OrionWorks
Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:58:26 -0700
>From Mr. Carrell: > The significant task remaining is to automate the > process of preparation and reconstitution of the > fuel. Since conventional chemistry is involved, it > is in principle doable, but doing may require clever > engineering and iterations to get it right. > Typically such projects are far more costly than one > might think. The engineering challenges as described by Mr. Carrell seem entirely realistic, and more importantly, doable from my POV. I have every faith that we simians are up to the challenge. Shoot! We've been to the Moon in back. It is one of the reasons I continue to suspect BLP may very well have finally skinned the rabbit despite PZ's strategically applied skepticism. However, and here's the catch, the development challenges BLP is about to embark on concern me deeply. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they concern me gravely. BLP claims that they anticipate having a prototype operational possibly before the end of 2010. Every instinctual fiber within my body tells me that this timetable will very likely turn out to be unrealistic at practically every corner they encounter. As Mr. Carrell has eluded, no one has ever attempted to manipulate this particular arrangement of chemistry in the fashion required - to make the BLP process self-regenerative. I gather there has never been a NEED to study and subsequently manipulate the chemistry in the manner required - until now. There's going to be a lot of learning and unavoidable mistakes made as engineers gain experience - painfully, slowly, one step at a time. I hope the difficulty of the challenges ahead have been made clear to BLP's key investors. I hope they have the capacity to appreciate how difficult (and potentially expensive) the initial challenge is likely to be. My fear is that key investors may begin to lose heart and begin withholding essential funding. I hope my concerns are mostly irrational and overblown. > With time it will get easier and then ordinary and > miniaturized for the proverbial water heater and > lawnmower. Intermediate steps may include service > station hydrogen generators for modified gasoline > cars, high capacity battery chargers for BLP- > battery vehicles, etc. > > Mike Carrell There is so much irony in the development cycle. It starts out outrageously expensive and typically well over budget the first time around. Eventually it's outsourced to China and Malaysia. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks