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Free energy?

09/18/2007 9:39 AM

The Daily Telegraph featured this story yesterday about a device which appears to give out more energy that is put into it. I know that we are quick to rubbish anything which appears to defy the 2nd law but could there be any credence in this claim?

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#1

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 9:46 AM

So why doesn't it explode (open question)?

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#2

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 10:19 AM

Does it have a hydrogen byproduct?

Is the hydrogen emitted enough to be useful as a fuel?

Can the steam released be used to power a generator?

How often would the electrodes need to be replaced?

At what rate does the water come to a boil (time vs volume)?

How many fingers am I holding up?

All questions that would need to be answered.......Well except the last one I guess.

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#3
In reply to #2

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 10:47 AM

Damn, the last question was the only one I could have a stab at.

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#5
In reply to #3

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 10:50 AM

I guess one.

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#6
In reply to #5

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 11:06 AM

Ahhhhh but which one now that's the question.

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#8
In reply to #6

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 1:16 PM

It wasn,t a question , it is a fact :)

We chose to try the 1001 wrong ways, 1st .

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#4

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 10:48 AM

There certainly could be credence to the claim, since the claim is not that this is a free energy device.

There's a difference between this and "free energy". It takes relatively little energy to initiate a nuclear chain reaction, or to set a lump of coal on fire. In both cases you get much more energy out than you put in, but there's nothing free about it - you're just releasing the energy stored in the fuel.

It's possible that they've stumbled into a new way of releasing the energy of the atomic hydrogen (or whatever). It's not probable, but it's possible, and easy enough to determine.

£200,000 to investigate it seems like a bargain to me.

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#7

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 12:09 PM

I'm probably the worst naysayer you'll run into; I worship at the altar of the 2nd law. Here are the things I look for to decide if a claim is possibly valid:

Does it involve

  • buckeyballs
  • hydrogen
  • water, preferably salt
  • rejected or stolen patents
  • magnets
  • big oil companies
  • unspecified radiation
  • claims that only basement amateurs are real scientists
  • discovery of new physical laws
  • claims that ordinary engineers and scientists are brainwashed by education
  • free energy that will be given the world soon
  • solicitation of investors?

Any two of these gets an automatic no from me.

Tom

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#9

Re: Free energy?

09/18/2007 2:58 PM

The Daily Telegraph is a reputable paper and they would not publish rubbish (would they?)

The project seem to have some merit. I want to invest 5 000 000 Zim $.

There is just 1 problem, In order to get the money out of Zim $500 000 should be paid . Pleas deposit the funds in my S.... account for your share in the pot of gold at the end off the rainbow.

I told you it had some merit!

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#22
In reply to #9

Re: Free energy?

09/20/2007 10:54 PM

"The Daily Telegraph is a reputable paper and they would not publish rubbish (would they?)"

Not when they can call it "News"

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#10

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 12:02 AM

What is chemical bond energy? How is chemical bond energy translated (released) in electrolysis?

Can someone show us the chemical equation for the electrolysis of the solution as shown?

Thanks

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#11

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 2:10 AM

Just thought i'd get it on the page. Before the 2nd law class starts.

any conjecture as to what the byproducts are?

The article is from 03, & the company is related to ecowatt , here's that thread from a couple of days ago

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/12054?frmtrk=cr4sd#newcomments

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#28
In reply to #11

Re: Free energy?

09/23/2007 12:05 PM

The correct spelling for the cathode material invoked in the drawing is TUNGSTEN (not Tungston). I presume this is not the only mistake in the whole story.

Similarly to what it happens when doing underwater welding, surrounding water is absorbing a large quantity of heat generated by an electrical discharge. If the space surrounding such a discharge is confined, you can get a very productive steam generator (if you replenish water) - but I see no reason to put anything in that water (KCO or the like). The main current flows through the discharge, not the solution. So how can someone say that the resulting heat is more than the electrical energy consumed in the discharge?

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#12

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 4:46 AM

I'm still wondering what happens with the water temperature when you dissolve the potassium chloride.

I know from chemics classes that water can start to boil when you add acid.

Could it be that they found a way to keep the potassium chloride in suspensed form and the electricity invokes the dissolvation of the product?

I still wonder how long the effect works: is it a predetermined amount of heat that comes from nowhere or does it continue to add more heat than injected?

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#17
In reply to #12

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 11:52 AM

I'm still wondering what happens with the water temperature when you dissolve the potassium chloride.

They are actually using potassium carbonate, not chloride. Dissolving potassium carbonate in water is an exothermic process. Many hand warmers can be made by dissolving various salts in water. I suppose you could put 1 milliwatt into the water, and get 10 milliwatts out, 9 of which come from the exotherm.

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#19
In reply to #17

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 12:37 PM

Hi Ken, This post is exactly the same as mine "cheap energy", only I read it in the Daily Mail on Sunday. Spencer.

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#20
In reply to #19

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 12:45 PM

That why I provided a link on post 11

You've definitly caught a bunch of sh** for just trying to have a discussion.

a real net energy analysis would also account for the energy used to mine & refine the various substances!

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#23
In reply to #20

Re: Free energy?

09/21/2007 6:01 AM

Hi Garthh, Yes you can say that I have attracted a lot of sh**, but I am used to this and it rolls of my back as water rolls of a ducks! I used to develop and construct stirling engines, and other engineers used to think that I must have a screw loose somewhere for doing this kind of work. So as you see this does not bother me. Spencer.

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#21
In reply to #19

Re: Free energy?

09/20/2007 1:15 AM

Thanks, I'll check it out.

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#13

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 6:37 AM

This seems pure Bullsh... to me. I have found the real way to get free energy ! the machine you need for this is a car with an empty tank and an empty battery.(NO energy on board !)

Have your friend push you car upon a hill. Once at the top, have your car roll down. As soon you have some speed, put it in gear. Have your friend push the car up that hill a couple of times more. After a while, your battery 's gonna be charged enough to pull your car a couple of yards ... for FREE !

Detailed diagrams and mathematics on demand ...

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#14
In reply to #13

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 6:41 AM

I assume that you need money to buy the car to be able to demonstrate it? (and a camera, ...)

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#15
In reply to #14

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 6:44 AM

No, Gwen, I count on your FREE contribution !

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#16
In reply to #13

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 10:18 AM

This isn't free energy.

Sooner or latter your friend is going to want ONE HELL OF A BIG FAVOR from you far all the work you put him through.

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#18

Re: Free energy?

09/19/2007 12:32 PM

Hi Nigh. This is what I was talking about on my post "cheap energy", This report happened to be in the Daily Mail three days ago. Since I posted my comments on this I have had nothing but ridicule from so called knowlegable people on this site. You should read my posting and it will give you a great insight. Spencer.

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#24

Re: Free energy?

09/21/2007 8:40 AM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

again!!!!

How about a link where we can read about this "thing?"

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#25
In reply to #24

Re: Free energy?

09/21/2007 8:46 AM

Like the link in the 1st post?

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#26
In reply to #25

Re: Free energy?

09/21/2007 6:10 PM

Thanks.

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#27

Re: Free energy?

09/22/2007 3:27 PM

I know that we are quick to rubbish anything which appears to defy the 2nd law but could there be any credence in this claim?

Don't forget about the 1st law (conservation of energy) -- this is the one that would be violated in most of these "free energy" claims. The 2nd law states that the entropy of a closed system cannot decrease. The 2nd law applies to only a few of the many free energy claims that I've seen over the years (i.e., to those in which the device supposedly sucks useful energy out of a uniform temperature heat source, thereby cooling the heat source).

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