Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!emory!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
From: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re:  Water dump...
Message-ID: <1701@ke4zv.UUCP>
Date: 21 Dec 90 14:37:39 GMT
References: <10212@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
Reply-To: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
Organization: Gannett Technologies Group
Lines: 19

In article <10212@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> jdishaw@cbrown.claremont.edu writes:
>I know some of the water waste from the fuel cells gets reclaimed for use
>by the astronauts as their water supply and the rest gets dumped.  Why 
>don't they split the water back into hydrogen and oxygen and use it for
>the fuel cells again?  I know this isn't 100% efficient process, but I would
>think there would be some benefits.
>
>James R. Dishaw

Did you read this before you posted? Where, pray tell, would they get the
electricity to split the water back to hydrogen and oxygen, carry a really
long extension cord maybe? The reason the fuel cells produce water is that
they are "burning" hydrogen and oxygen to generate power used on the shuttle.
If they don't need any excess electricity, they don't make any, or create
any water. There's no "waste" electricity on board to be used to split water.
What you are suggesting is equivalent to saying that you should use electricity
from your car battery to recharge your car battery.

Gary