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Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
Army scientists and engineers recently made a groundbreaking discovery -- an aluminum nanomaterial of their design produces high amounts of energy when it comes in contact with water, or with any liquid containing water.
During routine materials experimentation at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, a team of researchers observed a bubbling reaction when adding water to a nano-galvanic aluminum-based powder.
"We all as a team were very excited and ecstatic that something good had happened," said Dr. Anit Giri, a physicist with the lab's Weapons and Materials Research Directorate.
The team further investigated and found that water -- two molecules[sic] of hydrogen and one of oxygen -- splits apart when coming into contact with their unique aluminum nanomaterial.
The reaction surprised the researchers, but they soon considered its potential implications for future power and energy applications.
Source: https://www.army.mil/article/191212/army_discovery_may_offer_new_energy_source
(Score: 3, Informative) by VLM on Sunday August 13 2017, @01:28PM
That's interesting but kind of strange AC.
If you're bored google for "Development of the flameless ration heater" generations of soldiers since 1990 have thought that its aluminum powder and a solid base powder that activate with water to generate heat which turns out to not even remotely be how they work although thats interesting. How they actually work is what if you made a magnesium iron battery with no electrolyte separator and a dry powdered electrolyte and then add 2 oz of water (you'll need a hell of a lot more than 2 oz to wash down a MRE anyway) The byproducts are flammable H2 and semi-corrosive sem-dangerous slop. If you add too much water the reaction can't kick off correctly and the amount of time it takes to kick off depends on outside temps. You can get an interesting burn from them so all the theory about "heat a ration in your pants pocket" is physically possible at least in winter but probably not advisable. There were other problems like some early generation heaters used cardboard that would mush up if left too long and some trash bags could be melted thru. Obviously once started they can't stop. Presumably some magic heat powder would be sprinkled on and when you don't want more heat you stop sprinkling.
I have a URL for the DoD report in question
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a265693.pdf [dtic.mil]
Anyway the short version is something less corrosive and more human compatible might be nice so this nanoparticle stuff which would probably be implemented as "MRE heater 2.0"
Its not a very large amount of energy but it is really nice to have hot spaghetti and meatballs for lunch when you're sitting out in the field in the cold rain all week.