http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101222071831.htm
In the Sci-News is a surprising discovery - whose major potential use could have been completely missed by the geniuses in Sweden who discovered it. Perhaps one of our associate vorticians from Sweden will enlighten them on the alternative energy potential, if it has been overlooked. They could have already considered and rejected this. "Trinitramid" is the name of the new molecule, which in the nitrogen oxide group. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitramid This fuel could be 20 to 30 percent more efficient in comparison with some of the rocket fuels available today. It looks to be similar to RDX - which is an explosive that was widely used during WWll. When exploded in air, RDX has about 1.5 times the explosive power of TNT per unit weight but is more dangerous to handle. OK - you ask: What application did they miss? Well, the problem with wind energy is that the many of the very best sites are offshore. Some are way offshore - hundreds of miles from a population center. We have the technology to capture the wind energy there at a fair price, but not to transport the energy cheaply to the places where the it is needed, nor to store it cheaply. Since this new discovery is a fuel, and presumably can be converted into electricity ashore on-demand, and since it is based solely on air: nitrogen and oxygen, then the obvious way to use it wisely is as a medium of energy-exchange - i.e. a transportable fuel for what is in effect the transfer of wind energy to where and when it is needed. It could be manufactured at the site of deep ocean wind farms and shipped bulk for great distances. The wind platform contains the factory. It is possible that trinitramid could be used as a secondary fuel, or additive in existing natural gas turbine plants and with cleaner emissions than methane. Of course, there have been past proposal like this - to use a number of transportable fuels made from air - LOX and even RDX, but all of them have problems. This one may have similar problems as well, and liquefied air itself should be acceptable for this job if we could eliminate big oil interference. RDX is a choice for terrorism, so it is out. The new one may be out for the same reason. It would actually be helpful if it were "only" stable as a cryogenic liquid, as there would be less temptation to use it destructively. IOW if it were simply a more energetic form of liquid air - perfect! Jones
