The Most Suppressed Invention
by Mike Brown
Tales of high-mileage carburetors suppressed by the
automotive industry and "free energy" devices suppressed by the power
companies abound. There is even a story that has been surfacing occasionally
concerning a "powder" that converts ordinary tap water into motor
fuel.
The irony is that free energy has been ours for the taking
for over a hundred years from a device that was invented over 200 years ago:
the simple steam engine.
Admittedly, the internal combustion engine (a steam engine
uses external combustion) is more efficient. An automobile engine will work at
about 25-28% efficiency. A steam engine will work at only 5-8% efficiency.
On that basis it would appear that the steam engine is only
another archaic, outmoded way to produce power, on par with the mule, the
windmill, and the water wheel.
At least, it appears that way. There are apparently people
in position of influence who know better. A trip to the local public or college
library may disabuse you of the notion that steam power is "no competition"
to our modern engines.
First, you will find that over 90% of the power (primarily
for electricity) in the United States is produced by steam, primarily from
steam turbines.
Second, you will be able to find plenty of books in a
library on solar power, wind power, water power, petroleum power, and the like.
When you get to the "how-to" section on piston steam engines, you
will find an area that looks like it has been gone through by a vacuum cleaner
designed to suck out books on that subject.
Third, a little basis arithmetic will show that the basic
piston steam engine has not -- and cannot be -- surpassed for efficiency even
to this day.
A steam engine consists of the engine itself, and a furnace
with a boiler. The furnace provides the heat source to heat up the water in the
boiler. When the water in the boiler turns to steam it expands and in turn
drives the piston--or pistons--of the steam engine.
Your basic boilers are generally firetube, water tube, and
monotube boilers. Fuel source can be either liquid or solid, such as used
crankcase oil (liquid) or ground-up corncobs (solid). Natural gas can also be
used. As you can readily see, the cost of the fuel, even though you will need a
lot more of it, is much cheaper.
For example, 120 pounds of gasoline (20 gallons) will cost
you slightly over $20.00. 1,000 pounds of coal will cost about the same. As
long ago as 1946 steam locomotives had reached such a level of efficiency that
one ton (including the weight of the train itself) could be moved one mile on
the tracks with a teacup full of water and 2 ounces of coal.
This may seem like an exaggeration. However, bear in mind
that the energy required to lift 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute (the
proper way to measure one horsepower) is nowhere near the energy required to
maintain the speed of an object in motion rolling along a relatively
friction-free surface (railroad tracks).
For example, a 5,000 pound vehicle on steel railroad tracks
will travel approximately five (5) times as far on a gallon of fuel as the same
vehicle with rubber tires on the interstate will.
Ground-up corncobs would obviously be much cheaper. A farmer
spending $25,000 a year for fuel in his tractors could cut that cost to zero.
The other item that is frequently overlooked is that, while
an internal combustion engine may be 28% efficient, the energy required to
produce the fuel renders the gasoline engine less efficient than the steam
engine.
To use an analogy, we get media hype about the
"non-polluting electric car." No one pays any attention to the
coal-fired power plant belching dust into the air to create that electricity.
A steam engine can run on the products at hand -- sawdust,
wood, corncobs, etc. No one counts the cost and energy consumption of bringing
crude oil out of the ground, refining it, shipping it to terminals and service
stations, and all the rest.
It gets better. As we have just shown you, the net cost of
operating a steam engine is lower than anything else on the planet that
requires fuel. You can run an automobile on farmer's alcohol. You can run a
diesel on vegetable oil. Both examples are still more costly and labor
intensive (to produce the fuel) than steam.
You may never have to replace the steam engine itself. Steam
engines do not form carbon (a major wear factor) and turn fairly slowly. Steam
engines have other advantages that, in regards to the wear factor, outclass
gasoline engines. Steam engines normally have much larger bearing surfaces
against the crankshaft. Steam engines have no "side-loading" as gas
engines do and, on a "double-acting" steam engine (steam pressure is
alternately exerted against each side of the piston) there is a
"cushion" effect that protects the engine still further. One steam
engine in England ran 24 hours a day from 1800 to 1950.
SIDEBAR
Internal combustion gasoline engines wear out so rapidly,
compared to a steam engine, that it almost seems they were designed that way.
The ways an internal combustion gasoline engine can wear itself out are
numerous:
Carbon Formation
Unburned gasoline forms carbon in cylinder heads and on
piston tops. When you hear an engine knock or "ping" the cause is
quite often a hot piece of carbon igniting the fuel-air mixture at the same
time the spark plug fires. The resulting noise is caused by the flame fronts
colliding in the combustion chamber. Much of this occurs below the level of
human hearing.
Valve Springs
Valve springs can wear out and lose their tension,
especially if allowed to remain fixed in one position for too long, as when a car
is parked for months.
Poppet Valves
The steam engine in the photos uses a slide valve. I.e., it
slides back and forth over a smooth surface. Normal car valves bang
against their valve seats and wear accordingly.
Piston Rings
High rpm and side-loading cause high wear.
Heat
A steam engine will almost never operate at temperatures of
over 800 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature generated in a gasoline
engine will almost never go below 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat is a major
wear factor.
Design
Steam engineers designed their engines to last. No one
has ever accused gasoline engine designers of the same design goal.
