Quite a weapon

Depends on how it pans out. If you have to generate radio waves in order to get it to burn, then it might require more energy input than what you get in output.

Radio-frequency energy may separate hydrogen from water molecules in saltwater. The question is the efficiency of converting RF or electrical energy into the chemical energy of hydrogen gas. Electrolysis of water with electricity is a well known phenomenon that does produce hydrogen from water.

Advances in electrolysis have pushed the current conversion efficiencies well over 50%, but most of these systems rely on costly precious metal electrodes. The Department of Energy has a goal of developing a electrolysis system with a 75% conversion efficiency without using precious metal catalysts by 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolysis_of_water

http://www.nsti.org/Nanotech2007/showabstract.html?absno=3158

I seen the interview that they did on that one night on TV.
It was pretty remarkable, but as always the big oil companies will still it or buy it from him, and then you will never hear of it again. I know this much, if we was able to use the oceans as our next fuel, number #1 it would shut the oil companies down , and # 2 there would be no shortage of it .Now for me that would be great, if they went to salt water, because I live on the beach in Florida.
I can walk out the back door and fill the jug, and I'm ready to roll. lol

Pretty promising, but I doubt the big oil companies let them have their way with that. Pretty soon you're gonna hear they got their budget shrunk and can no longer resarch on that.

*research* even

i wonder what else could be made to burn in this fashion?
*evil grin*

Too late! The cat's out of the bag. If this works and there's money in it, it is going to be be exploited big time and the oil companies will be right there at the trough with the rest of them getting rich(er).

Our bodies are full of saline fluid. It's amazing what they can do when they find the right frequency. They can open an amazing number of locks.

It's a new environment-loving idea in the future. It can reduce a great amout of Greenhouse gas. The global warming is less serous than one at the present. If it's really successful, many countries, esp. the developing, can save a great amount of money for importing oils as well. However, I agree with many comments about oil companies. They wouldn't let this idea to make their profits down. So, I want to see the support from the governments or the universities in many countries, esp. ones where is near the sea.

Wow! Certainly sounds promising. The big petroleum companies have a vested interest in burying this idea though. So watch out.

wait a minute... we can actually "burn" salt water? :o
that's the second amazing clip I read today ^^

wait a minute... we can actually "burn" salt water? :o
that's the second amazing clip I read today ^^

No, but you can actually burn the components, hydrogen and oxygen. The salt part (sodium chloride) won't burn very well. The radio waves break the bonds between the two atoms allowing it to burn.

Yay! Now we know what to do when the ice caps all melt!

Current desalination methods using membrane technology are energy intensive with unknown environmental side effects. Refer the following link:

http://wwf.org.au/publications/desalinationreportjune2007/

This new technology, though understandably less energy intensive, would still release highly concentrated brine solutions into the marine environment.

What if they used filters?

Such great ideas to reduce our dependence of fossil fuels.

But they need the magic ingrediant so that the government can still tax petrol/gas/oil.

Countries that rely on revenue (Australia is one with about a 1/3 of the cost per litre going to taxes/levies etc USA would be the same? maybe??) will never allow this sort of technology to be available to the public

Look at it from the other side of the equation- Countries that PROFIT heavily from oil exports would be reduced to lower status. Without a sizable GNP to rely on, they would be paupers instead of princes.
This could also be a paridigm shift in world power as energy hungry countries like China and India meet energy needs cheaper and easier.

Like they said in the first comment. This will be useful only if the energy out is more than the energy in. I doubt that it is.

If on the other hand this has secondary benefits of producing fresh water cheaper than other methods then we have a cool new source of fresh water.