Great and they can use the oxygen for AIP engines. Double hitter.

mikecimerian @ 07/01/08 11:23:48

And how is the battery recharged every 280 miles? Electricity — which is supplied, for the most part, on this planet, in one of 3 ways.

1. Coal
2. Nukes
3. Liquid Natural Gas

Fossil Fuel, Fossil Fuel, Fossil Fuel.

And what do they need to make the fuel cell work? Platinum.

Which is why Zimbabwe is so important these days.

They have also significant quantities in the Urals

Which is in Russia where they have significant Liquid Natural Gas reserves.

microdot @ 07/01/08 13:23:19

So “steam” is NOT the car’s only byproduct. Please.

microdot @ 07/01/08 13:24:34

This is not the first…. There is a man here in Missouri who lives off on private land who was taken on as protege to Lierh(I think I spelled tht right) The inventer of the Liehr jet. He has had four differentmodels including a trucc. butthe US Government wouldn’t give him a pattern or grant permission to manufacture and mass produce. Thier claim was “ It couldn’t do certain highway speeds” because his particular moels were only eared at 60 for Mo. Highways.

Infact I read this article about it all bacc about 8 or 10 years agoin Time or People, I remember it cause I remember thinking “why don’t they just ask him to modify them or change speed limits”? With all do respect to Asians and Honda they are not theinventors nor the true pattern holders.

Infact when I read about the “new technology” a few years ago was in development I looked it up and found that the original guy was asked if they could be geared to go faster he said yes. He was working on one that will run about 120.

Don’t know if you can still find info on him now without a name but if you can you should checc him out and learn the truth.

TonyFranks @ 07/01/08 13:40:37

It was Lear sorry. and here it is straight from wiki

Roger Evan Billings (born 1948) is an American businessman,

“inventioneer” and developer of high-tech products. Billings is best

known for his pioneering work in the computer industry. He is also

widely regarded as a developer of hydrogen energy.

Computer Networking
Billings is known for inventing a method of sharing data on a computer

network known as Functionally Structured Distribution. Claiming that

Novel, Inc.‘s flagship product – NetWare – infringed his networking

patent, Billings brought a lawsuit against Novell, Inc. and Bank of

America in 1991, asserting patent infringement. (International Academy

of Science v. Novell Corporation, Northern District of California).

Eventually Bank of America settled, purchasing a license to use the

patented invention. After more than a decade in court and patent office

proceedings, the patent term expired.

Hydrogen Energy
Billings’ involvement in hydrogen energy began when he converted a car

to run on hydrogen in 1965 as a high school student, which won him a

Gold and Silver award at the International Science Fair and a

scholarship to Brigham Young University. Billings generated interest in

hydrogen technology by demonstrating working prototypes, including

buses, forklifts, tractors, and a hydrogen powered home. In 1977, he

drove a hydrogen-powered car during the inaugural parade of Jimmy

Carter. In 1991, he demonstrated a hydrogen fuel cell car prototype in

Philadelphia. An Omni Magazine report on his work in 1982, dubbed him

“The Hydrogen Man” (Rose, 1982), and an article in the July 21, 2003

issue of Time Magazine referred to him as “Dr. Hydrogen”. (Barlett,

Steele 2003). Billings is the author of two books on hydrogen energy

technology, Hydrogen from Coal: A Cost Estimation Guidebook (1983) and

Hydrogen World View (1991).

[edit] Education

Billings at Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1967.Billings enrolled as

a student at Brigham Young University (BYU) in the fall of 1966. As an

undergraduate, he received a research grant from the Ford Motor Company

and his own lab to continue his studies of the hydrogen-fueled

automobile. In the summer of 1972, Billings headed a team from Brigham

Young University that won first prize for low emissions at the Urban

Vehicle Design Competition held at the General Motors Proving Grounds

in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their winning entry was a hydrogen powered

Volkswagen.

Billings received his Bachelor of Science degree from BYU in 1974 with

a composite major in Physics, Chemistry, and Electrical, Mechanical,

and Chemical Engineering.

After his university studies, Billings was selected by Bill Lear, the

creator of the Lear Jet, to be his protégé. Lear moved Billings and his

young family into the Lear home in Reno, Nevada, where, for nearly a

year he shared his knowledge of high-tech entrepreneurship. Although a

1981 article in Forbes Magazine quoted Billings as saying that Lear

hired him as an engineer, then changed his mind about letting Billings

work on hydrogen research, and that Billings had quit in a huff, other

accounts indicate that he left Lear on good terms, taking Lear’s advice

to continue his research on hydrogen energy (Billings Corp Annual

Meeting 1986).

Business Ventures
Billings has been involved in the development and launch of a number of

new technologies. He manufactured one of the first Personal Computers,

started the company that developed the “double-sided floppy drive”, and

launched the Billings Word Processor, which was the forerunner of Word

Perfect.

In 1973, Roger Billings founded the Billings Energy Corporation, his

first publicly-traded company. It gained worldwide attention with the

development of numerous hydrogen vehicle prototypes. Billings also

developed hydride-filled hydrogen storage tanks, and a homestead that

was hydrogen powered. By 1979, he was working on coal-to-gas conversion

plants. (Mother Earth News 1979)

In 1985, Billings sold the Billings Energy Corporation and joined with

Dr. Geoffrey K. Pardoe, Chairman, General Technology Systems in London;

Dr. Alexei A. Tupolev of the Tupolev Design Bureau in Moscow; Willis

Hawkins, President of Lockheed Corporation in California; and Olof

Tegström, Founder and President of Tebetron in Sweden, to establish the

“International Academy of Science”, a not-for-profit organization for

the advancement of applied science and scientific education. The

International Academy of Science (Academy) operates the International

Institute of Science and Technology — a Graduate School University

that offers the Doctor of Research and Master of Research Degrees.

Courses offered by the Academy have recently received accreditation,

and its online math courses are being utilized by public and private

school districts throughout the U.S. (about 300,000 students).

Beginning in 1985, Billings studied as a full time student at the

Academy, and received his Doctor of Research Degree in 1991. His

doctoral research project resulted in the first automobile to be

powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The vehicle, which is on display at

the Academy, converts hydrogen into water and electricity and is more

efficient than the internal combustion vehicles Billings had converted

during his earlier years. The improved efficiency of the fuel cell made

the commercial application of hydrogen cars more feasible. A number of

automobile companies are now testing fuel cell powered hydrogen

vehicles.

In 1994, Roger Billings founded the WideBand Corporation, one of the

first companies to develop a gigabit data rate networking product.

WideBand came up with a pre-standard design that could operate over

standard Category 5 cable. Later, when IEEE established the 802.3ab

workgroup to create a gigabit data rate networking standard, Billings

served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Ethernet Alliance

and also contributed technical presentations in the development of the

standard. WideBand Corporation began to manufacture a standards-based

Gigabit Ethernet product that could operate over convention cabling,

instead of requiring users to rewire their premises to Category 5e or

better cable. WideBand Corporation, of which Roger Billings is

President, manufactures high performance networking products in its

U.S.-based Gallatin, Missouri factory for government, education, and

industry.

Billings established fs-ix Corporation in 1995 to manufacture a

commercial line of computer storage products based on the fs-ix network

operating system. fs(ix) Servers ship with the software pre-installed,

which allows them to be tuned for specific hardware installations,

increasing storage and retrieval performance. fs-ix Servers are

primarily used in very large data storage applications like Hollywood

animations, military applications, and large library projects.

In 2007, Billings launched GoldKey, a computer security product to

protect data on computers and computer networks. GoldKey is a USB

device that locks access to a local computer, encrypts data stored on

the computer’s hard drive, and secures communications over the

Internet. GoldKey utilizes strong AES encryption to protect user data

by providing a method of dual authentication — a user provides a

password but must also possess the device to be able to access

sensitive data (“something you know and something you have”).

(Conventional security systems authenticate users by requesting a

password [“something you know”].)

TonyFranks @ 07/01/08 13:54:48

The atmosphere is ~5% water vapor at any given point in time; the amount of water vapor evaporating off the oceans is so many orders of magnitude higher than any amount given off by any hydrogen cars that are or ever will be running will probably not even be measurable. Unlike CO2 and methane production as a result of human activity, the water vapor cycles have been going on since the oceans formed billions of years ago. What’s coming out of this tailpipe is entirely environmentally friendly, much moreso than some (energy-using) condensation process add-on would be.

The two real problems, of course, are that 1) hydrogen (compressed to 2200 PSI) has almost exactly 1/10th the energy density of gasoline, while liquid hydrogen is about 1/5th, and both pose engineering/safety challenges well beyond those of gasoline, and 2), hydrogen isn’t a source of energy at all, it’s just a carrier, and an inefficient one at that. Like microdot said, it’s a fossil fuel or nuclear driven process (at this point). Methanol is probably the best bet, but it’s rarely discussed, as it has a close-to-net-zero carbon footprint, and doesn’t eat into food supplies. While it has only half the energy density of gasoline, it’s much safer, less toxic, and apparently makes engines run better (due to higher compression) than gas, as evidenced by its use in any number of professional racing sports (Top Fuel/Funny Cars use nitro-methane, for example).

Here’s a brief list: http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Energy_density

It’s worth noting that U-235 is roughly 500 million times as energy dense as petroleum. Anyone inherently opposed to anything nuclear would be well advised to check out the Generation III+/IV designs as a basis for re-evaluation; a lot of received wisdom is in fact horribly outdated or just plain wrong.

ManusCelerDei @ 07/01/08 20:45:02

it’s a fossil fuel or . . .

... preaching to the choir – alternatives – enabling our addiction to mobility.

dikweed @ 07/01/08 21:19:42

In my humble opinion the problem with nuclear isn’t technology it’s accountability. As long as there won’t be mandatory decommissioning trust funds attributed to each new power plant, I will oppose it.

mikecimerian @ 07/01/08 22:16:08

Humboldt State University has a hydrogen fueling station (http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080630/news/806300301, http://now.humboldt.edu/news/a-hydrogen-fueled-toyota-prius-arrives-at-hsu/,
http://now.humboldt.edu/news/fill-er-up/. This is an ideal place for this type of vehicle, send them our way please.

American car owners for years have been unknowingly been supporting the Russian Mob who own those platinum mines (as well as many other cartels, gangs, dictatorships, kingdoms, “terrorist” cells, etc.) Catalytic converters contain many rare metals such as platinum.

Solar panels are also another alternative to the energy soup. Though solar manufactures are GE(nuclear), Shell(oil).

I envision every house, shopping mall, skyscraper, fast food store, distribution centers, airports, rail ports and even trains having solar panels on the roof. That would definitely decrease the cost as well. By then we could power every production of alternative fuels with alternative fuels. We have the ability to do it, we just to have to create the demand for the product. As lame as the “ecowashing” phenomena/exploitation is, it is starting to drive that demand. When it becomes profitable to market and have the lobbyists make it law to mandate a hydrogen car only by certain date (like digital cable broadcasting) it will be done.

raphen @ 07/01/08 23:16:59

methane is also a great source. The city of Fountain Valley, CA has a methane fueling station and many taxis use it.

raphen @ 07/01/08 23:19:54

The social status and car ownership paradigm wasn’t handed down on rock tablets on Mount Sinai.

The car is dead as a dodo. Maintaining the one person one car paradigm on alternates, whatever they are, is like maintaining a cerebral dead patient under life support.

I want public buses that won’t rattle my teeth off, diminish my earing, air conditioning, bio-filters, etc. I bet if we had these rides we’d rethink the importance of actually owning a car as a way of life.

mikecimerian @ 07/02/08 00:56:08

Water-fuel car unveiled in Japan (VIDEO)

Jun. 13 – Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water.

The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car’s tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it.

microdot @ 07/02/08 06:46:57

water car in related, but neat if at all true

and billings is the man oh ye of the long comment, but the headline is commercial, as in available to get (albeit with provisos)

water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas, and disturbing the water vapor balance of the planet could be a big problem if vapor is not controlled. The oceans do evaporate allot, and volcanoes vent lots of CO2 into the atmosphere too… and scientists used to say the volcano releases would cover any human use, which is still small compared to planetary out-gassing… and they were wrong.
dr. wrong

nanosolar.com solar electric cheaper than coal- in mass production

blueridgenano.com eternal life and ultimate powers

johnnycivil @ 07/02/08 20:36:58

Johhnycivil: “water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas, and disturbing the water vapor balance of the planet could be a big problem if vapor is not controlled. The oceans do evaporate allot, and volcanoes vent lots of CO2 into the atmosphere too… and scientists used to say the volcano releases would cover any human use, which is still small compared to planetary out-gassing… and they were wrong.”

Completely different. CO2 in the atmosphere is removed either by photosynthesis or by going into solution in oceans as dissolved gas, carbonic acid, or various carbonates. While the oceans can absorb a lot (and do, holding roughly 50x the atmospheric CO2 concentration), the quantity they hold is in equilibrium with the atmospheric concentration, which until recently has been relatively stable. Water vapor is not coming from sequestered underground storage like volcanic CO2; it’s by and large coming from evaporation, and returns to the oceans via precipitation, which goes on and on endlessly. Water vapor is actually excluded from the list of atmospheric gasses, as it has surface concentrations of 1-4% at any given time. Compared to the .038% concentration of CO2, any human introduction of water vapor will be completely unnoticeable, as there is not stable base against which to measure.

All of this, though, is completely moot: the use of hydrogen as an energy storage medium comes from breaking water apart, thereby having a zero net effect on the planet’s water content. While there may be certain local effects, a la the increased humidity in Las Vegas, there can be no global change aside from those associated with the massively increased fossil fuel output required to sustain an economy using such a poor energy transfer medium as hydrogen.

The wiki entry (yeah, yeah, I know…) regarding atmospheric water vapor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_vapor#Water_vapor_in_Earth.27s_atmosphere

I want my Ford Nucleon. :P

ManusCelerDei @ 07/02/08 21:29:28

While there may be certain local effects, a la the increased humidity in Las Vegas, there can be no global change aside from those associated with the massively increased fossil fuel output required to sustain an economy using such a poor energy transfer medium as hydrogen

I don’t know. Local effects have this disturbing tendency to become more pervasive in the long run, especially considering climate. I’m not doubting your science, I’m just paranoid.

zephid @ 07/02/08 21:44:26

Like Salvador Dali said : I am a paranoiaque critique.

mikecimerian @ 07/02/08 22:01:11

that must be why they tweak hydroxide to put folk in orbit? whateva, no carbon, leave it in the trees.

and i want a flying car, not a bleeding 2Der… and it should round Mars in a day.

johnnycivil @ 07/04/08 23:42:46

I’d like a saucer … it’s a classic design.

mikecimerian @ 07/05/08 01:23:51