In which the press and the government prove they don't understand scientific basics

[unixronin]

ERIE, Pa. - An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century.

John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer.  He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies, it would burn.

[...]

The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen, Roy said.  Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies, he said.

[...]

Roy will meet this week with officials from the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense to try to obtain research funding.

The scientists want to find out whether the energy output from the burning hydrogen — which reached a heat of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit — would be enough to power a car or other heavy machinery.

OK.  Who else sees the beginner-obvious problem with this "discovery"?

Hint:  The Laws of Thermodynamics.

This is, of course, beyond both the AP and the government bureaucracy.

Comments

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

Assuming that the headline is there for just attention, all they are doing is hydrolysis with RF radiation. The only potential twist is the actual frequency. If they chose a resonant frequency for [salt] water, there may be a slight energy advantage. You would likely lose that advantage in conversion losses, but it could be there. (Resonant frequencies are really fun, you try to divide by zero. {constant / (c^2 - w^2)} where w is frequency in radians, and c is the resonant frequency.)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yup. See the discussion above. The article tries to make thos sound like a miraculous new energy source, though, and I greatly doubt the reporter understands why it isn't.

[bbullock.livejournal.com]

I understood why it wasn't, I just think it sounds really cool.