Mankind has had its share of great accidents, among them x-rays, penicillin and the internet. They pop up because of scientific endeavor being allowed to flourish. It comes as no surprise, that what could be heralded as the answer to our future energy concerns could be solved due to an inherent accident.

John Kanzius, from Erie, Pennsylvania, has come across a way to burn sea-water. Obviously, scientists have not seen this as a viable research goal, (seeing as water is all wet and everything.) According Kanzius, the man who was originally trying to find a cure for cancer, given the right circumstances, sea-water may be able to provide us with a very renewable energy source.

First thought of as a hoax, this discovery was later backed up by Rustum Roy, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, who recreated the experiment in his own controlled lab. Roy describes this discovery as "the most remarkable in water science in 100 years.”

His colleagues at Penn State warned him “not to be fooled”, explaining the phenomenon away by saying that Kanzius had just put electrodes in the water. However, Roy proved the theory true in the Materials Research Laboratory in State College.

Radio frequency directed at the water breaks down the bonds that hold together the elements that make up salt water – sodium chloride, hydrogen and oxygen – which then makes hydrogen. When ignited, hydrogen will burn continuously as long as it is exposed to the RF energy field produced by Kanzius’ generator, originally made to desalinate water and help in the treatment of cancer. An independent source – outside of Penn State and Kanzius’ reach – measured the flame’s temperature, and noted that it exceeded 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dr. Roy – who has taken up the research of this discovery – will have already met with U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense officials in Washington by the time you are reading this, to discuss the discovery and to hopefully gain funding for further research.

"We will get our ideas together and check this out and see where it leads," Dr. Roy said. "The potential is huge. In the life sciences, the role of water is infinite, and this guy is doing something new in using the most important and most abundant material on the face of the earth."

Mr. Kanzius isn’t just your average scientist, who stumbled upon this discovery. His novel treatment to cancer – targeting cancer cells with metallic nanoparticles then destroying them with radio-frequency – is already proceeding at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and at the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Apparently while he was demonstrating the generators ability to heat nanoparticles, someone noted that there was condensation on the inside of the test tube, and suggested that Kanzius use his equipment to desalinate water. When he attempted this unexpected suggestion, a spark was emitted, and in time he and his laboratory partners struck a match and ignited the water, which continued to burn as long as the test tube remained within the radio field. "This is the most abundant element in the world. It is everywhere," Dr. Roy said of salt water. "Seeing it burn gives me chills."

One can only hope then, that maybe, just maybe, we’ve found one of our answers.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Salt water as fuel? Erie man hopes so

via Treehugger - "Fuel" from Salt Water?

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