<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Yup, boiler inspections are required, it's what killed steam heating, which is much more efficient and requires far less internal space than ducted air. Well, that and the clanging, water hammers and the opportunity to be scalded to death in your own apartment. . <div><br></div><div>You can build a very efficient steam engine, but you still bang up against the carnot cycle. And air-cooled steam engines hit that wall a lot sooner than water cooled. Still, they make a lot of sense for cars, especially in a hybrid approach where warm-up wouldn't be such a problem. Single speed steam engines can be much more efficient than variable speed ones--they make great generators, which is one reason steam turbines are the default generator prime mover. They require complex water removal systems to ensure the steam has no entrained liquid--it eats the blades up like a sandblaster. But that's ancient technology. </div><div><br></div><div> I've been reading a lot of popular physics books lately (that sounds like an oxymoron) and I'm struck with how many good ideas have been squashed by "fashion" in science. You don't have to be a quack to have your career ended by supporting a discredited theory. Just ask Pons and Fleischman (Cold Fusion). Interesting that all these many years later (15) the department of Energy convened a second review panel (2004) to look at chemically influenced nuclear processes. The area of study has been deeply compromised by the public mania and resultant backlash in the scientific community. Fashion, in other words. </div><div><br></div><div>It doesn't take a conspiracy to doom promising technologies, all that's necessary is plain old human self-interest and herd mentality. </div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On Sep 16, 2008, at 9:51 AM, Randall wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><br><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: -1; ">Flieshman</span><br><blockquote type="cite">The environmentalist wouldn't like it, and convenience<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">would be a<br></blockquote><blockquote type="cite">problem -- starting a fire and heating the water to steam.<br></blockquote><br>Legend has it that Bill Lear solved those problems. Near-zero emissions<br>(not counting CO2) and startup time measured in seconds. But (again<br>according to legend) he abandoned the project after authorities refused to<br>allow him to license it for the street.<br><br>Even today, most places have fairly draconian laws regarding even low<br>pressure boilers; far more restrictive than those applicable to internal<br>combustion engines operating at many times higher pressures.<br><br>Randall<br><br>_______________________________________________<br><a href="http://www.team.net/donate.html">http://www.team.net/donate.html</a><br><br>Fot mailing list<br>Fot@autox.team.net<br>http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/fot<br><br></div></blockquote></div><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(118, 15, 79); font-size: 16px; ">Bill Babcock</span></div><div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Babcock & Jenkins</div><div><a href="mailto:Billb@bnj.com">Billb@bnj.com</a></div><div>503.936.7660</div><div><a href="http://www.bnj.com">www.bnj.com</a></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#010000">Editor</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#010000">Ke Nalu e-Magazine</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#010000"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><i>Paddlesurfing's Web Journal</i></span></font></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#010000" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><i><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></i></span></font></div><div><a href="mailto:Bill@kenalu.com">Bill@kenalu.com</a></div><div><a href="http://www.kenalu.com">www.kenalu.com</a></div><div>blog: <a href="http://www.ponohouse.com/ponoblog">www.ponohouse.com/ponoblog</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></span></div></span> </div><br></div></body></html>