ALTERNATIVE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH ORGANISATION Adelaide Branch

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Welcome to the June edition of the newsletter. You may have noticed the logo has been slightly modified so that it photocopies better and also I have included our post office box number so that all you country and interstate people can send in your newsletter subscriptions!

The meeting began at 8.00pm with a record number of 45 people attending. This really stretched the seating with standing room only at the back. Ashley began by welcoming everyone and thanking Rhonda for being our stand-in treasurer for the night. (It was much appreciated, thank you Rhonda) After the Treasurers report, I read out the incoming correspondence for the month which consisted of a couple of newsletters from interstate.

Ashley opened the informal part of the meeting by presenting a Tachyon Products catalogue for people to look at and then asking someone to explain in simple terms an article on winding coils which appeared in Nexus magazine. Leon has taken the article and will respond at a later date. Kevin gave a demonstration of a clockwork radio, yes you heard right, a clockwork radio that you just wind up and it plays! It was originally designed for the African market and this particular unit was bought in England, and had been brought to Australia by some friends. Ashley mentioned the talk that we are giving on May 28th for the “Journey with Friends” group and Michael offered a slightly unwell answering machine for anyone who may be able to get it going or have use for the parts.

Our guest speaker for the night, Valerie Juncken then took the floor and intimidated people back into their seats by asking the question “Why haven’t you completed your projects?” She explored some of the reasons why this may be the case such as being afraid of failure or even success. She even suggested that people were being selfish if their projects were not completed and shared with the world - if only it was that simple! Valerie then gave some practical ideas on working with intuition and this was followed by questions from various members. At this time Colin explained to everyone that ASTRO and indeed life is about the sharing of information and that we don’t own knowledge, it is for everyone. Finally Valerie gave her interpretation of a horoscope chart that Ashley had drawn up for the ASTRO group taken from the date of the first ever meeting. She seemed to think that this was quite compatible with what our aims are. Valerie is available for private consultations as a psychic clairvoyant and counsellor at a rate of $50 for a two hour session. The meeting concluded early at around 9.45pm after the video on “The Physics of Lightening”.

After last months article on a programmable ignition system, Silicon Chip magazine has now brought out a circuit for an engine knock indicator. This could be particularly useful for engines running on hydrogen as knocking and subsequent destruction of the engine can be a problem, particularly if water injection is not used.

Pre-detonation or “pinging” can occur in vehicles for a number of reasons, from having too high a compression for the octane rating of the fuel, having a build up of carbon deposits in the head which get hot and pre-ignite the fuel, to simply having too much advance set on the distributor. Pinging can cause severe damage to an engine with some of the results of it being piston and valve damage, blown head gaskets, excessive bearing wear and overheating. In my sordid past of car racing I have even seen pistons that have melted and have had holes burnt through them from this condition. Most modern vehicles have knock sensors fitted to them which feeds back information to the engine computer to adjust the timing continually so that the maximum advance is used to get the best engine performance without pinging occurring. Although this device won’t adjust your ignition automatically it does indicate when them problem is occurring so you can do something about it.

The sensor itself is a piezoelectric device which can be hunted down at a wrecking yard. The one used in the article came from a Daihatsu Mira although they also show an alternative of making your own from a piezo transducer taken from a transistor radio earpiece. The engine knock indicator has a LED bar graph display to visually show the degree of knock occuring with a buzzer to give an audible warning at a preset point. The electronics is very simple using common components and is available as a kit from major suppliers for $39.

This article came from the “U.S. Department of Energy News”, dated 7/2/96. Solar Reactor Technologies, Inc. (SRT) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are working together to demonstrate the production of renewable hydrogen and the supplementary supply of electrical energy storage. To generate hydrogen, SRT's process uses concentrated solar energy, bromine and water to form hydrogen bromide and oxygen [Step 1 in the image below]. The hydrogen bromide is then split at night using low-cost, off-peak electricity in an electrochemical cell to produce hydrogen and to regenerate the bromine [Step 2 in the image below]. The net result is the indirect splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen, using only one-third the electricity required for traditional water electrolysis, officials report.

In addition, by producing and storing extra hydrogen and bromine and later recombining them in the cell, the process can generate electricity on demand. This electricity can be used by industries to reduce utility demand and peak energy costs. It can also be used by utilities to provide peak power during periods of high demand. SRT's new technology first creates hydrogen bromide, and then splits the molecule to produce and store hydrogen. From an environmental perspective, clean-burning hydrogen has long been considered a desirable fuel. However, with today's inexpensive fossil-fuels, the primary market for hydrogen is as a chemical feedstock. Most hydrogen is now produced from non-renewable resources and is used by the petroleum industry and in other chemical processes. In order to replace fossil fuels, hydrogen must be produced from renewable sources and be economically competitive with fossil-fuels, proponents say.

"The SRT method of combining energy storage with renewable hydrogen production will allow hydrogen to now be considered as an alternative fuel," said Robin Parker, president of SRT. "Recent California legislative incentives that deregulate the electric grid and promote the use of environmentally clean-fuel vehicles provide a tremendous opportunity for SRT." Fuel-cell powered vehicles using hydrogen currently exceed California's zero emissions standards. The exhaust from hydrogen combustion is water. A recent independent evaluation of the SRT process and its economics, completed for DOE, concluded that the process can produce hydrogen for $9 per million BTU and peak electricity for 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. These costs are competitive with conventional non-renewable hydrogen production methods and peak-power generation systems. In addition, the evaluation determined that the potential new-growth market for the process in the American Southwest exceeds $150 million annually. This is before considering the newly emerging vehicle fuel market. The SRT/DOE agreement is valued at $2.5 million through FY 1996.

Increase your fuel economy with the Jet Power Economiser!!! This is a water injection unit that was on sale back in 1951 - like they say, nothing is new!

This month we will look at the construction of the collector panels in more detail. The absorber plate itself is usually surrounded by a metal or wooden box which is enclosed on top by glass or some other form of “glazing”: e.g. fibreglass or plastic. Under the absorber plate there is usually a layer of insulation to keep the heat from escaping through the underside of the collector.

The drawing shows an exploded view of a flat plate collector. The critical element is the absorber plate, in this case the tube in sheet type element. The absorber is covered with one or more layers of glazing, and rests on a layer of insulation. All components are surrounded by metal or wood. Absorber plates are most commonly made of copper or aluminium, because these metals do a better job of conducting heat than say steel. Panels with black plastic collector plates and no glazing are mainly used to heat swimming pool water just a few degrees and are in no way suitable for heating domestic hot water. They will disintegrate at the temperatures required by a domestic hot water unit. Because the conductivity of the plastic is not high enough, the heat is not transferred into the passing water and so the temperature of the plate itself will rise and more heat will escape externally from it to the surrounding air thus lowering its efficiency. To reduce such heat loss, the absorber plate will have to be thicker or the channels more closely spaced.

However, with a metal of high conductivity of heat such as copper, the plate can be thinner and the channels spaced further apart. To obtain similar performance, an aluminium plate would have to be twice as thick and a steel one nine times as thick. Another important design aspect is the resistance of these metals to corrosion. Copper resists corrosion better than either steel or aluminium while the costs of these materials must be weighed up against the above criteria.

The absorber plate is coated with some material to maximise the percentage of light absorbed. There are a few substances called selective surfaces which have a high absorbance and low emmitance. Selective surfaces absorb most of the light incident but emit much less thermal radiation than ordinary black surfaces at the same temperature. Collectors with selective absorber surfaces obtain high collector efficiencies at higher temperatures than normal.

Next month we will investigate the technicalities of how the suns rays actually heat the absorber panel.

An Australian based company, Pollutec Ltd. has developed a system for removing rubbish from waterways. The system removes 95 to 100% of rubbish from drains, etc. and is called a Continuous Deflective Separation (CDS) unit. The cylindrical unit is built underground and is constructed entirely from concrete and stainless steel to ensure longevity. There are no moving parts with the device consisting entirely of a cylindrical chamber with an inlet , outlet and a stainless steel separation plate. The unit uses energy from the water flow to cause separation once the water and contaminants have entered the chamber. A vortex action in the chamber diverts the solids as small as a match head or as large as a car tyre away from the separation plate to prevent blocking and into the central solids catchment sump. Once it is full, this central sump is lifted out by hoist, the solids emptied out of it, and is then replaced back into the main chamber. The size of an average unit is 4 to 5 metres in diameter, costs $70 - 90,000 to construct, holds up to 6 tonnes of rubbish and requires no maintenance except emptying every 3 - 4 months. More information can be obtained from Pollutec on (059) 77 0305 or by Fax on (059) 77 0302.

This is the title of the latest addition to our library. Written by Michael A. Peavy and published as “Hydrogen Home and Auto Fuel Conversion” in 1979, this republished and renamed 1988 version gives an account of what was current research on hydrogen production, storage and combustion for automotive, home and commercial use. The good thing about this book is that although very conventional in its approach, it does give an incredible amount of data and factual information which has been difficult to obtain up to this point in time. The book is split up into six topics which are:

1. Generating Hydrogen.

2. Storing Hydrogen.

3. Engine Modifications.

4. Fuel Cells.

5. Safety.

6. The Hydrogen Economy.

Subjects discussed in this book include water splitting, measuring efficiency, voltage verses temperature, electrolyser design, cell assembly, advantages and disadvantages of series and parallel electrolysers, engine modifications, mixing petrol and hydrogen, and the list goes on. So if this is your “thing”, I recommend you take a look at this one!

John Searl is still on the lecture circuit promoting his version of Free energy and Anti-gravity machines. He is giving lectures back in England in March, June and September this year. A focus at these lectures will be a model of a 170 foot spacecraft which is under development. Each meeting will update the progress on the Searl Effect Generator which is currently being worked on in Germany as well as the new Inverse Gravity Propulsion System which will be developed in England from April of this year. Production of this technology is expected to begin in 1997 while the resulting products of this research are expected to be in world-wide production by the year 2001. Further information is available from “DISC webpage: www.servtech.com/public/jasontee/”.

This article was in the Advertiser motoring pages on 2\5\96. It details a new 2 stroke engine design with the interesting thing being that the fuel is vaporised using the exhaust gas.

“Adelaide inventor John Ettridge - a regular competitor in his own vehicles in the National Mileage marathon fuel economy competitions - has patented a new type of two stroke engine. According to Mr Ettridge, the engine does not rely on computerised monitoring to achieve smooth running or low air pollution levels, and does not require the oil to be mixed with the fuel. “The engine has the potential to replace conventional car engines with a lighter more efficient engine,” Mr Ettridge said. “It runs on a leaner mixture, with the fresh fuel charge vaporised and preheated by the exhaust gas escaping from above the piston, through a filter into the crankcase,” he explained.

He has built working prototypes, using a simple 18cc two stroke from a brush cutter and a 140cc lawn mower engine. He said advantages over other two stroke motors included the fact that it did not require attachments such as air compressors or superchargers, which were a feature of some other modern two stroke designs. Mr Ettridge has taken patents on the two stroke design and is now attempting to seek commercial backing for the engine.”

Once again I am appealing for articles from members for the newsletter. Rather than recycling information gathered from elsewhere I would like to increase the local content so please let me know if you have something to offer. You don’t have to be a writer, just some notes jotted down with the main points and I will write an article from that. Remember it is your newsletter so contribute please!!

For those who have been following Rudolph Gunnerman and his experimental water based fuel, it looks like it is finally coming of age. Gunnerman’s nine person company, A-55 LP, formed a joint venture with diesel giant Caterpillar Inc. in July last year, while in November the A-21 fuel was certified in Nevada as a “clean alternative fuel”. For those who are not familiar with Gunnerman’s work, he has developed a milky looking fuel composed of 55% water and 45% diesel or petrol. The key ingredient however is the 0.5% of a secret emulsifier that enables the fuel and water to mix and stay mixed.

In Reno Nevada, the A-21 fuel has been tested on a city bus. After nearly 12,000 miles the engine was removed and shipped to Caterpillar for study while Reno’s Regional Transport Commission kept tabs on the performance of the bus and found that it produced a 29% increase in mileage compared to diesel fuel with no unusual problems. Other tests have found that the exhaust is also much cleaner. Gunnerman’s explanation for the increase in economy is that the water gets broken down into hydrogen and oxygen, and the hydrogen contributes energy to the combustion process. That’s because there is one additional trick to his patented process, and that is a small piece of nickel which is attatched to the piston crown or to the top of the cylinder heads. The nickel acts as a catalyst in dissociating the water says Gunnerman. It is predicted that conversion of existing engines to run on A-21 would be around $500 American. Gunnerman’s next project is a fuel which he calls “X fuel” (not “X files”) which is a mixture of 55% water and 45% naptha, a liquid that is a byproduct of petroleum and because it comes out of the refining process earlier than petrol, costs about 50% less.

A book which may be of interest to anyone into flash steam boilers or steam cars is "Experimental Flash steam" by J.H.Benson and A.A. Rayman, published by Model and Allied Publications, Argus Books Ltd, 14 St James Rd, Watford, Herts, England. Cost is about $US 6.00, ISBN 0 85242 352 7. It has chapters on principles, applications to transport, home-built steam cars, application to models, model flash boilers, engines and valve gears, pumps, plant layout and hulls, a simple flash steam plant, a racing flash steam plant, some early flash steamers, some modern flash steamers plus Appendix. Most interesting is on p23 a reference to a mini steam car being developed by Alec Issigonis at British Leyland around November 1971 which was about the time the Pallendini steam car was being developed at Cherry Gardens here in Adelaide.

Honda is to join the car makers providing electric vehicles in the United States market. American Honda Motor Co. has announced plans to introduce the Honda EV, a purpose built electric vehicle operating on advanced nickel-metal hydride batteries. It will go on sale to fleet and individual buyers in California in the first quarter of next year. The EV is a four seater vehicle and is claimed to be the first commercial electric vehicle to use nickel metal hydride batteries, which are said to greatly improve the distance between recharges. Based on a standard cycle devised by the U.S. Government to simulate city driving, the EV has claimed a range of 200km. It will accelerate from rest to 100km/h in 18.7sec. Top speed is more than 130km/h. It also has regenerative braking, which means that when the vehicle is slowing, its momentum is used to put power back into the batteries.

The next meeting will be held on the SECOND FRIDAY of the month, this time being...FRIDAY 14TH JUNE

The guest speaker for this meeting will be David French who will be talking on Rife machines and associated healing technologies using frequency.

Erika is bringing along the following short videos.

1. Colour and Light healing in N.Z. (5 mins)

2. “Lie Detector” machine which uses white blood cells as it’s measuring agent.(5 mins)

3. Luis Gasparto - South American who channels master painters. (15 mins)

Bring along any friends or acquaintances who may be interested in the subjects discussed at our meetings. Remember, all are welcome! Bring along $3 to cover newsletter costs and to increase our video library plus something for supper to share would be appreciated.

Finally just a note regarding the meeting entrance fee. Even though it has been kept to an absolute minimum to cover our costs and increase our library, there are still people who do not pay. At the last meeting 45 people attended while only 34 paid. This is unfair on those who do support us to keep the newsletter coming out each month and the library growing. It is also unfair to expect the treasurer to chase each individual person at meetings particularly with the number of people now attending. Please don’t damage your karma any more and pay up!!!!