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Brown's Gas is allegedly a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gas, produced by the common-ducted electrolysis of water, promoted by Yull Brown as a fuel for welding, brazing, and the like. It is sometimes claimed by others to have special properties that defy the laws of physics.
Welding
In standard oxy-hydrogen welding (using separate tanks for each gas), the ratio of each gas in the mixture must be very carefully controlled before burning, as excess oxygen will result in oxidation of the metal, and excess hydrogen will result in hydrogen embrittlement.
Due to the way it is generated, Brown's gas is already in the perfect mixture required for this type of welding. Brown's welding devices use water electrolysis in a common chamber to generate a stoichiometric mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, which is then passed through a flash-back arrestor and into a burner, where it is ignited to create a flame.
This oxyhydrogen flame is also more convenient than fuels like acetylene due to the generation of gas on demand instead of buying and transporting containers of fuel. Brown's gas generators only require a source of water and electrical energy. While acetylene burns at 2670 °C, which is hotter than a hydrogen-air flame (2400 °C), the oxyhydrogen flame theoretically burns at a hotter 3100 °C.
Safety
Usual oxy-hydrogen welding apparatus keeps the gases separate tanks, due to the danger of explosion if the mixture is ignited inside a container. Brown includes a number of safety devices, however, such as porous plugs that allow gas through but not the heat of a flame, and claims that his welding device is safe. The current is varied so that gas is only generated as it is needed.
Atomic welding
Brown also describes "atomic welding" in his patents, in which an electric arc is passed through the mixture of gas before burning, so that the gas molecules break into atomic oxygen and hydrogen before recombining, producing a hotter flame ("218,000 cal. per gram mole").
Waste disposal
The high temperatures from burning Brown's gas can also be used for the vitrification of incinerator waste, turning the ash into a safer glass-like substance.
Anomalous effects
Many other claims about the gas are made by proponents, such as a "self-adjusting" temperature, in which the flame becomes hotter when directed at tougher materials, but becomes cool when touched briefly by a finger. This has been attributed to misinterpretations of infrared thermometer readings and the flame not emitting enough energy to burn the finger in such a short duration of time.
Brown's gas is claimed to be fundamentally different from oxyhydrogen because it implodes when ignited, rather than exploding. South Korean Hung-Kuk Oh of Ajou University claims that the implosion effect cannot be explained by modern physics, and proposes that the effect is caused by a "strong gravitational cavity" from "crystallizing π-bonding of hydrogen". Others point out that the effect can be explained simply by the rapid condensation of the resulting steam on the container's walls.
See also
- HHO gas
- Oxyhydrogen
- Oxyhydrogen flame
- Water torch, which also uses a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen made by electrolysis.
- Peer review
- Scientific method
References
- ^ US patent 4014777, Yull Brown, "Welding", issued 1977-03-29
- US patent 4081656, Yull Brown, "Arc-assisted oxy/hydrogen welding", issued 1978-03-28
- ^ Don Lancaster (1998-02). "Investigating Brown's gas, a tiny TV generator, and more". Electronics Now. Vol. 69, no. 2. p. 22.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Vitrification of Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Fly Ash Using Brown's Gas". Retrieved 2007-04-05.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Oh, Hung-Kuk (1999-10-15). "Some comments on implosion and Brown gas". Journal of Materials Processing Technology. 95 (1–3): 8–9.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)