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A car that runs on water

ZaylZayl Veteran
edited August 2012 in General Banter


Seems a few years ago, a Japanese car company developed a new energy system that runs only on water. It is electric powered and runs on Hydrogen Dioxide. It can run off of any type of water, rain water, bottled water, tap water, puddle water... what have you. One liter of water can have the car run for up to an hour, and it can reach up to speeds 50 MPH (80KM/H) The video itself was released in 2008. It is now 2012, why have we not seen any further development of this system? it is pollution free, runs off of a readily available fuel source, and there is no need to construct additional infrastructure to support it. Someone can just fill a jug of water at home and stuff it in their car, and they'll be set for the day.

It seems to work just fine, and after looking it up there really are no drawbacks to this system that I can see. Sure it doesn't reach ridiculous speeds, but can go fast enough for most roads. It does not have a lot of horsepower, but it still moves. Did I already mention there are no harmful by products? at all? It's almost sad that I can say that I am not terribly surprised this system did not gain popularity. Seems the entire world is addicted to fossil fuels.

Comments

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    the problem is - water is a vital commodity for humans - when it comes to providing safe drinking water for those who don't have any, and powering a car - I think thirsty people win hands down...
  • BeejBeej Human Being Veteran
    federica provides a great point, but i still like this one WAY better than the Gundam mech thing... although I ride a bicycle as my primary mode of transport, so i'm really just hoping we can create something that incorporates kinetic energy with perpetual motion or something... ahh to dream....

    Side Note: Please share the road with bicyclists if you are a driver... we are but fragile things!
  • Ralph Nader first wrote about designing cars to run on water/steam. He said it was so simple to produce, the car manufacturers would never do it, because there wasn't enough room to make a lot of profit. Back then, water was plentiful. We're heading into an era of water scarcity.
  • The amount of water on earth is the same as it ever was.
  • RebeccaSRebeccaS Veteran
    edited August 2012
    Drinkable water is becoming scarce though. No idea why, or even how lol, but that's what I hear.
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    the problem is - water is a vital commodity for humans - when it comes to providing safe drinking water for those who don't have any, and powering a car - I think thirsty people win hands down...
    Yup. I am in Colorado, and water is a major concern here...even more so now that the US is in a drought in over 50% of its area.

    @lamaramadingdong said: "The amount of water on earth is the same as it ever was."

    An irrelevant statement. While true, the vast majority of it is salt water and in glaciers at the polar caps -- none of which is readily or cheaply usable.

  • Always there though. Let's figure it out. If it's possbile to use water for energy (I'm skeptical), it should be in theory a perpetual source.
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran
    What is the cost of one of those cars? A relativly high price could be a big reason it hasn't taken off.
  • Cool maybe us Michiganders with the largest freshwater lakes will become the next saudi arabia?
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    edited August 2012


    Seems a few years ago, a Japanese car company developed a new energy system that runs only on water. It is electric powered and runs on Hydrogen Dioxide. It can run off of any type of water, rain water, bottled water, tap water, puddle water... what have you. One liter of water can have the car run for up to an hour, and it can reach up to speeds 50 MPH (80KM/H) The video itself was released in 2008. It is now 2012, why have we not seen any further development of this system? it is pollution free, runs off of a readily available fuel source, and there is no need to construct additional infrastructure to support it. Someone can just fill a jug of water at home and stuff it in their car, and they'll be set for the day.

    It seems to work just fine, and after looking it up there really are no drawbacks to this system that I can see. Sure it doesn't reach ridiculous speeds, but can go fast enough for most roads. It does not have a lot of horsepower, but it still moves. Did I already mention there are no harmful by products? at all? It's almost sad that I can say that I am not terribly surprised this system did not gain popularity. Seems the entire world is addicted to fossil fuels.
    I think it's a great concept and I could see the benefit of these in many cities where fossil fuel-burning cars are the norm. Great for commuting in the city.

    But what about cities that rely on highways or where it's sprawled out? 1L = 1 hr of driving, not including idling... you'd need to carry a huge amount of water if you rely on a car to get around every day and live in a traffic-congested city. Imagine carrying 20L of water would weigh a slow car down even more.

    And, as others have mentioned, it pre-supposes an area where water is plentiful and without restrictions. I can't imagine this being very popular in a desert region or an area where water isn't in abundance.


    Plus, capitalism always finds ways to put a price on things. If cars like this became mainstream, they'd find a way to charge people for using water to fill up their cars.


  • DakiniDakini Veteran
    edited August 2012
    Cool maybe us Michiganders with the largest freshwater lakes will become the next saudi arabia?
    Take care to keep them clean and pollution-free. Look at what happened to Erie at one time. Clean water is a precious resource. It's not for dumping trash or toxic waste in, "out of sight, out of mind". (Besides, doesn't Canada have a share in some of those lakes?)

  • The only one we have sole care of is lake michigan. Lake erie is doing a lot better now along with the ohio river (which at one time caught fire, eek).

    There are some nasty fishes coming up the mississipi that can kill all the salmon. That is the danger now.

  • There are some nasty fishes coming up the mississipi that can kill all the salmon. That is the danger now.
    I remember hearing about that. Fish from a completely different part of the world, some particularly aggressive specie. Weren't they trying to stop them for awhile? Impossible task.

    What kind of salmon do you have there? Atlantic?

  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited August 2012
    I'm not sure what kind of salmon. I guess I thought they were in the lakes before the St. Lawrence seaway, though that could be wrong.

    Since that seaway a fish called alewives came from the ocean. They have suckers and hook onto salmon and other fish and kill them. I go to the beach and some years there are dead fish all over the place.
  • MIchigan has more coastline than any other state in the lower 48.
  • eww, Jeffrey, that's so sad! :(

    Now I'll have to look up the Great Lakes Salmon. Salmon normally migrate between salt and fresh water, so I'm guessing there's an annual run that comes up the St. Lawrence, but maybe not. That would be awful to loose such a resource!
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    The moray eels raised havoc for many years with other fish species. In the mid-Atlantic States, the snakehead fish has become quite terror.

    But, as Dean Martin said, "When you swim in the deep, and a eel bites your feet -- that's a moray!"
  • OK, really fascinating. Atlantic salmon used to be native to Lake Ontario but they died out long ago. So Canada has tried to re-establish them in the lake, but with not much luck. More recently, Michigan has been stocking their lake with freshwater salmon from lakes in Sweden, where the fish have been landlocked since the Ice Age. Michigan has had better luck getting the fish established, but it's still touch-and-go.
  • "Amore", haha...pretty good. ;)
  • I like that @vinylyn, lol
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    Thing is people, it does not require clean drinking water to work. it can use any water, even dirty water. Though I'm not sure if it can use ocean water, if it could then that'd be well enough. And yeah I do agree, thirsty people do win over a vehicle, I never disputed that. But the water does not become undrinkable after being used in this vehicle unless I missed something.

    And as a Michigander, well... yeah having the Great Lakes nearby would be a total boon if I ever bought this type of vehicle. And you wouldn't need a huge amount of water to work it for a day. Carrying a Gallon jug with you would probably be more than enough.
  • VictoriousVictorious Grim Veteran
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    The amount of water on earth is the same as it ever was.
    Trouble is, the population keeps increasing. :p
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    *does not need to use drinking water*
  • edited August 2012
    Still think there's plenty of water. The amount of water contained in Lake Superior alone would cover a surface area as big as North AND South America to a depth of 1 foot.
  • Still think there's plenty of water. The amount of water contained in Lake Superior alone would cover a surface area as big as North AND South America to a depth of 1 foot.
    It's probably polluted to hell though :lol:
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    Still think there's plenty of water. The amount of water contained in Lake Superior alone would cover a surface area as big as North AND South America to a depth of 1 foot.
    It's probably polluted to hell though :lol:
    Actually no it isn't too bad at all, I go swimming in it quite often and you can be in 20 foot deep water and see all the way to the bottom like it's made of glass.
  • Oh, that's awesome! I know Lake Ontario is basically poisonous :lol: but you can swim in one of the other lakes not too far away. We did it last year, but I didn't enjoy it because fish kept coming near me. Same deal though, lovely and clear.
  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    Yeah I hear Ontario is pretty bad. Lake Michigan is ok in some spots, same with Lake Huron. Of course when you're near a harbor or waterside town the water will be worse.
  • Yeah, the water by Toronto is just toxic.
  • My city water comes straight from Lake Michigan.
  • The reason this car was never produced is that it violates the laws of physics. Sorry, water-to-energy ins't possible, because the bonds in water are at their low energy state; there is no fuel energy available in the bonds.
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    Alright how about a car running on AIR? :).
    That's a cyclist isn't it? ;)
    Anyway cars are horrid noisy smelly things, they should all be filled with concrete and driven into Lake Michigan. :p
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