On Mon, 1 Apr 2002, kilopascal wrote: > ... I don't think it is the heat energy that is converted into mechanical > energy.
That thought is wrong, John, without any doubt whatsoever. > I think the heat is an unwanted by-product of combustion. True, John, for *most* of the heat, but about 15% to 20% of the heat is converted to mechanical energy, as Bill Hooper and others have explained. That is a limitation of *all* heat engines (at best, even Carnot cycles). On the other hand, "fuel cells" have the *potential* of converting about 80% to 90% of the chemical energy in fuels (with none of the common form of combustion) into the most useful form of energy, electrical energy. Gene.
