cells have so far not been sold in huge numbers despite it’s averred advantages), the “hydrogen society” may not be at hand in the near future. Maybe in a hundred years.
If you ask me if “The Hydrogen Technology” is a good idea, then of course I would opined that it is a very good idea, in fact nearly an utopia. By all means and in all sense, I would like to run my car in a very convenient way, on cheap fuels that is based on a very common commodity, which is water. Who would not like that to happen?
In any case, it makes me wonder how this brave pronouncement by a group of Japanese researchers would affect the present status quo in the world oil market, even as global oil prices have now reached record-high, just about a couple of days ago, towards the unbelievable $90 rate, a price level that had not been breached before. Would oil traders panic and drive the prices further upward. To be sure, a future where cars would run on widely-available hydrogen fuels would for certain harmed their interest, as demands for petroleum would dramatically go down by then.
I just hope that oil producers would not take this “Hydrogen Society” pronouncement so seriously and decide to further disturb the status quo by increasing oil prices globally.
On a more personal note, this topic reminds me how I had this friend in highschool nicknamed “Snik” (he was in higher years). He had this seemingly sordid story about this one Filipino scientist who was able to invent a car that could run on water. I was full of unbelief of course when he had brought up this story to me. He had insisted that it was true, in bated breath at that. So I asked him about what had happened to the scientist and his water-fuelled car. Snik said, the scientist just disappeared one day and was unheard of ever since. Why? I asked. How did it happen that he suddenly disappeared? I was thinking that maybe—as Snik was insinuating—he had gained some enemies due to his secret formula and had been exterminated. No, Snik answered me—his face so sullen with ultimate seriousness, the kind of face one usually sees on a no nonsense kind of guy—the Filipino scientist was bought off by the oil carter, paid a very handsome price so as not to ever introduce the technology to the public and then to surrender his masterplan on it.
By the way, Snik was also one who—every time he hears a very good song playing on the radio—had always said that the particular song sounds just like the one he had composed and that he had just thrown his composition into a trashcan and that most probably, somebody found it and thus, the song was being played, without him being credited as the original composer.
He had also intimated to me how one day, he had a drawing of a very powerful weapon but had decided to throw it into (yet another) trashcan. When I asked how did the weapon looked like and if he could draw it again. He just said that if I looked carefully at an M-16 Armalite, it looked exactly like that. And thus he said, he was really the one who had designed the oh-so-famous Armalite, and that somebody had just found his design in a trashcan.
So perhaps, Snik is just too wordy for comfort. He just doesn’t make sense.
But does “A Hydrogen Society” make sense to you?
i prefer the car running on garbage sort of like back to the future
Comment by tutubi — October 23, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
Reminds me of Nikola Tesla’s invention to power up the entire United States without using conventional electricity — and it was to be free. Sadly, it never came to pass. To this day the structure remains in Long Island, New York.
Snik should try out blogging
Comment by eric — October 23, 2007 @ 4:49 pm
To tutubi: That would be fine also and in fact possible as well. Garbage lumps produces methane and even ethanol, which we know by now as viable and renewable source of energy.
Comment by Major Tom — October 23, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
To eric: I think i’ve read about that. Now I know exactly where the term tesla coil was derive from, from that ambitious but luckless experiment—I always thought I knew something about it.
About Snik, he had migrated to California about a couple of decades ago, just right after he graduated from highschool. But he was such a close childhood friend from the neighborhood and he’s pretty interesting. If I’d be able to contact him once again, perhaps thru the net, then i’d suggest him to blog.
He’s real name is Michael Peralta by the way.
Comment by Major Tom — October 23, 2007 @ 8:20 pm
Snik’s funny. Hey who knows he’s right about the scientist guy. I mean if this thing works then it’s bad for this oil or gas companies right?
Comment by verns — October 24, 2007 @ 1:30 pm
there’s not even any substantial discussion on global warming here in the Philippines, and so i doubt immediate reception to hybrid cars, more so to a hydrogen society.
but i think the idea, as whole, is not far-fetched. in fact, i believe there will come a time when we will adopt ‘green’ practices in almost everything we do because we have to, not because we like the idea or we think it’s a good idea.
Comment by barrycade — October 24, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
To verns: That should be their greatest apprehension right now verns. And perhaps we can’t blame them. Oil is also about economy, and it should be always tied to the supply and demand law, if oil wouldn’t be as widely used in the future as now, then to be sure, their economic fortunes would not be as good as now and have to evolved into another form of economy in order to sustain it.
Comment by Major Tom — October 24, 2007 @ 7:19 pm
It is always the case of protecting an industry from collapse - in this case the oil industry - should an alernative to oil exists. Brazil is reported to have transitioned to the much environmentally friendly corn based ethanol fuel but the US is wary of going that route heavily because of the expensive economic adjustment it had to go through
Comment by bw — October 24, 2007 @ 7:20 pm
To barrycade: It’s an adjustment that may need to be done, just like on expenses; the rising cost of water and electricity had compelled many of us to adjust our daily routines in order to save or lessen additional expenses.
There’d be a time perhaps that the problem on environment would be so affecting that we would be compelled to adjust.
Comment by Major Tom — October 24, 2007 @ 7:22 pm
To BW: I believe Brazil have some gains and success in their pursuit of ethanol production since they have vast unused lands for planting hectares and hectares of corn.
The requirement for huge tracts of arable lands make the biogas program in this country a less viable idea and maybe in America, where every piece of real estate is not cheaply priced, it staggers down as an idea and undertaking.
Comment by Major Tom — October 24, 2007 @ 7:53 pm
I hope that Hydrogen-run future comes soon, Major. But you doubt it? I hope it comes in my children’s generation at least. This over dependence on fossil fuel has led to much economic and social distress.
Thank you again for this information. Whenever I visit this site, I come away a little more knowledgeable.
Comment by annamanila — October 25, 2007 @ 1:26 pm
To anna: Thanks for the kind words madame; it is surely inspiring coming from you.
I doubt it’s coming in the next decade or two, upon observing that until now, hydrogen as fuel is not easily stored and tanked like gasoline do where as fuel cells, it needed platinum as a catalyst and platinum is not a widely-found element.
But Mazda seem to have found a way how a pressurized form of hydrogen could run efficiently using a rotary engine, similar to what most airplanes uses, and by this, that future seem to become more and more certain—although as to the question when, it is not as clear.
Comment by Major Tom — October 25, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
lol @ Snik
Well, I think in the near future there are many things we thought impossible would become a reality one day.
It’s good if all vehicle swill run on this.
Comment by ipanema — October 25, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
For now, at least until the hydrogen-run engine is perfected, ethanol fuel seems to be the best alternative. It’s not just Mazda who’s into this research, Honda is also in the race to be the first to produce a commercially-viable hydrogen powered vehicle.
Comment by snglguy — October 25, 2007 @ 11:42 pm
I saw a car with a huge sticker saying water-powered. I am not sure though what happened to the guy who developed it. He has been featured in many talk shows.
Anyway, with the high cost of hybrid cars, a hydro-powered one would be expensive too. Now that would be the only stumbling block for us poor guys to be able to buy one.
Comment by Schumey — October 26, 2007 @ 7:43 am
To ipanema: The future is wide open some says and everything could be possible.Gosh, they might even create human beings by then, with the great advancement in cloning these days.
Comment by Major Tom — October 26, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
To sngl: GM once even had once produced 100 cars powered by hydrogen-fuels but it failed to be marketted, for one because it was higher priced than the average and refuelling stations is not as wide and numerous. They just sold those units to rich car collectors and hobbyists and shut off their plant for that specific model.
Comment by Major Tom — October 26, 2007 @ 4:55 pm
To schumey: That might have been the person my friend was referring to. He is a very humorous guy but he surely had known so many things. In fact, I saw one TV episode featuring this guy. The problem perhaps with that car was it was based on the steam technology, using water, and perhaps it was so inconvenient due to the extreme heat it should be producing and the noise, like honking steam trains. Plus the smoke like in steam ships.
Comment by Major Tom — October 26, 2007 @ 5:22 pm
well, when the world will eventually run out of fossil fuels, then they will be able to put out these technologies in a hurry, thus the electric engine, ethanol engine (seen an impala on display that runs both ethanol and gas, even mix.)and the hydrogen power engine and that’s in addition to the now new “common rail” diesel technology that is so clean and fuel efficient and unbelievably quite..
sometimes I think snik story has some truth to them. I was among the very first ones to possess Rugers small 5 shots .357 that shots with about a half meter of fire from the muzzle lighting the night and aptly called it the “pocket rocket”, then when N.Y. city detectives decided to have them for their concelled carry much later they patented the term their “pocket rockets” and that was mine…me snik..
Comment by vic — October 27, 2007 @ 12:30 am
What about the Filipino who claimed he invented the water-power car. Kaya lang medyo may daya daw ito ng i-test ito. Well, siguro may possibility talaga dahil matagal na itong dene-develop ng Germany.
Good blog, keep up the good work.
Comment by ysrael mendez — October 27, 2007 @ 6:42 am
ako. ako ang nakaimbento ng post-it. hehe. urban legend iyang guy na iyan na nakaimbento ng tubig na panggasolina.
sana totoo siya para mas mura ang gastos ko sa gasolina.
Comment by Atticus — October 27, 2007 @ 10:09 am
The Swiss town I live in (Biel-Bienne) is known for a vehicle called “The Spirit of Biel-Bienne,” a vehicle driven exclusively by solar power. According to reports, it took first place in the second trans-Australia race for solar-powered vehicles ahead of Honda in 1990.
I’ve been meaning to blog about the solar- and water-powered three-wheeler cars I see here in Switzerland, but keep procastinating, tsk tsk.
P.S. I love your new blog theme. I also use Brian Gardner’s WP themes for my blogs. I like their simplicity. Incidentally, I also downloaded the White Space theme of B.G. last month for future use.
Comment by Jayred — October 27, 2007 @ 8:01 pm
Ang alam ko may nakaimbento na ng ganyan na pinoy. Napanood ko dati sa TV Patrol at Balitang K. Di lang daw sya sinuportahan ng DOST.
Comment by Richmond — October 28, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
“Pocket Rocket”, now that’s a very cool term to invent. You should have patented it and be rich by now.:-)
Comment by Major Tom — October 28, 2007 @ 6:54 pm
To Ysrael Mendez: Thanks for the good note.
I am sure now—with all the reactions here—na I’ve seen it already featured on TV (the car that runs on water and invented by a Filipino).
Maybe I’d be researching what had happened to it and why it did not become viable.
Comment by Major Tom — October 28, 2007 @ 6:56 pm
To Atticus: I guess you could call him that way, an urban legend. In fact, I’ve been hearing about him ever since I was a child.
Comment by Major Tom — October 28, 2007 @ 7:16 pm
To Jayred: A Philippine-made solar powered car is also doing great in Asutralia. I think there’s also a good future for solar power as viable fuel. Imagine how convenient it would be; no more refuelling.
Comment by Major Tom — October 28, 2007 @ 7:19 pm
To Richmond: napakonood ko din yata yon Mon. I wonder if the government could find out more about him and see if there’s a future to his invention. Sayang naman.
Comment by Major Tom — October 28, 2007 @ 7:23 pm
I would certainly be interesting to see if this takes off and whether the technology will be cheap as petrol and diesel engines.
With all this talk of Bio Fuels I am surprised hydrogen has not been mentioned before unless we all still see the picture of the hindenburg!
Comment by Used Cars — November 14, 2007 @ 11:55 pm
Great Post. I always tend to buy a used car, you lose some much with a new car when you drive it off the forecourt. I always buy a used car within a 12 – 18 months old and always from a dealer so I know it has a good service history.
If you are in the UK and are looking for a used car why not try:
www.autotrader.co.uk
www.ebaymotors.co.uk
www.netcars.co.uk
Comment by Used Cars — January 14, 2008 @ 1:59 pm