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From: gv@hou2e.UUCP (A.VANNUCCI)
Newsgroups: net.misc,net.physics
Subject: Re: perpetual motion(hydrogen burning cars)
Message-ID: <509@hou2e.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 25-Mar-85 14:36:43 EST
Article-I.D.: hou2e.509
Posted: Mon Mar 25 14:36:43 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 2-Apr-85 06:31:01 EST
References: <608@vortex.UUCP> <491@spp2.UUCP>, <706@mhuxt.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 43
Xref: linus net.misc:6138 net.physics:2073

> In article <608@vortex.UUCP> lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) writes:
> >All these stories about miracle inventions being suppressed are usually
> >just so much rot.  I've heard the same story for years about broadcast
> >power and Tesla.  I have yet to see any evidence that it is other than
> >a fairy tale.
> 
> While I tend to agree with Lauren that there is a lot of garbage being
> passed around as truth, I have to wonder why our cars aren't powered
> by liquid hydrogen (a non-polluting fuel) rather than gasoline.  And a 
> host of other similar questions.  There is all too much evidence that
> people tend to follow their own, very limited, self-interest, rather
> than look for ways to benefit themselves while providing for the
> common good.

  A few years ago I read a very interesting article in Scientific American
about the technology of hydrogen-burning cars.  The hydrogen was not to
be stored in liquid form in pressurized and cooled tanks (too dangerous
and too impractical) but rather as a hydride in a low-pressure room-temperature
tank.  The technical problem to be overcome was finding a suitable material
for the hydrogen to form a hydride with; i.e., a material that would be
sufficiently inexpensive to produce, effective and environmentally safe.

  Of course, this research for a *practical* hydrogen-powered car was being
supported entirely by those "ogre" companies that are so often blamed for
suppressing innovations, etc. etc. etc.

  I work for a big company and, based on my experience, the opposite
is true. Without the support and conducive environment that my employer
provides me with, I would be hard pressed to come up with any research
results that are worth anything.

  There are always exceptions and I'm sure that in many cases big business
is to blame for stifling innovation and suppressing initiative. However,
I'm convinced that, by and large, when people complain about big companies
suppressing innovative research they usually don't know what they are talking
about.

		Giovanni Vannucci
		AT&T Bell Laboratories      HOH R-207
		Holmdel, NJ 07733
		hou2e!gv