Very interesting Frank, As I was reading this, I was expecting to see sonochemistry mentioned - and am somewhat surprised that it is not an alternative way to get nano-particles of (whatever) into the oil.
Of even greater interest would be the nano-chemistry of carbon in good old H2O ... to be used as a "fuel" of course. Wouldn't you love to know what the minimum level of nano-particulated coal which could be ignited in an ICE - it could result in something like carbon reforming in-situ and might very possibly power the vehicle with less overall CO2 than than petrol - but that is pure speculation based on the superior properties of steam over CO2 for translating heat to work . BTW a friend of mine collects old glass bottles once used in so-called "patent medicines" in the 1800s in the USA. One of funniest was kind of like mugwump http://www.answers.com/topic/mugwump-png but aimed at recently freed slaves, and may have been the genesis of the vulgar meaning of 'clap'... anyway, I doubt if it invovled either sonchemistry or a real cure, and in 100 years some teenage geeks will be looking back at these old messages from 2005 and get a similar laugh at our level of ignorance. That is progress... Jones ========================================================== > Oct 6th 2005 > From The Economist print edition > > A dose of Clap > > Putting dust in your engine sounds crazy. But it > might > not be. > > ALTHOUGH they need to fire their brand > consultants, the > inventors of Clap — an additive intended to > improve the > fuelefficiency of car engines—seem to be on to > something. > By pulverising a mineral called serpentine into > particles > a millionth of a millimetre in diameter, they have > come > up with an additive which, they claim, can improve > the > fuel consumption of old car engines by as much as > 10%. > And, a millionth of a metre being a nanometre > (sic), > they are also claiming that their product is an > example > of that much talked of, but little-seen field > known as > nanotechnology. > > The Clap project began in 1979 at the presciently > named > Institute of Nanotechnology in Moscow. The idea > was to > produce not a fuel additive, but a lubricant > additive. > The institute's engineers, led by Fiodor > Wischnjewsky, > thought that adding a suitably fine powder to an > old > engine's oil would effect continuous running > repairs by > filling in tiny cracks and abrasions in the > cylinders > and pistons. These irregularities make combustion > inefficient, which increases both fuel consumption > and > pollution. > > This being first the Soviet Union and then Russia, > > nothing much happened until 2002 when Francesco > Meneguzzo, an engineer at the Biometeorology > Laboratory > in Florence, got wind of the project. Then things > started > moving. > > The Italians ditched the Russians' efforts to > design > copper, zinc, aluminium and silver nanopowders. > These > rendered the oil too fluid. Instead, they > concentrated > on serpentine, a substance rich in magnesium > silicate > which was found to cling efficiently to the > internal > surfaces of all common petrol and diesel engines. > > The problem was how to crush this mineral into > small > enough particles on an industrial scale. > Industrial > grinding mills made of hardened steel cannot be > used > since they release heavy metals into the milled > rock, > replicating the problems of metallic nanopowders. > To > overcome this, the engineers came up with a > two-stage > process, the first stage of which goes back to the > > origins of grinding mills by employing actual > millstones > made of granite. The second stage is ultramodern, > though. > The particles of mineral-flour made by the > millstones are > blown into nanosmithereens by tiny electrical > charges. > > The result, which requires a half-gram dose to be > squirted into a car's oil every 40,000km, will go > on > sale in December. Old cars may soon, therefore, be > > clapped out in more senses than one > > > ========================================================== > > > When I was researching the strength of clays and > stabilized > soils, preparation of the material entailed mixing > in a sun > and planet mixer of the type used in the food > industry. > Depending on the moisture content the material > reached an > equilibrium at a particular grading of lump sizes. > As any > gardener would expect, the average lump size > decreased as > the moisture content decreased. > > At the equilibrium grading point there are two > processes > taking place. The larger lumps are being broken up > into > smaller lumps and the smaller lumps are coalescing > into > larger lumps. Individual mineral grains therefor are > > travelling up and down the lump size in a similar > manner > to, say, the way that individual water or air > molecules > travel up and down the vortex spectrum. > > To my surprise a literature search showed that in > any > mixing grinding process a similar equilibrium > grading > is formed. For instance if you grind up marble > eventually > you reach as stage where the particles of marble are > > "cold welding" themselves together as fast as they > are > being broken up. > > I believe that in grinding up the serpentine mineral > as > described above the manufacturers must have reached > such > an equilibrium boundary at well above the nano-scale > > size and that is why they had to find some other > method > to take them on down to the nano-scale. > > Now we have met the action of sparks before and > suggested > that they generate Beta-atmosphere vacua in the form > of > Beta-atmosphere vortices. I believe that is how the > serpentine minerals are being broken up into > nano-sized > particles. In effect the serpentine is falling apart > > because it is no longer being held together by > ambient > external Beta-atmosphere pressure. > > Assuming the above view is correct, I doubt if > serpentine > is essential to process. I would imagine that many > other > minerals would be as good or better. > > Cheers, > > Frank Grimer > > > > > > >
