Water power for car

Any driver worth his salt will have noticed that a car runs better in the rain, this is not as silly as it seems. Because damp air is drawn through the air filter into the engine, this water laden air , when burned produces a measurable amount of steam, boosting to power on the down stroke of the piston and increasing the power to the wheels.

This process has been appreciated for many years and large diesel and gasoline engines, particularly stationary engines, have been modified with exhaust heated manifold injection to not only boost power but also to improve economy.

The next development  and a step change in water power will be to unlock some of the molecular level power available in water.

This means using the highly combustible nature of hydrogen and oxygen, derived from water, to power an internal combustion engine. That engine can be petrol or diesel, though in reality only part of the fuel is substituted, until a specific hydrogen/oxygen engine is created. A different kind of injection system is needed.

The most efficient way to do this is use some of the vehicles electric power to electrolyse the water into its constituent  parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Physics  dictates that only part of the fuel can be used to electrolytically crack the water, but if those gasses are added to the inlet manifold they will be burned and the energy released will reduce the fuel needed to power the car.

This win win situation means not only is fuel consumption reduced but the reduction in fuel is even replaced by a non polluting alternative, the hydrogen and oxygen mix only produces water as an end product. Saving the planet and fuel at the same time.