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There are two prime sources of energy to be harnessed and expended to do work. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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One area of great interest to me that was mentioned in this book is the possibility of using atomic hydrogen (this is hydrogen in it's disassociated state, not the molecular hydrogen) as rocket fuel, as Hoffmann says, a specific impulse of over 1000 seconds may be achieved, well above today's rocket engines, if it can be safely stabilized. I wish this topic was covered better than the brief sketch Hoffmann gave it.
The final chapter of the book attempts to extrapolate the future use of hydrogen. Various experts are quoted by Hoffmann as to what we may expect in the decades ahead with regards to hydrogen use. Hoffmann does himself say that the existing energy infrastructure may be difficult to replace due to the economic inertia of change, and many decades may be required, in the United States it's vast coal reserves may preclude widespread hydrogen use idefinitely. Overall, the volume is a good introduction to energy if sometimes a little short on the science. At the back of the book there are extensive notes with references to further reading for those desiring to do so.
The author seems to shy away from nuclear power as a solution for creating hydrogen. I think it would be a great interim solution where you could put the nuclear reactor on sites off shore or in the Great Lakes so you would have a supply of water and pump all the hydrogen and electricity produced to the city. The hydrogen could be sent to fuel cell power plants and fuel stations for vehicles. Eventually from the money made from this move on to geothermal methods.
I don't want to seem down on this book because it gave me a lot of good information the best part was the different ways that they can create hydrogen. Hydropower, Wind, Solar, Photovoltaic, Biomass, Advanced Solar concepts, orbiting solar mirrors, converting thermal energy from oceans and Geothermal. The one that I left out that I thought was the coolest was the Giant Solar Chimneys. I found out that they are actually making one in Australia; I can only hope that it works. I liked the part with the solar mirrors and why they didn't work, that was kind of funny.
The book never explains why they are not doing some of these things. I guess because of the cost but it is not clear. The best and safest way would be to produce hydrogen is geothermal but the book never explains why we don't do it.
The chapter on the uses for hydrogen started out interesting but ends with a walk into the cosmos with the SETI stuff. It was parenthetical information that the author wanted us to be aware of that did not belong in this book.
This book seem like a confused mass of projects that never seemed to get off the ground and a couple that could be a solution for the future. I wish the book was organized so that the history came first and then focus in on various areas, production, types of fuel cells, different forms of hydrogen, infrastructure, present uses, future use and the road ahead and what are the possible type of plans for the future.
I wish the book could have recommended more books to read on the subject that could answer some of these questions.
I guess I was looking for more clear cut solutions.
Rather, it leaves a lot of open questions and does not give answers to the issues that really matter (e.g. if hydrogen is produced through reforming of traditional carbon fuels, what to do with the carbon then at the production plant).
Nevertheless, the book is certainly worth reading... I think it's one of the only serious books on hydrogen at this time.
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