199 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
199 lines
8.9 KiB
Plaintext
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(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2)
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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
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PO BOX 1031
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Mesquite, TX 75150
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There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
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on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
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files on KeelyNet!
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August 12, 1991
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LEACH2.ASC
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This file shared with KeelyNet courtesy of Chris Lightener.
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Inventor Planning Hydrogen-Powered Car
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By Robert Lindsey
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(Special to The York Times)
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Los Angeles, April 20 - Sam Leslie Leach, the inventor of a
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controversial process that he contends can economically separate the
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hydrogen and oxygen in water, says he has refined his design and
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begun building a system that will be capable of running an
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automobile on hydrogen derived from water.
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Mr. Leach's invention has been the subject of both mystery and
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controversy since he said in 1976 that he had devised an
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economically efficient means of splitting water, a contention that
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promised a cheap source of hydrogen as a replacement for fossil
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fuel.
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Mr. Leach, a multimillionaire professional inventor who has
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several basic patents in the field of optics, has been trying to
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interest the Federal Government and industry in his concept for more
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than three years, but has been largely ignored.
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For the most part, scientists have ridiculed the concept,
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arguing that it violated basic laws of physics. Any system of
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splitting water, they contend, has to consume more energy than it
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produces.
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Positive Evaluation
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Mr. Leach has refused to discuss the details of his system or
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how it purportedly works. but last spring an innovation research
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center at the University of Oregon financed by the National Science
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Foundation evaluated part of the technology over a period of two
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weeks and concluded that, that based on its analysis, it did not
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violate the laws of physics or thermodynamics.
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The center said that the process appeared to be technically
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sound and have commercial potential, but its report did not dampen
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skepticism in the scientific community.
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Page 1
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Two critics of the system, Howard Riese and Donald Bunker, both
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professors at the University of California, argued, for example,
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that it was impossible for such a system to work as Mr. Leach
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contends because, in effect, it would be a "perpetual motion
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machine." The inventor denies such a characterization.
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In an interview, Mr. Leach said that he had declined to make
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public any details until he had protected his rights to the process.
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Last fall, he received a patent on some elements of the process.
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Last week a second was issued by the United States Patent Office.
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After its issuance he agreed to give some details of how the system
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purportedly works.
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How System Operates
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In its simplest terms, he said, the process utilizes a
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lazer-like device to generate ultraviolet radiation that
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photochemically splits steam into oxygen and hydrogen. It then
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utilizes the electrostatic forces that normally bind electrons and
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protons in water vapor (and which are released in the water-
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splitting action) to maintain the reaction.
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In 1922, Niels Bohr, the Danish theoretical physicist, first
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defined the electrostatic forces that bind electrons and protons as
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"extranuclear" energy. Mr. Leach's contention that he has found a
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way to use the energy in the way he describes is likely to evoke
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additional skepticism from other scientists.
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But he asserts that the process he utilizes to maintain the
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water-splitting action is identical with one observed by astronomers
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in energy interactions that occur in gaseous nebulae, the great
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masses of interstellar gas that absorb ultraviolet radiation from
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stars and re-emit it as visible light.
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The following is a more detailed account of how Mr. Leach says
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the system works:
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The reaction is started with an input of electrical energy from
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outside the system, from a battery or electric line. This
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energy is converted, by using an "optical pump" and other
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components, into large amounts of ultraviolet radiation of a
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specific wavelength that is precisely tailored to ionize
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hydrogen and oxygen molecules in the steam that has been fed
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into a tubular reaction chamber.
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The chamber is flooded with the radiation. During the
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ionization, electrons are momentarily liberated from their
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atoms and molecules.
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Ionization and Radiation
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Microseconds later they are recaptured and recombined with the
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proton or nucleus of the atom. At this point, the energy that was
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required to ionize it reappears and radiates away.
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This radiation then ionizes another molecule. Very soon a chain
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reaction begins that involves millions of molecules and atoms.
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The process's concept, Mr. Leach said, manipulates the
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Page 2
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recombination of electrons and protons as hydrogen and oxygen
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instead of water vapor. Some of the hydrogen, he said, can be used
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to generate electricity to continue the initial input to the process
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and, in effect, be SELF-SUSTAINING AS LONG AS WATER IS PUMPED INTO
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THE SYSTEM.
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In 1975, before he publicized his work, the Presley companies,
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a southern California home builder, acquired an option on the
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process from Mr. Leach for use in home heating. The Securities and
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Exchange Commission investigated the company and alleged that it had
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issued false statements regarding its capabilities. Subsequently,
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Mr. Leach reacquired the option for the same price Presley paid for
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it.
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Mr. Leach asserted that he had demonstrated the validity of his
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theory in 11 experimental machines that split water into hydrogen
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and oxygen. He said that the machine now being built for use in an
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automobile was of a more sophisticated design and was intended to
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drive a 245-horsepower automobile.
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A spokesman for a company that is assembling the device under a
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contract with Mr. Leach said it was hoped the machine would be ready
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for testing in early summer.
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Scientists have tried for more than a century to separate water
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into its two components, oxygen and hydrogen. Electrolysis, nuclear
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reactors and other means have been employed to do so, but every
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method has consumed far more energy that the hydrogen that was
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produced.
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The availability of a cheap source of hydrogen would have
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immense implications for the world economy. Not only could hydrogen
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be used as a substitute for gasoline, but it would also be used as a
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replacement for home heating fuels and other energy sources.
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NYT April 21,1979
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
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as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
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Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
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Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
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Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
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Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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Page 3
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