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Aquygen is an allegedly unique molecular arrangement of gas; the byproduct of a form of electrolysis a businessman named Denny Klein in Clearwater, Florida claims to have developed. Skeptics, such as James Randi, have refuted this technology to be little more than a combination of pseudoscience and conventional electrolysis, which has been known about for well over a century. Denny Klein runs a company called Hydrogen Technology Applications, Inc., The technology he espouses is claimed to electrolyze water for use as an "alternative to and enhancer of fossil fuels." This alleged technology was featured on several news programs, including CNN and Fox news, but has not undergone the scrutiny of peer reviewed scientific literature. The claims made by Klein closely resemble those of Stanley Meyer who was convicted of fraud in Ohio for an alleged fuel cell design which would have theoretically violated the Law of Conservation of Energy.
Due to the resemblance of these claims to previous hoaxes and Denny Klein's failure to publish anything about his technology in recognized scientific peer-reviewed journals, or to submit his technologies to professional scrutiny, this phenomena has very little credibility in the realm of actual physics, but is notable none-the-less due to the attention it garnered in the media.
Alleged variation of electrolysis
According to Klein, the electrolyzer is "common ducted", which he claims produces a hydrogen and oxygen mixture that is molecularly different from the oxyhydrogen mixture produced in typical independently ducted electrolyzers; oxyhydrogen contains a 2:1 ratio of diatomic hydrogen and oxygen, whereas the result of common ducting produces additional molecular configurations other than purely H2 and O2.
This gas is given a variety of names, such as HHO gas (Hybrid Hydrogen Oxygen), Brown's Gas (for Yull Brown), Rhodes Gas, or Green Gas. It is claimed to contain a variety of hydrogen and oxygen allotropes in accordance with the "magnecule" theory proposed by controversial physicist Ruggero Santilli; for example, according to chromatography there are small quantities of 5 atom hydrogen allotropes, and large quantities of 5 atom oxygen allotropes. The magnecule theory also makes claims about monatomic hydrogen and oxygen existing at relatively low pressures and temperatures. Klein holds several patents and patents pending on products for high-tech industries, such as US application 20,060,075,683 .
Claimed practical applications
Welding
The allegedly unique variant of the electrolysis process was originally claimed to be useful for welding/soldering torches, able to weld glass, copper, aluminum, and carbon steel. During the demonstration on CNN this was the only process seen. What was seen did not necessarily match the claims of the broadcast. For instance, a ball made of steel which was heated and seen to turn bright red was not seen to melt, yet the journalist stated it had turned to liquid steel when it was still clearly solid and structurally resilient. The type of torch used would not have a hot tip under ordinary circumstances of use even though the flame a short distance from the tip would be extremely hot, yet Klein states only a torch using his unique form of gas would behave this way, which is not an accurate statement to say the least. The fact that the gas is ignited a distance away from the tip is why many forms of blow torches do not melt themselves.
As a fuel or fuel additive
Klein's website claimed that the gas was useful as a "primary fuel source or a fuel additive" for water-fueled cars, and proclaims, "Imagine cutting steel or running a car with ordinary water." Klein has been featured in local news programs, videos of which are shown on the company website and have been passed around the Internet. The videos claim that the gas can be used by itself to fuel cars and electrical generators. They are far from explicit.
The only demonstration of the technology in a car, however, is a hybrid vehicle that allegedly uses the electrolyzed gas as a fuel additive in combination with gasoline. News reports claim that this improves engine efficiency by 50%, but no substantiation has been offered by Klein beyond that. Klein says, "On a hundred mile trip, we use about 4 ounces of water". These designs and claims were not subjected to any sort of rigorous scientific scrutiny. Aside from the outrageous fuel efficiency Klein claims, the performance and design of his vehicle could be explained by battery powered design that utilizes, possibly ostensibly, some conventional form of electrolysis.
Criticism
The radical claims of Klein's alleged technology remain unscrutinized by any sort of peer reviewed scientific literature. Many skeptics, such as James Randi, have censured this alleged technology as fraud.
Third party analysis of Denny Klein's company reveals Hydrogen Technology Applications (HTA) may have aspects of defraudment. HTA Inc. leads investors to believe that HHO has no history to support their patent claim that HHO is not Brown's Gas. Third party testing shows HHO to be indistinguishable from Brown's Gas. Therefore HTA may be misinforming investors.
There are questions as to whether the claims made in HTA's patents are legitimate or false. The general consensus is that patents were made on 'public domain' technology to convince uninformed investors that HTA has a unique gas (which has not been proven).
See also
References
- "Fire water". Swift: Online Newsletter of the JREF. May 26, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
- http://hytechapps.com/company/press
- Aquygen website
- "That HHO iddea isn't new". Swift: Online Newsletter of the JREF. June 9, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-01.
- YouTube search for "Denny Klein"
- A more recent news broadcast aired in Channel 2 News in California
- Santilli, Ruggero Maria (2006). "A new gaseous and combustible form of water". International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 31 (9): pp. 1113-1128. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2005.11.006.
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