[BenLurkin]

What do you make of this from Popular Mechanics? Battery Taps Water

Photo by University of Alberta

A radically new type of battery takes advantage of the way water molecules line up when they come in contact with glass. The electrokinetic microchannel battery, developed by Larry Kostiuk and his colleagues at the University of Alberta, makes use of the fact that water molecules have positive and negative ends.

Glass takes on a positive charge wherever it touches water, explains Kostiuk. Conversely, the negative-charged ends of all the water molecules line up facing the glass container. In the battery, water flows through glass channels, producing electricity along the channel walls.

"Each channel contributes less than a nanoamp," says Kostiuk. "But you can gang together as many as you need." The prototype shown here cranks out 2 microamps.

[Waldozer]

Thermocouples demonstrate that is is possible to transduce useful electrical energy from heat, unfortunately, like this battery, not as yet in quantities that might compete with our main energy sources. I am not very familiar with this device, but the 2nd law of themodynamics has validity constraints that clever engineering have out-maneuvered, and this appears to be such a device.

Cold fusion, however, is nuclear. The energy densities in some experiments are said to exceed conventional fission reactors. Yet, no hazardous waste and infinite fuel supplies (apparently) exist. The problem is that there has been so little money provided beyond discretionary funding and small grants and private money, due to the stigma attached and the refusal of the USPTO to grant patents that they decide are vaguely related to cold fusion, due to the 1989 DoE conclusions (see www.blacklightpower.com). Starved for funds, the research has been limited mainly to very low cost experiments that have done well at demonstrating the effect (excess heat, nuclear reaction products coextensive with the heat produced, and a variety of related evidence). The scientists doggedly work under conditions that few would tolerate, were they not convinced of the significance of the evidence. They need access to much better analysis equipment before characterization of the reactions can be taken to a point where possibly useful technology can emerge. Thus far, this appears to be as completely benign energy source as one could ask. Naturally, with the suppression of this research in this country, other countries who have taken it seriously (Japan) have real advantages over us.