Posted on 06/14/2007 10:16:20 AM PDT by BlueSky194
Is the solution to America's energy needs as simple as a trip to the beach?
The idea is a fascinating one as a Florida man searching for a cancer cure may have stumbled onto a virtually limitless source of energy: salt water.
John Kanzius of Sanibel Island, Fla., demonstrates how salt water burns after bombarded with radio waves from a machine he invented. (courtesy WPBF-TV)
John Kanzius, 63, is a broadcast engineer who formerly owned several TV and radio stations, before retiring in Sanibel Island, Fla.
Five years ago, he was diagnosed with a severe form of leukemia, and began a quest to find a kinder, gentler way to treat the disease compared to harsh chemotherapy.
In October 2003, he had an epiphany: kill cancer with radio waves. He then devised a machine that emits radio waves in an attempt to slay cancerous cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
His experiments in fighting cancer have become so successful, one physician was quoted as saying, "We could be getting close to grabbing the Holy Grail."
But in the midst of his experiments as he was trying to take salt out of water, Kanzius discovered his machine could do what some may have thought was impossible: turning water into fuel.
"On our way to try to do desalinization, we came up with something that burns, and it looks in this case that salt water perhaps could be used as a fuel to replace the carbon footsteps that we've been using all these years, i.e., fossil fuels," Kanzius said.
If it's for real, the possible ramifications of the discovery are almost mind-boggling, as cars could be fueled by salt water instead of gasoline, hydroelectric plants could be built along the shore, and homes could be heated without worrying about supplies of oil.
"It doesn't have to be ocean salt water," Kanzius said. "It burns just as well when we add salt to tap water."
Kanzius has partnered with Charles Rutkowski, general manager of Industrial Sales and Manufacturing, a Millcreek, Pa., company that builds the radio-wave generators.
"I've done this [burning experiment] countless times and it still amazes me," Rutkowski told the Erie Times-News. "Here we are paying $3 a gallon for gas, and this is a device that seems to turn salt water into an alternative fuel."
Kanzius has been told it's actually hydrogen that's burning, as his machine generates enough heat to break down the chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen that makes up water.
"I have never heard of such a thing," Alice Deckert, Ph.D., chairwoman of Allegheny College's chemistry department, told the Times-News. "There doesn't seem to be enough energy in radio waves to break the chemical bonds and cause that kind of reaction."
Thus far, Kanzius' work has not received extensive national publicity, but has been featured on several local television news programs, including WPBF-TV in West Palm Beach, Fla., WSEE-TV in Erie, Pa., and WKYC-TV in Cleveland.
"We discovered that if you use a piece of paper towel as a wick, it lights every single time and you can start it and stop it at will by turning the radio waves on and off," Kanzius told the Times-News as he watched a test tube of salt water burn.
"And look, the paper itself doesn't burn," he added. "Well, it burns but the paper is not consumed."
Kanzius said he hasn't decided whether to share his fuel discovery with government or private business, though he'd prefer a federal grant to develop it.
"I'm afraid that if I join up with some big energy company, they will say it doesn't work and shelve it, even if it does work," Kanzius told the paper.
Online skeptics are throwing cold water on the idea, saying the laws of science pose some problems:
* "It takes more electricity to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen than you get back in energy by burning the hydrogen and oxygen to recreate water and get the heat. So there is no new 'source' of power, since you are just converting electricity into a lesser amount of energy. You could get more heat energy out of electricity by running it through a blow dryer and THAT is not considered a 'new' energy source."
* "Basic chemistry: the amount of energy required to free the hydrogen from the oxygen in H2O is more than the energy released when the hydrogen and oxygen recombine and burn. The flame is clearly the color of ionized sodium from the salt. Whatever the actual specific explanation, which they don't bother to approach in the video, water and salt don't burn without puting more energy into the reaction than you get out. Turning a lot of radio energy into a little heat and light is no breakthrough."
* "Using RF energy, or any other energy to first break down the hydrogen and oxygen water molecule into its constituent H2 and O2 molecules, and then burning the products is old technology. ... However, if the RF H2O cracking method can be developed such that it is a superior way over current methods used to produce H2, which can subsequently be used in H2 fuel-cell automobiles for example, then THAT might be of value as well."
bump for later
Er, um, yeah. Right.
I’ll toast his success with a bottle of cold fusion.
OOOOHHHHH!!!!.......
Paging Joseph Newman....
Actually, if they could get cold fusion to work, sea water would be the perfect “fuel”, as it contains quite a bit of deuterium and tritium.
Corsi is branching out?
With “Global Warming” all You and I have to do is wait...........
If it works, the EPA will regulate the exact makeup of the fuel (water) which can be used and the feds will tax it per gallon. With all the costs of the new delivery systems needed for the federally licensed distributors (gas stations) we’re probably looking at $4.00 a gallon on average, but the Dasani station will charge more.
My idea was to find a way to use them in a beam, somewhat like a lazer beam. I thought, send a low temperature beam through the body from one side and another low temperature beam sent from the other side. At the point where the two beams met the temperature would be hot enough to kill the cancer cells. But the low temperature of the two beams wouldn't’t harm the rest of the body.
I think radio waves, micro waves, can be used to reach the insides of our body, without harming or cutting into us.
And that’s my foolishness for the day!
Tritium has a half-life of 12-1/2 years. There’s not much of it in seawater, certainly not enough to make recovery worthwhile.
Uh huh. "Now if I could just get a few billon taxpayer dollar$."
If it was that solid, private investors would be beating a path to his door...
What a depressing story. I fear for this country.
Watched all 3 videos-amazing stuff!
Conservation of energy is a fundmental law of physics. Perpetual-motion machines DO NOT WORK.
I never made it through chemistry. Got kicked out for organizing an unauthorized bunson burner luau. Why is this article so dumb?
I respect you for that. It is just that there is nothing new here at all. Someone, somewhere in the reporting chain had to know better. He's just using an induction coupled electrolysis scheme. Before that he was going to cure cancer. The world is full of cranks and crackpots and alchemists, but every time energy prices rise, these stories show up. For example:
"On our way to try to do desalinization, we came up with something that burns, and it looks in this case that salt water perhaps could be used as a fuel to replace the carbon footsteps that we've been using all these years, i.e., fossil fuels," Kanzius said.
And just where is the energy he is using coming from? At present, some coal-burning power station, etc.
My sadness stems from a lack of ability of "journalists" to do any critical thinking. They just want to fill up space with this nonsense. In this way they can avoid reporting good news about unemployment, or Iraq, etc.etc.
Meanwhile a search of the net discloses
For just $39.95 you too can build this miraculous machine!!! Check It Out!
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