• Gizmodo
  • bestmodo
  • lifehacker
  • kotaku
  • Profile logout login

#fuel

Gizmodo

Share Cancel
   
Upload an image | Add an image URL
×

logging in
  • FAQ. Include # before tag:
  • #tips,
  • #dealzmodo,
  • #rumors,
  • #broken,
  • #iphoneapps,
  • #apple,
  • etc.

New York, 10:13 PM
Tue Nov 24
65 posts in the last 24 hours

FR | IT | DE | SP | JP | AU | BR

Gizmodo Team

Tip your editors:
tips@gizmodo.com

Editorial Director:
Brian Lam | Email | Twitter

Editor:
Jason Chen
Email | AIM | Twitter

Features Editor:
Wilson Rothman
Email | Twitter

Senior Contributing Editors:
Jesus Diaz
Email | AIM | Twitter
Mark Wilson, Reviews
Email | AIM | Twitter

Contributing Editors:
Matt Buchanan
Email | AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci
Email | Twitter
Sean Fallon
Email | Twitter
Jack Loftus
Email | Twitter
John Herrman
Email | Twitter
Dan Nosowitz
Email
Chris Mascari
Email
Danny Allen
Email | Twitter
Rosa Golijan
Email | Twitter
Chris Jacob
Email

Columnist:
Brendan I. Koerner

Interns:
Don Nguyen
Email
Kyle VanHemert
Email

Comment Intern:
Nick Ellenoff | Email

Heroes and Friends

Comment Account Questions:
Comments@gizmodo.com

SUBSCRIBE TO Gizmodo RSS

New: Breaking news and daily top stories via email
9515 Subscribers
Gizmodo
  • posts about #fuel more →

    Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials

    Fly-Powered Gadgets Indulge Your Small-Scale Supervillain Fantasies

    Sony Retro-Looking Fuel Cell Battery Is a Speaker Is a Charger

    Motorola i356IS Won't Blow Up Gas Stations, Sadly

    Congressman's Fuel Cell Road Trip Was Horrifically Inefficient

    Build Your Own Mr. Fusion and Gasify Your Car With Garbage

    Rainforest Fungus Makes Biodiesel, Not Soup

    Fuel Checker Gizmo Warns if You're About to Screw Up Your Engine

    Origo Develops Recycling System that Turns Car Emissions Into Fuel

    Junk Computers Could Fuel Cars One Day: Holding Breath...Now

  • Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of SkonOfVulcan SkonOfVulcan
    08/05/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    I've heard several comments like this recently. One mentioned the amount of corn to fill up 1 SUV once vs how many people could survive off the same corn over a certain amount of time. I forget the source so I did a quick search and came up with this one. Doesn't seem to be the same amount I remember but close. http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/Update55.htm
    The figure given a that site is: The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol will feed one person for a year. The grain it takes to fill the tank every two weeks over a year will feed 26 people.

    I also heard on NPR it said that there is not enough arable land in the US to supply all of our vehicle fuel needs with corn. Even if these figures are off by a bit it just seems like solar and wind sources of electricity and going directly to electric for all energy needs is where we need to focus. I for one would be willing to be limited to a slower car and/or using public trans that is all electric. Why we even use anything else to cover any rooftop in the USA than photovoltaic cells I don't know. Here in Arizona after you get reimbursed by the state and federal incentives for adding solar cells or a windmill to your home it's almost (before anyone has fits I did say 'almost') as cheap as conventional energy sources from day one. Even if the majority of people in one state converted it would have an impact on the environment. And due to the stepped up production of said equipment it would stimulate the economy to!
     Reply
    zenpoet promoted this comment SkonOfVulcan was starred SkonOfVulcan was unstarred
    Image of Korgoths Korgoths
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    Paul Patone is a con man, he has refused to submit his invention for independent verification. He has left a string on investors high and dry since the early 80's that is why he has been charged with securities fraud. He issues stocks in companies for inventions that do not exist and when the investors try to get the truth from him he claims the state or big corporations are out to get him.
    Only the people that believe in Black Helicopters believe him.
    His Karma is finally catching up to him and unless he gets his claims independently versified this is just another in a long list of cons he does pertaining to "Free Energy"
    Here are some links about this con man
    [www.phact.org]
    [merlib.org]
    He was also one of those guys in the late 70s and 80's selling plans about how to convert your car to run on water
     Reply
    The Lab promoted this comment Korgoths was starred Korgoths was unstarred
    Image of Kaiser-Machead Kaiser-Machead
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    This is how supervillains are born. Stop fucking with people, you stupid government you.
     Reply
    Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred
    Image of Faxmonkey Faxmonkey
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    I always mix sugary beverages in with my hydrocarbon fuels for my engines. Engines need a little caramelization to really work properly -- the car companies don't want you to know!
     Reply
    DeusExMach is not a star-bellied sneetch. promoted this comment Faxmonkey was starred Faxmonkey was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    08/04/09

    @Faxmonkey: Bingo-bango... sugar in the gas tank.
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of Daniel_Contogiannis Daniel_Contogiannis
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    It would be nice if we had a real scientist on this site to debunk things like this. I personally can't see this actually working but crazier things have happened and the government sure have done stuff like this in the past, present and will in the future.
     Reply
    DeusExMach is not a star-bellied sneetch. promoted this comment Daniel_Contogiannis was starred Daniel_Contogiannis was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    08/04/09

    @Daniel_Contogiannis: corrupt INDIVIDUALS in the government. If you don't like how things are run, run for office yourself or TFSU.
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of hanspecans hanspecans
    08/04/09

    @DeusExMach is not a star-bellied sneetch.: Duh, elections are a scam, hasn't the internet taught you anything?!
     Reply
    DeusExMach may or may not be a star-bellied sneetch. promoted this comment hanspecans was starred hanspecans was unstarred
    Image of The Lab The Lab
    08/04/09

    @Daniel_Contogiannis: Real scientist here, my debunking is below.
     Reply
    The Lab was starred The Lab was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    08/04/09

    @hanspecans: The internet has taught me the "rules" and to stay as far away from 4chan as possible, because those people are freaks.
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of The Lab The Lab
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    Come on Giz, this is clearly fraud. I'm saying this as a PhD chemist. Engines require fuels to undergo a chemical reaction to produce work. The soda has no components that can undergo useful reactions in a combustion engine. Soda has carbon dioxide, water, sugar, and other compounds in negligible amounts. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of combustion, not a fuel. Water is already a very stable compound, it can't burn, that's why we throw it on fire. Sugar can burn, just not very well and there isn't very much of it.
    What this could be is that the liquid fuel is heated and vaporized before it hits the engine and the water vapor and carbon dioxide just don't interfere much with the combustion. However, this would only be diluting the actual petrochemical fuel.
    At best, this is diluted gas. At worst, it is a scam. In no case would an engine using 25% gas and 75% soda produce more work than engine using the same volume of pure gas.
    I'm not saying this as a proxy for the "greedy businessmen", I'm saying this as someone who understands thermodynamics and chemistry.
     Reply
    The Lab was starred The Lab was unstarred
    Image of Parentmk Parentmk
    08/04/09

    @The Lab: Apparently you missed the article months ago about the man who got water to burn ... [www.post-gazette.com]
    As a scientist you should be one of the first people to never doubt anything. People "knew" that the world was flat at one point too, but obviously that's changed. Until you can without a doubt prove that this man's machine does not work then maybe you shouldn't be so cynical.
     Reply
    The Lab promoted this comment Parentmk was starred Parentmk was unstarred
    Image of The Lab The Lab
    08/04/09

    @Parentmk: That's not water that is burning, that is hydrogen and oxygen. Also, there are things that we actually do "know" and this is firmly in that category. Just because you don't know science don't presume that there aren't experts who do.
     Reply
    The Lab was starred The Lab was unstarred
    Image of Brookespeed Brookespeed
    08/04/09

    @The Lab: Yes. In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!
     Reply
    The Lab promoted this comment Brookespeed was starred Brookespeed was unstarred
    Image of A3rd.Zero A3rd.Zero
    08/04/09

    @The Lab: I agree with everything you have said, but I take exception with the statement that there are things we "know". There are things we can see occurring many times in a laboratory setting, but that does not mean we know beyond a doubt that they function a certain way. You are an immeasurable variable in your own experiments (as Heisenberg said) and therefore no experiment is perfect. If no experiment is perfect then no theory proven on experimental evidence is "fact".
     Reply
    A3rd.Zero was starred A3rd.Zero was unstarred
    Image of The Lab The Lab
    08/04/09

    @A3rd.Zero: Scientists spend a lot of time describing how well we know something. Without going into detail, when something has been shown to be true through multiple, independent experiments with good statistics, those things are the most "known" and "true" things that man has measured. If you are to doubt chemistry and thermo, you are basically doubting the very idea of "knowing".
     Reply
    The Lab promoted this comment Edited by The Lab at 08/04/09 5:19 PM The Lab was starred The Lab was unstarred
    Image of arcanedark arcanedark
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    I like how the reporter says that its not that great because the price of 2 x 2 liter bottles is more then a gallion of gas. He is dumb because what he failed to realize is that IT RUNS OFF SODA AND NOT GASOLINE... remember that whole environment issue we got goin on? apparently not...
     Reply
    DeusExMach is not a star-bellied sneetch. promoted this comment arcanedark was starred arcanedark was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    08/04/09

    @arcanedark: you are dumb because IT DOES NOT RUN OFF SODA AT ALL.
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of WeedMonkey WeedMonkey
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    Omigod, it goes deeper than Utah public officials ... the US Patent Office is even involved! He was allegedly framed after he "refused to sell his patents," but the PTO doesn't have any record of any patent ever issued to Patone. Even the patent office has destroyed all evidence of his invention! I'll bet this goes all the way to the top.
     Reply
    DeusExMach is not a star-bellied sneetch. promoted this comment WeedMonkey was starred WeedMonkey was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    08/04/09

    @WeedMonkey: Albert Einstein?
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of m4ximusprim3 m4ximusprim3
    08/04/09

    @DeusExMach may or may not be a star-bellied...: No, even worse. He wrote his patent down the back of Obama's real Kenyan Birth certificate. Now it's hidden deep in a government vault inside a UFO inside of the center of the earth.
    Simple, see?
     Reply
    m4ximusprim3 was starred m4ximusprim3 was unstarred
    Image of nutbastard nutbastard
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    the CO2 would, one imagines, inhibit combustion. it seems to me using simple sugar water would be a cheaper and more reliable fuel - although this would be a great way to rid the world of mountain dew, AKA 'nectar of the tards'
     Reply
    nutbastard was starred nutbastard was unstarred
    Image of secretmanofagent secretmanofagent
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    I have an 80% Mountain-Dew powered vehicle, it's called my bicycle.
     Reply
    SuperSonik promoted this comment secretmanofagent was starred secretmanofagent was unstarred
    Image of valkilmerisawful valkilmerisawful
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    This is wack. Does it work with flat soda? I'm going to go ahead and say that while it might work, the ouput will be atrocious. Hydrocarbon fuel will have a much higher energy density. Sugars, proteins and lipids in the soda will deter deflegration. This man just bought himself a one-way ticket to Crazy Town.
     Reply
    valkilmerisawful was starred valkilmerisawful was unstarred
    Image of SarasiTelemachus SarasiTelemachus
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    Ok....I lowered myself and went to his website. Not a single mention or hint of the chemistry behind it. Just all press releases. No mention of any scientific proof, no mention of a reputable lab confirming his so called discovery .....BUT THERE's MORE !!! You can go to GEET school for $1500 !!! Payable only through PayPal !!! This screams scam and deluded inventor just like the guy who hyped several Tech blogs about his "Free Energy Engine" and then the day came and it failed because of a bad bearing causing friction.....hmmmm...hype and then when put in the public eye...ooopppss it failed. There is a GEET Google Video that is titled "Free Energy". Oh please! An independent study was done and IF this worked, gas would have to be over $4 a gal. to even break even on buying the pop. This is another sham. Oh and please dont quote me the "they said the same thing about (Edison, Bell...etc.).
     Reply
    Lite approved this comment SarasiTelemachus was starred SarasiTelemachus was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    08/04/09

    @SarasiTelemachus: Contrary to what the naysayers would have you believe, all we really need are an Orbo, a GEET, some Mountain Dew, a little duct tape and Richard Dean Anderson and we can be traveling the cosmos by Christmas!
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of Hoops Hoops
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    I think it's awesome how there's still a group of people in America that it is OK to denigrate. It's no longer "PC" to make fun of blacks, asians, hispanics, Jews, or gays. But at least the Mormons will always be fair game - it's the American way!! Such an enlightened country we are!! (...dripping with sarcasm...)
     Reply
    Hoops was starred Hoops was unstarred
    Image of closhedbb closhedbb
    08/04/09

    @Hoops: What do Mormons have to do with this at all?
    Is everything having to do with Italy a crack on the Catholics?
     Reply
    DeusExMach is not a star-bellied sneetch. promoted this comment closhedbb was starred closhedbb was unstarred
    Image of DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
    08/04/09

    @closhedbb: The pope is clearly in league with the mafia and Scientology to bring about the second American Revolution... the HIDDEN one!
     Reply
    DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was starred DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star. was unstarred
    Image of Lite: hates Illinois Nazis Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    No thank you. Turning your foodstuffs into fuel is generally a "bad thing" (TM). It increases the base food cost for everyone, but most especially the poor. And not just the poor in the US, but the poor in other countries as we gobble up their grains to build sugary syrups to use in fuel...
     Reply
    Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was starred Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was unstarred
    Image of Daveed Daveed
    08/04/09

    @Lite: When demand is high, we make adjustments to do produce the item.
    The problem that came up about using corn for fuel, is that the government already subsidizes corn. If we stopped subsidizing corn, we wouldn't need it as much as a cheap sweetner, and maybe demand would flatten out.
     Reply
    Lite promoted this comment Daveed was starred Daveed was unstarred
    Image of Lite: hates Illinois Nazis Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
    08/04/09

    @Daveed: Talk to people in Mexico about the rising prices in corn because it's more profitable for them to ship it to the US than turn it into food there...You know, where it's a staple food.

    Now, assuming that we can produce corn production to accommodate the needed supply. Well, the most common fertilizer in the US is Anhydrous Ammonia. The most common way to produce this is from Natural Gas and/or LP.

    Weird cycle eh?
     Reply
    Edited by Lite: hates Illinois Nazis at 08/04/09 2:24 PM Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was starred Lite: hates Illinois Nazis was unstarred
    Image of Jim Vernon Jim Vernon
    08/04/09

    In reply to Inventor Creates Mountain Dew-Fueled Engine, Gets Framed By Corrupt Utah Officials
    It's complete and utter nonsense. All it does is heat up gas so that it enters the engine as a vapor. Notice how he says it needs "hydrocarbons" (aka, gas)? The Mountain Dew doesn't really do anything other than add spectacle. Anyway, fuel injectors already do an excellent job of atomizing your fuel for combustion, and the computer in your car optimizes fuel delivery/air mix for complete combustion. There's no conspiracy.
     Reply
    deanbmmv promoted this comment Jim Vernon was starred Jim Vernon was unstarred
    Image of deanbmmv deanbmmv
    08/04/09

    @Jim Vernon: "Hydrocarbons" (aka, sugar) So I'd give him a chance.
     Reply
    deanbmmv was starred deanbmmv was unstarred
    Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

Login

Enter your username and password.

Please enter a username.
Please enter your password.
logging in
Login via Facebook | Sign Up | Forgot Password?

Reset Password

Please enter your email address to have your password reset.

Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
requesting password reset

Register

Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.

Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.

Please enter a username.
Please enter a password.
Please confirm your password.
Passwords are not identical.
Please enter a valid email address.
registration sent, waiting for reply

Submit Your Comment

You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.

See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.

Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
logging in

Login with your Facebook or Gizmodo account.

Sign up here.



  • Archives
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Legal
  • Help
  • Report a Bug
  • FAQ
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.