Electrothermal/chemical gun: Updated with first test results

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Technician1002
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Tue May 12, 2009 9:28 am

Ragnarok wrote: There is no chemical energy available from the water.
It depends on what it is mixed with. Google search "Water Reactive". :D
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Ragnarok
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Tue May 12, 2009 10:06 am

Technician1002 wrote:It depends on what it is mixed with.
Now you're just taking me out of context. What I said was there is no chemical energy to be had from water by "unlocking it" with electrical power.
For such a thing to happen is outright impossible, breaking the first law of thermodynamics (or second, depending on how you want to look at it) horribly.

Yes, things can be reacted with water. But water has a enthalpy change of formation of -15.88 MJ/kg, which means it's highly stable, and takes a lot of energy to break apart into it's elements.

It does not react easily, and takes something pretty funky mixed with it to get any notable reaction from it.
And the energy for whatever happens has to come from the funky stuff, because, like I said, water is already a combustion product.
Does that thing kinda look like a big cat to you?
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Technician1002
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Tue May 12, 2009 11:27 am

Ragnarok wrote:
Technician1002 wrote:It depends on what it is mixed with.
Now you're just taking me out of context. What I said was there is no chemical energy to be had from water by "unlocking it" with electrical power.
For such a thing to happen is outright impossible, breaking the first law of thermodynamics (or second, depending on how you want to look at it) horribly.

Yes, things can be reacted with water. But water has a enthalpy change of formation of -15.88 MJ/kg, which means it's highly stable, and takes a lot of energy to break apart into it's elements.

It does not react easily, and takes something pretty funky mixed with it to get any notable reaction from it.
And the energy for whatever happens has to come from the funky stuff, because, like I said, water is already a combustion product.
True but you left out the important part of my quote..

It's :D :D :D :D
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SpudFarm
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Tue May 12, 2009 11:49 am

good, the thread got life again, but let's stop the water discussion..

I have my doubts that DYI can make this in quite a while, but i know people that is willing to do it and i can serve as a middle person to get the information to you if it ever happends.

as far as i have understood, the first test that will be done is spallting of steel chambers. then a small scale modell is made using only the fuel and no ETG elements mixed into it.
after that the spark plug design will be tested and then (if the first test's did not proove this impossible) it might be made.

i can not offer any information about the maker, other then that i am staying away from this, i will as said only watch this thread and make 3D modells for him to work from.

so keep info commin, and diagrams of improved designs is what i really need, that way I can find a simple way of getting this done.
every good design that popps up will be made in 3D.

Thanks for your time!
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- A spud gun insurance.
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Tue May 12, 2009 3:16 pm

Ragnarok wrote: It does not react easily, and takes something pretty funky mixed with it to get any notable reaction from it.
And the energy for whatever happens has to come from the funky stuff, because, like I said, water is already a combustion product.
Not always. Water undergoes a number of (mostly reversable) reactions. Heck it spontaneously dissociates to hydroxide and hydronium.

Life, as we know it, is largely dependent on these fairly low energy reactions. The types of reactions include the hydrolysis of proteins, DNA, RNA etc. These are all reactions that are nearly energy neutral, they have to be since biologics do them so often that if they required large amounts of energy they would be impratical. Often the various biologic reactions are controlled by kinetics and not by thermodynamics.

Granted to get water to do something more energetic, particular in the "inorganic domain", takes a fairly energetic "funky" substance like metallic sodium.
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