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Old 02-21-2014, 04:19 PM   #25 (permalink)
RustyLugNut
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And this is where a science background would be helpful.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Tele man View Post
Two things to be aware of: 1) you do NOT have to be a scientist to know something and (2) water has three physical states:

1) Water DROPLETS are liquid-state and liquid water is NON-compressible.

2) Water VAPOR is gaseous-state and *IS* compressible.

3) Water ICE is solid-state and in NON-compressible.

...oh, and mankind has been using water to extinguish combustions for eons, not using it as a fuel.

...lastly, their APPLICATION is knock-reduction, not combusion. Do NOT confuse them.
That is the simple answer.

What they don't teach you in 8th grade is that liquid water has a pH - a certain percentage of the H2O dissociates into -OH and H+ ions. As water turns to steam, this dissociation increases proportionally with temperature until around 1200 degrees C, thermolysis of water becomes significant. At 2200 deg C it is around 3%. At 3000 deg C, it is roughly half. This doesn't take into account catalysts that can reduce the thermolysis temperature significantly. Add in the reactivity of Carbon at these temperatures and you can easily see the effect water has on combustion where flame fronts with temperatures of 1200 - 2500 deg C occur. The presence of reactive -OH and H+ radicals effects the combustion balance within the flame front.

And I assure you, I understand the difference between combustion and knock suppression. The link to the original device indicates a study in combustion. You take quotes from a marketeer who specializes in knock suppression. They are very opposite applications.
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