Water Capacitor

Hypothesis

A new method for splitting the water molecule, showing few of the characteristics of conventional electrolysis, offers an economical method to produce hydrogen gas.

Description

US Patents and Technology Duplications

The hydrogen gas production shown is purportedly achieved by applying a low-current (0.5 - 4.0 amp), pulse-width modulated (PWM) voltage potential to a resonant circuit, in which water (no electrolyte) works as both the dielectric material in the capacitors and the source of hydrogen gas output. ^[2]

Since the US patents (expired on 27 June 2007) for a similar device were granted under Section 101, the hardware involved in the patents has been examined experimentally by US Patent Office experts and their seconded experts and all the claims have been established.^[3][4][5]

Unfortunately, no clear theory of operation was put forward in the US patents or elsewhere. Moreover, the potential for the Water Capacitor to produce combustible fuel using a low power electronic circuit has been sharply criticized as pseudoscience, possibly owing to the fact that it was not studied in an academic setting, nor discussed in engineering literature prior to the untimely death of the inventor.^[6] Nevertheless, two foreign corporations (Consorcio LAESA, Ltd., and Xogen, Inc.) report having successfully reproduced the technology.^[7][8][9]

Scott H. Cramton, Ph.D. Water Capacitor is shown here producing 15 psi of gas in only 30 seconds using 1.2 - 1.3 amps @ 3.49V. The voltage potential is pulsed at 4.73 Khz. [10]

Scott H. Cramton, Ph.D., an American electrical engineer with Consorcio LAESA, Ltd., reportedly operates a nine-capacitor, 1 amp device at resonance using a phased-locked-loop (PLL) circuit of his own design, producing 6 liters / minute (9.51 gallons / hour) of gas.

Other Evidence for Reproducibility

Also, technical documentation, photographic and video media, available through social networking sites, offer further evidence of the Water Capacitor's reproducibility. ^[11][12][13]

Mr. Dave Lawton, a former instrument designer at Rutherford Labs, United Kingdom, reportedly operated a multi-capacitor device using 3-4 amps at 12.5V, producing gas aggressively in distilled water with no electrolyte.[14]

• Ravi Raju of India, reportedly operates a multi-capacitor unit using 0.5 amps of current, producing approximately 0.45 liters of gas per minute (7.13 gallons / hour ) using water (no electrolyte).

Possible Mechanism of Action

The mechanism by which the covalent bonds in the water molecules are broken without the use of an electrolyte remains a mystery. The author speculates that the water splitting process might be related to sonoluminescence (SL), where in the SL plasma model, shock waves occur in imploding micro-cavitations -- heating the dissolved gas sufficiently for it to become ionized, releasing on the order of one billion electrons.^[15][16]

Sonoluminescence (SL) is a process in which a micron-sized, distilled water bubble containing trace amounts of a nobel gas, undergoing the process of cavitation, transduces resonant ultrasonic sound waves (100 Hz) into a picosecond pulse (e.g. 50 ps) of light with an estimated 6 eV of energy. (see [17])
a modest .2 atmosphere shock wave yields a flash of sonoluminescence with an average power of 150 Watts (Dr. Putterman, UCLA, Gallery) [18]	Seth Putterman, PhD, UCLA[16](for a description of Watts see [19])

Water Capacitor candidate sources for micro-cavitations include:

• dissolved gasses
• impurities in the capacitor plate material (e.g. nickle, chromium)
• dissociated water molecules.

While several technologies, such as medical sterilization devices, have exploited the high temperatures and pressures of cavitation, there are no known uses of micro-cavitation processes for extracting useful energy.^[20]

If indeed the water splitting process involves micro-cavitation, then plasma electrolysis may be occurring. ^[21] This would also fit observables (experimenters report that the Water Capacitors glow the dark).

Anticipated Behavior

If micro-cavitations are contributing excess electrons to the water splitting process, a short-circuit condition is expected to occur across the capacitor plates during gas production. Such a condition will make the circuit behave as a classical forced oscillator (e.g. see resonant charging circuit^[22]). Observing this behavior during experimentation using an oscilloscope could lend support to idea that micro-cavitations are present.

It is also anticipated that the water capacitors, water, and attached gas collection equipment will remain at a constant temperature, even after several hours of gas production. This would be in stark contrast to conventional electrolysis of water, where an electrical overpotential is required to drive the reaction, leading to significant heat losses.

Circuit Designs

Lawton

Mr. Dave Lawton enhanced the Voltage Intensifier Circuit from the US patent to use a solid state MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) in place of analog inductor coils. Mr. Lawton reports observing the potential on the capacitors reach 1200V.^[23]

Cramton Circuit Design

Scott Cramton, Ph.D. designed this phase-locked-loop (PLL) circuit to enable the system to continuously operate at the resonant frequency. (Dr. Cramton received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Columbus University

History of Electrolysis

Although the precursor to the electric storage battery, the voltaic pile, was invented by Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) in 1800, the physics of the electrochemical battery were not adequately understood until 100 year later, when Latvian chemist, and 1909 Nobel Prize winner, Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1932) propounded a theory of solutions based on ionic dissociation. In 1884 Otwald defined the process of catalysis - the process in which the rate of a chemical reaction is either increased or decreased by means of a chemical substance known as a catalyst. ^[24][25]

Summary

A novel method for splitting the water molecule, using water as an integral component of a resonant electronic circuit, hints of a possible energy use. A power generation solution that integrates the Water Capacitor might be used to decentralize power production, and reduce dependence on grid power.

Table 1: Conventional Electrolysis vs. Water Capacitor
Electrolysis of Water (Prior Art)	Voltage Dissociation of Water Molecule (WC)
Sodium hydroxides or Potassium hydroxides must be added to distilled water (typically 20% per liquid volume)	Uses water (no electrolytes)
Added electrolytes create a "dead short" condition, not allowing voltage potential to exceed two volts, while linear amp flow proportionally determines gas production.	pulse-width modulated (PWM) voltage potential leads to a peak voltage on the water capacitor plates of about 1200V. The mechanism by which the covalent bond in the water molecules are broken without an electrolyte remains a mystery.
Water electrolysis does not convert 100% of the electrical energy into the chemical energy of hydrogen. The process requires more extreme potentials than what would be expected based on the cell's total reversible reduction potentials. This excess potential accounts for various forms of overpotential by which the extra energy is eventually lost as heat.[26]	Electronic circuit which produces high voltages, while limiting current. Water is used as a dielectric in the circuit's capacitors and as a source of hydrogen gas. Thus, the dielectric is accelerating during gas production.
Yields 1 cubic centimeter of gas per 1 amp/hr @ 2 volts potential	48.7K cubic centimeters of gas per 0.5 amp / hr @ 12.5 volts potential (4.4 cc of gas per 0.5 amp / hr @ 2 volts potential)
Contaminants and chemical additives (electrolyte) cause a residue to form on the electrodes terminating the electrolysis prematurely	Stainless Steel material (decomposition rate 0.0001 / year) release only hydrogen, oxygen and dissolved gases from water (no electrolyte).

Learn More

• http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/LCresonance.html - LC Oscillations and Resonance
• http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/WFCreport.pdf - US Patent test report
• http://www.nationalhydrogenfoundation.org/NHF-Library.html - National Hydrogen Foundation Library
• http://magnegas.com/index.html - Magnegas
• http://xogen.ca - Xogen Technology, Inc.