From the April 2005 Idaho Observer:

Gas prices demand return of fearless American ingenuity

by Don Harkins

The first Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line in 1913. Though a 2005 Ford Explorer looks a lot different than a Model T and is a much more comfortable ride, the gas-powered, internal combustion engine is barely more efficient today than it was nearly 100 years ago.

To fully appreciate the lack of innovation in this area, one must only review how quickly radio, TV, photography and electronics have evolved.

The difference is politics. People on the cutting edge of technological development in most fields are rewarded financially for their ingenuity; people developing alternatives to oil, or improving the efficiency of products powered by oil are routinely assassinated—professionally or physically.

As of this writing, SUV-driving, long-vacation taking, gas-guzzling Americans are being blamed for the pending world financial collapse. Why? Because gas supplies are low and Americans insist upon taking more of their fair share so prices are purely a result of supply not being able to keep up with demand.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have observed that U.S. motorists’ demand for gasoline has increased 1.8 percent in the last year and it is the engine escalating gas prices worldwide. Citing these international entities as authorities on the subject, foreign and domestic media have adopted the selfish-gas-guzzling-Americans explanation for gas prices that may not stop increasing any time soon.

Not mentioned is the sharp increases in demand from developing nations, China in particular. Also not mentioned is how beligerant U.S. foreign policy is negatively impacting trade relations with oil-producing nations.

The only comment from the White House is that Congress should pass the president’s "energy plan." Details of the president’s energy plan are not clear, but it does not address the immediate problem of global economic collapse from rising gas prices.

It appears that circumstances call for innovative Americans to quietly begin developing ways to increase fuel efficiency for gas-powered automobiles as a stop-gap measure for our current predicament. We should also look to the immediate future for transporting ourselves wherever we want to go—without filling up a gas tank.

More efficient carburation: There is an array of gas efficiency innovations dating from the 30s to the present. For those with Internet access, mechanical expertise and a desire to make something work and tell two friends and so on, here’s the picture as assembled from books, magazine articles and websites over the years:

Most of the energy generated by internal combustion is lost through heat. So, the heat should be put to work. The gas can be heated and vaporized prior to combustion. The efficiency can be increased dramatically, but may cause a 20 percent drop in power.

I’ll not go into the details because of space and because the information is readily available to those who want to find it. It’s also relatively simple and lots of people have done it over the decades. There is one catch: Gasoline additives.

We have been told that lead and other substances have been added to gasoline to reduce harmful emissions and keep engines clean. Whether they do or not is debatable. What is not debatable is how they inhibit vaporization for this specific purpose. There have been reports that ingenious people have developed filters to remove these additives but they are dead now.

To experiment with vaporization systems, one should either develop a filter to remove vapor-inhibiting additives or use white gas.

Next month

There are a few working examples of gas/internal combustion alternatives that work. If you cannot wait until next month, here are a few leads provided to The IO by subscriber Dave Lonier in Michigan:

The McMaster Rotary Engine: Harold McMaster of Genoa, Ohio, has spent decades and $millions developing an an electrolysis-driven engine on the following principle: "The solar system is the very soul of order. And at its heart, the force that imposes order on what once was chaos is none other than the sun. So, putting the sun inside our engine makes a whole lot of sense."

www.mcmastermotor.com

A-21 fuel: Dennis Grover of Reno confirms that German born inventor Rudolf Gunnermann was running two vehicles, one a Monte Carlo, all over Reno for years on A-21—an emulsion of water and naptha. He got 40 miles to the gallon (which could be produced for pennies). Vehicles running on A-21 also measured a 60 percent drop in harmful emissions. His fuel worked. It’s still working.

www.sulphco.com/index.htm

Tesla engine: By the 30s, Nicola Tesla had developed and demonstrated a variety of engines powered by gas, electricity and the aetherium (ambient enregy). "The success of my propulsion scheme is about as certain as the law of gravity," Tesla said. The book, "Tesla’s Engine: A New Dimension for Power" compiled by Jeffrey Hayes (1994) gives excellent descriptions of Tesla’s work in this area. An article in the Jan./Feb 2005 edition of NEXUS Magazine entitled "Tesla’s Aether-Powered Car" is also very helpful to our understanding.

Note: Why haven’t we been able to overcome the oil companies and have access to these inventions? It’s because of our desire to develop something, secure patents and make money. Many innovators have paid the ultimate price for their trouble. The love of money is the root of all evil. If we quietly develop an alternative, then tell two friends...and so on...we can overcome the oil companies and our rewards will be many. The reason we do not have these inventions now is because we haven’t advanced them properly