ALTERNATIVE SCIENCE
& TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH ORGANISATION

Adelaide Branch


Welcome to this month’s newsletter and also to Kye, Michael and Lesly’s new male addition to the family. Congratulations!!! I wonder if there will be any more “births” this year, either in population increase or in new technologies?

 

SEPTEMBER MEETING.

The September meeting was well attended again with about 45 people attending. Ashley opened proceedings by welcoming the guest speaker, Fuzzy and congratulating Michael and Lesly on the birth of their son, Kye. Then it was down to serious business with the Treasurers and Secretaries reports. Incoming mail consisted of the ASTRO Vic. newsheet and a booklist from Jonathan Gray, the man who has supposedly discovered Noah’s Ark.

Andrew S. began the general part of the meeting with an update on his project. Due to moving house, things have slowed down, but thanks to Andrew G., another vehicle has been supplied to experiment on, while Damien has made available a workshop full of equipment to use on the project. Anton brought along some more books for the library, while Michael offered the perusal of a catalogue of alternative energy plans from Vector Press.

Dino gave a report on a product from Austria for reducing the effects of electromagnetic radiation. It consists of a bag of powdered basalt (selected by dowsing) which is then hung around your neck. Dino’s computer monitor now lives outside with the computer itself. Amid calls of “Pray for rain” from Tony, Dino explained that he feels that the high voltage on the unit is charging the air in the room and affecting him. It was then telephone time, with Matthew giving a talk on discounted overseas phone calls using a callback technique, followed by Stephen who presented an idea on how ASTRO members can save on their phone bills through a company called First Netcom.

Fuzzy gave his presentation on the project that he is involved in to establish a centre for alternative sustainable technologies at the Morialta Barns, a group of buildings first erected in 1847. The buildings have been restored and now it is on to the next phase, with a presentation for the project about to go to the council. If you would like to help, you can join the “Friends Group” for $5 by contacting Fuzzy.

Finally the Super Steam video was shown, followed by eats, drinks and lots of talking

EXTRA TERRESTRIAL EVIDENCE?

Thanks to Tony for this “intercepted” information........

USING HYDROGEN AS A FUEL.

This article is the last in this series on burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine.

IGNITION TIMING.

The theory is that the flame speed of hydrogen is 2.87 m/s which is 10 times faster than the flame speed of petrol. Because it burns faster, hydrogen may backfire through the intake valve unless the ignition is adjusted closer back to TDC. In other words the ignition is retarded slightly from the petrol setting. Increasing timing exponentially increases combustion temperature and thereby nitrous oxide emissions, while decreasing ignition advance reduces power. Thus a trade-off between reduced power and nitrous emissions has to be made.

Spark advance must be varied inversely with the equivalency ratio (e.r.). Thus if a fixed e.r. is used then the spark timing may also be fixed at all rpm and manifold vacuum settings. If the spark advance is too high then backfiring through the intake manifold may occur while if the timing is set too low then this will cause delayed combustion instead. With delayed combustion, the fuel is still burning when the exhaust valve opens which could cause overheating of the valve and preignition during the next cycle. However once the optimum spark advance is found it can remain constant from 0 to 5000 rpm. This may all sound very difficult but the principles are the same for normal petrol fuelled engines and so once the correct setting for your engine is found, it is no more difficult to maintain than a normal engine.

The above information is for engines running on stored hydrogen mixed with air. It has been found that an engine tested on gas from a hydrolyser cell producing hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of H2 and O has run successfully with the original timing settings. So I guess the bottom line is like the rest of life, find what works for you!!

SPARK GAP AND CROSS INDUCTION.

Less energy is needed to ignite hydrogen and so less voltage is required at the spark plugs. Reducing the ignition voltage also reduces the possibility of preignition. Tests have found that the spark plug gap can be reduced by one third to one quarter the original gap distance, thereby reducing the spark energy needed. Researchers have also found that plug electrodes must have clean and square edges, otherwise excess voltage is required for them to work.

The other problem which can occur with high ignition voltages is cross induction. This occurs if while one spark plug is being fired, the voltage in the cable induces a voltage in another spark plug cable causing that plug to fire. This is most likely if the spark plug cables touch each other. This is not normally a problem these days if cables designed for high energy spark systems (like MSD systems) are used. These are available from high performance motor accessory shops. (we used to call them “Speed Shops”) If there is still a problem then you can shield the cables, not run them parallel to each other or if all else fails alter the distributor or electronic ignition system so that all plugs not being fired are grounded.

TOYOTA & HYUNDAI ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

Toyota will release it’s first electric vehicle for public sale, a modified RAV-4, late next year. Called the RAV-4 EV, it will be offered to fleet buyers in the U.S. and Japan. Its performance will be closely monitored to provide data for the development of the next generation of electric vehicles.

The RAV-4 EV will have a top speed of more than 125km/h and a range of up to 200km between recharges. It uses nickel hydride batteries which are housed under the floor and have a life of about 160,000km. Options include air-conditioning, power operated windows and door locks, plus a CD player.

Leading Korean car maker, Hyundai, has developed what it claims to be one of the most advanced electric powered cars in the world. With a maximum range of 390km, it can accelerate from rest to 100km/h in 15 seconds, close to the performance of many small petrol engined cars. Based on the Excel model, the Hyundai electric car is powered by a nickel hydride battery pack and an electric motor developed by Hyundai engineers. A team of 15 researchers have been working on the project since January 1994, with a budget of $1.7 million.

PHRENETIC PHRASES.

This months phrase looks rather mathematical.

 

What could it be????

 

Look on the back page to find out the answer!

PhD student, John Krol, has been working at the University of Twente in America on a project which includes the splitting of water using bipolar and monopolar ion exchange membranes.

Introduction: Bipolar membranes are membranes that contain on one side positive fixed charges and on the other side negative fixed charges. When placed in an electric field, bipolar membranes are capable of performing accelerated water dissociation i.e. water is split into protons and hydroxyl ions. In combination with monopolar ion exchange membranes, bipolar membranes can be used to produce acid and base solutions from a corresponding salt solution. The process using bipolar membranes is economically very attractive and has a multitude of interesting applications. Salt solutions, for example, are often encountered as waste water streams in industry. With bipolar membranes, these streams can be converted into acid and base streams thereby not only increasing the value of the chemicals but also reducing the amount of waste water to be disposed of, an important factor with regard to environmental problems and the environmental regulations that become more and more stringent nowadays.

Water splitting: The prime function of a bipolar membrane is to split water into protons and hydroxyl ions. From experiments, it has already been known for some time that bipolar membranes indeed work as energy efficient water splitters. However, there still exists some controversy about the actual mechanism of the accelerated water splitting.

Water splitting is not only observed with bipolar membranes, it is also encountered with monopolar ion exchange membranes in electrodialysis. Here it is related to the phenomenon of concentration polarization. During concentration polarization the concentration of ions at the membrane surface on the diluate side has decreased with respect to the bulk concentration. Increasing the current through the membrane results in a further decrease of the ion concentration near the membrane surface. When this ion concentration goes to zero, a so-called limiting current is reached. When the limiting current of a monopolar ion exchange membrane is exceeded, side effects such as water splitting can occur, i.e. pH changes are observed in the solutions next to the membrane. In this work bipolar membranes as well as monopolar membranes are investigated. Aim of this work is to obtain more information about the actual mechanism that is responsible for the water splitting reaction occurring with these types of ion exchange membranes.

For anyone interested in pursuing this further, John can be contacted in America via email at “J.J.Krol@ct.utwente.nl” or by phone on 053-4892961.

TAKAHASHI BATTERY DOUBLER.

From the Sciex Corporation comes this information on Yasunori Takahashi’s Battery Doubler which utilises one of his powerful magnets. The Battery Doubler is a super strong permanent magnet with the measurement of 30mm by 40mm by 1.8mm. It consists of glass bonded rare earth elements. In spite of its small measurements, the magnetic power of the battery Doubler comes to about 8000 Gauss, that means double as much as the magnetic power of a conventional magnet.

The strong magnetic power of the Battery Doubler makes it possible to charge Nickel Cadmium batteries, Lithium batteries etc. more efficiently. If the Battery Doubler is fixed on the battery during the charging process, the so-called regular Ions configuration will happen. (Fig. 1) This causes the capacity of the battery to increase by 1.5 to 2.5 times as much as the conventional method used. Fig. 2 shows the discharge curve of a pocket telephone battery which is charged once with and once without the battery doubler. Without the Battery Doubler the pocket telephone functions 2.8 hours, with the Battery Doubler, 6.5 hours.

Memory Effect: Nickel Cadmium batteries must be completely discharged before being charged again, otherwise a phenomenon called the Memory Effect will occur. In this case, the battery will lose a part of its capacity, and the function duration will be rapidly reduced. The Battery Doubler eliminates the Memory Effect.

Operating Instructions:

· The battery must be completely discharged before charging.

· Put the Battery Doubler onto the battery and start the usual charging procedure.

· Due to the magnetic field, the Battery Doubler adheres to the battery.

· Remove the battery from the Battery Doubler after the charging has been completed.

The battery Doubler must not be stored near magnetic tapes, credit cards, electronic

ENERGY CARD PROMOTION CEASES.

The Sustainable Energy Industries Council of Australia (SEICA) is lobbying the Federal Government to continue promotion of Energy Card, a low interest scheme to help individuals purchase renewable energy products. The Howard Federal Government has ceased the funding of the Energy Card promotion in June, even though there is still between $1 - $2 million left in the 1995 - 96 promotional budget.

The scheme, which is backed by the Maquarie bank and AGC, makes renewable technology systems and energy saving products affordable. It also has the potential to reduce our domestic pollution problems. As SECICA executive officer Carrie Sonneborn explains, “If these campaigns ran non-stop, Australia could easily achieve a reduction in greenhouse emissions.” Sixty percent of Energy Card purchases to date have been for insulation, with solar hot water making up the majority of the remainder. Publicity for the launch of the Energy Card in mid 1995 generated record sales of solar hot water systems.

You can help by writing to your Federal member and complaining about the cessation of the Energy Card promotion.

INFORMATION SNIPPETS.

Country member Ian rang me recently to tell me an effect his son had experienced while emptying hydrocarbon based air conditioning refrigerant from a stainless steel cylinder. Some sort of electrical charge was released from the container with 12mm sparks discharging off it. Has anyone else experienced a similar thing, or do you know of an explanation of this effect? Please let me know if you do and I shall insert any information in next month’s newsletter.

For those of you with lots of money, the International Association for New Science (IANS) is holding an International Forum with over fifty guest speakers in October this year. This symposium will include the topics of new medicine, new psychology, nonphysical dimensions, parapsychology and other associated subjects including alternative energy. IANS can be contacted at 1304 S. College Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80524.

Dead Men’s Secrets is a book by Jonathan Gray about forgotten technologies dating back thousands of years. I recently went to a lecture by him on this subject and he does present very convincing evidence that todays technologies have all been here on this earth before. This hardcover book is $30 and can be obtained from Jonathan Gray, PO Box 3370, Rundle Mall, Adelaide, 5000.

“Q” MECHANICS.

The following information arrived in the post recently on a new book by Terry Skrinjar and Searl proponent Steve Walker.

NEXT MEETING.

The next meeting will be held on Friday 11th of October at 7.30 pm.

This month there will be two guest speakers. Firstly our very own Damien Fidge will be giving a talk on MOBILE PHONES, followed by Colin Fraser who will be presenting a talk entitled “THE IMPACT OF FUEL ETHANOL”. This talk will include some technical aspects of fuel production and will also touch on the social ramifications of using this type of fuel. Colin has been campaigning government bodies to implement the use of this type of fuel so this should be an interesting night.

Also don’t forget $3 admission and something to share for supper!! See you there.......

Phrenetic Phrases answer: The time is right!