Re: Alternete Fuel Sources

["David P. Lucey" <davidl@cfmc.com>]

Randy Vice wrote:
> 
> On Tue 22-Apr-1997  9:03a, bgarmer@tsc.net wrote:
> 
> <snip>
> 
> BG> There are a few ways you can do it:
> BG> 1) Compressed gas - just compress in and put it into a high pressure
> BG> tank.
> BG> This has three dangers - the first is corresion will weaken the tank and
> BG> cause a failure - second, is damage to the tank (in combat for example)
> BG> could cause an explosion or (more likely) a fire -
> 
> Why would it explode?  Flames I can see, but explode?
> 

When a flamable gas is ignited under pressure it expands quickly, and in
Hydrogen's case, generates a hell of a lot of heat.  It could be as
simple as a hydrogen filled balloon, you're still going to get a small
explosion.


>  third, compressing a
> BG> flamable gas is tricky in primitive situations.
> 
> As would be cracking crude to refined petrolium.  However, if the tech and
> some basic equiptment survived past TEOTWAWKI, I could see some pockets of
> tech like hydrogen production/storage surviving. Especially where crude is not
> available.
> 

The problem is that it requires a lot of energy to crack water, and that
energy could easily go to other things.  I suppose if the energy was in
abundant enough supply (a la a still functioning Hydroelectric dam after
the Woops) that it wouldn't be that big a deal.

David