Free energy schemes are "a dime a dozen" these days ....
Here's my 2 cents worth for near-Independence-Day (energy independence).
Perhaps someone can raise the ante to a dime.
The water dimer consists of two water molecules "loosely" bound by a
hydrogen bond. It is the smallest water cluster found in water vapor or
steam, but it does provide real structure to the gas phase, whereas the
natural inclination is to assume that there is no structure at all in
water vapor. The bond does have net extractable energy which can be
replenished easily by exposure to sunlight.
In fact - it would seem from the experiments, that by just breaking this
bond in humid air, as much as 4,000 cal/mol of energy is released. The
bond can be broken catalytically. This can provide "free energy" to the
extent that the energy of recombination of the dimer occurs elsewhere
than the point of energy release. IOW it might be possible to construct
a Stirling-type engine where heat and cooling are both provided by water
vapor structural changes, and the energy is recouped from sunlight by a
simple translucent enclosure. Certain polymers (clear plastics) have
enough heat resistance to be useful for this.
Because it is the simplest model system for studying hydrogen bonding in
water, the water dimer has been the target of many theoretical studies,
the latest of which significant changes in the model. Paynter et al.
conducted the first high-resolution laboratory measurements of infrared
and microwave light absorption by water vapor. Their analysis indicates
that dimers contribute greatly to radiation absorption by the
atmosphere, significantly in excess of that predicted by other studies.
For the purposes of global warming - this study and others indicates
that the more water vapor which is held in the atmosphere, the more
solar energy is absorbed and less is reflected. Many secondary
implications follow from this.
Title of paper: “Pure water vapor continuum measurements between 3100
and 4400 cm^-1:Evidence for water dimer absorption in near atmospheric
conditions” Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) 2007
Structure and properties of the water dimer (partly from Wiki):
The binding energy between the two water molecules is estimated to be
5-6 kcal/mol. The actual dissociation energy (including nuclear quantum
effects) is most likely around 3.4 kcal/mol. The O-O distance of the
vibrational ground-state is experimentally measured at ~2.98 angstrom;
the hydrogen bond is almost linear, but the angle with the plane of the
acceptor molecule is about 57°. (H2O)2 is thought to play a significant
role in many atmospheric processes, including acid rain formation,
absorption of excess solar radiation, condensation of water droplets,
and chemical reactions. In addition, a complete understanding of the
water dimer is thought to play a key role in a more thorough
understanding of hydrogen bonding in liquid and solid forms of water.
Commentary (green in more ways than one) which you won't find in Wiki:
For the inventor or home power advocate, it 'might' be possible to
provide simple rooftop solar collector which is a thousand times cheaper
than solar cells per unit of area being covered (being similar to
rooftop hot water heaters) and one tenth the net cost of the
installation (per kw-hr) - where the only function of the collector is
to "restructure" water vapor which has given up heat to a 2-3 kwhr
Stirling engine located in the attic of the house- thus providing much
of the daytime energy needs of the house (and some of the cooling), but
at a fraction of the cost of solar panels.
... or nor. Since I haven't had that first Latte yet, this is just a
passing thought for now.
But one thing is true, at least in California - if you want a major
"sticker shock" - just get a firm quotation, from an authorized
contractor (not the BS seen on the internet) for an installed and
guaranteed 3 kwhr rooftop solar panel system. Even if they come down in
price by half, or two thirds in cost (unlikely), they will still be
outrageous and not viable except for a small segment of the population.
Jones
