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As a physicist I felt I needed to comment on this:
>> Using a configuration of salt water, air and magnesium (SAM),
>> the SAM-Cell generates clean electricity with no noise, no
>> pollution and is non-toxic.
>
> Interesting theory, common amongst hydrogen proponents.
> Turns Out Water Vapor is a greenhouse gas. (really...)
Only according to *some* atmospheric models. The oceans evaporate
more water vapor every day than human activity could ever produce
via power generation. Water vapor also condenses back into its
liquid state under normal atmospheric temperature and pressure
variations, while other greenhouse gases don't.
> Its cleanliness is psychological. ALSO, any hydrogen
> cycle is a net energy loss: need to put 200W or so in
> to get that 100W out...
It's worse for fossil fuels. I remember learning in physics
class that the kinetic energy one gets from an automobile is some
ridiculous low number, like 2% of the total of the potential energy
in the fuel plus the energy used to extract and refine it.
The energy loss for making hydrogen depends how it's produced.
If one uses renewable sources (solar panels and electrolysis for
example), one gets the hydrogen effectively free, after an initial
capital investment in the solar panels. In contrast, one cannot use
renewable sources for producing more fossil fuels.
> I'm not a chemist (I am an electrical engineer)
> Apparently they are reacting the water with the
> Mg to create H for the fuel cell. Leaves an
> interesting soup of metal salts for disposal.
Unless the Mg is used as a catalyst, but I doubt it -- I think
you're right.
>> It is priced at $350 (U.S.)
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> I would compare that pricing (and its size, and the
> 'fuelling' details, and the tech details (how long,
> how big, how often the Mg needs replacement (?).)
> with conventional (battery) UPS or UPS plus Gen-set.
Mark Brown built one of his own using conventional batteries and an
inverter, for about $2000 I recall. For that price one could buy
several of these fuel cell things, and hook them up in parallel. I
don't know how the performance would compare to Mark's, nor how much
more inconvenient the fuel cells would be to have around.
-Alex
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