source COSMOS+
by Carolyn Barry
12 September 2007
SYDNEY: A U.S. broadcast executive-turned-scientist has seemingly
found a way to burn seawater. Though it has the air of a hoax, if true,
it could be one of the biggest discoveries in chemistry in recent times.
John Kanzius, from Erie, Pennsylvania, blasted a test tube of salt
water with high frequency radio waves, causing the water to burn like a
candle, he told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette newspaper. Chemist
Rustum Roy from Pennsylvania State University told the same newspaper
that he had confirmed the phenomenon by replicating the experiment
himself.
Though the technique and results have not yet been published in a
peer-reviewed journal, they are sparking a frenzy of interest on the
Internet, where video clips showing the technique are beginning to
circulate (such as this one on YouTube ).
"Enormous potential"
"Certainly it's interesting," physical chemist, Scott Kable, of the University of Sydney in Australia, told Cosmos Online.
The technique is theoretically possible and has "enormous potential,"
he said. But without more information, Kable commented, the mechanism
and role of salt and other electrolytes remains unknown.
Roy explained to the Post-Gazette, that the water itself
doesn't burn. His best guess is that the energy from the radio waves
breaks the bonds between the molecules, releasing hydrogen that can be
ignited with a flame. The temperature of the flame was measured at
1,650 °C.
The accidental discovery came out of research Kanzius was motivated
to undertake when he found out he had cancer. The TV station owner
decided to use his broadcast knowledge to experimentally fry cancer
cells using radio waves in a garage laboratory at his home. Kanzius
added a solution of nano-sized gold and carbon particles into a test
tube of tumour cells. He predicted that the particles would migrate to
the cancer cells and act as an antenna for the searing heat produced by
radio waves – in the process killing the cells. It's not clear how he
planned to target cancer cells within the body.
However, when someone noticed condensation in the test tubes,
Kanzius decided to try the technique for desalinating water. The
subsequent blast of high frequency radio waves caused the water to seem
to give off a gas that he was able to ignite with a match.
Future fuel
Kanzius now speculates that the technique could be used to burn
water to produce energy – he says he has built an engine that runs off
the heat produced by the flame. However, even if the claims turn out to
be true, it remains to be seen if the energy produced could compensate
for the radio wave energy required for the reaction.
Kanzius is seeking a patent on the technique and is currently tight-lipped on a more detailed explanation.
The most important potential application of the discovery is the
safe production of hydrogen, said the University of Sydney's Kable.
Presently, hydrogen is produced either from reacting natural gas and
steam, which emits the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, or by sending an
electric current through water. The highly flammable gas requires
transport in tankers, a dangerous prospect. Kable says that the ability
to produce hydrogen from water while it's already inside an engine
would be an extremely useful and safe method.
But don't worry about setting fire to your cup of coffee in the
microwave. Kable believes that the amount of energy required to break
molecular bonds far exceeds the energy produced in the fire. This means
any practical application is likely a long way off.
source COSMOS+
Hemuz Science
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