Tonight I was watching PBS about new automobile technology and in one of the segments, they showed a 2004 Prius that an old gentleman had converted to solid hydrogen (I'm sure he ruined his warranty by doing so). He opened the back hatch and it was completely filled with the equipment. The program was "Scientific American Frontiers", hosted by Alan Alda.
It was a classic Prius. Interesting though. In the background, I saw a 2004 Prius. It was reddish, but kinda dark for Salsa. You can find more at their website: http://www.pbs.org/saf/1403
I too caught the Scientific American program which featured a hydrogen powered Prius. What was impressive was his method of storing the hydrogen. It was in a semi-solid form. There was a later discussion about the possibility of using the "sponge like" material within hollow cavities and pipes around the car or even in the front or rear bumpers so it would provide energy absorption as well as fuel storage. The inventor currently uses a large tank in the trunk but since it is inert and not subject to dispersal it sounds like a step in the right direction.
You mean "solid hydrogen" to say that this is the only fuel for the car, or do you mean it literally as in a "brick" of hydrogen? How did he get "solid" hydrogen? I understand that one of the myriad problems facing hydrogen cars is the extreme volatility of the stuff and the enormous difficulty of liquifying it and keeping it liquid. I think the current thinking on hydrogen cars is to compress the gas, as is done in cars fueled by Natural Gas, rather than liquify it. Even then, because of its light weight, it seeps through virtually any seals.
Stanford Ovshinsky is the gentleman you are refering to. He is the inventor of the NiMH battery. This man is my hero (among many). Read more about him at: http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/ovshinsky.html http://www.ovonic.com/news_events/5_6_vide...deos/videos.htm ~Andrew
Ovshinsky is the real deal, all right. If he says he has a very dense form of hydrogen storage then he probably does. It appeared (or did he state?) that it was a metal hydride. Metallic hydrogen may exist but it's never yet been made or seen by humans.
the "solid" hydrogen was in the form of a hydrogen compound. you realize that Ovshinsky made his money as the inventor of the NiMH battery. Well lead acid batteries generate hydrogen when charging. so that is also a form of solid hydrogen too and that is what Ovshinsky had. they were hydrogen compound metal alloys that stored hydrogen that could be harvested somehow when needed.
