Re: The heat melts my car's performance!

["Daniel Chenault" <danielc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

To be more exact, it takes 118Kcals of heat to break the covalent molecular
bonds of water in order to decompose it into separate atoms of hydrogen and
oxygen.
More info at
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/jkimball/BiologyPages/B/BondEnergy.html

The environment inside the combustion chamber of an internal combustion
engine during ignition most emphatically does not produce anywhere near
118Kcal. One calorie is the amount of energy needed to heat one liter of
water by one degree Celsius; the energy needed to decompose water is 118,000
calories. And that is per mole which, for water, is 18 grams.

As far as internal combustion engines are concerned, you inject water, you
get water back out, usually in the form of steam.

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Derian" <gderian@domain.elided>
To: "." <scm1@domain.elided>
Cc: <bmw-digest@domain.elided>
Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2000 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: The heat melts my car's performance!


> Not picking 'oles, just trying to clear up bad science when I see it.
>
> Water injection is a great anti-detonant.  It does not dissociate into
> hydrogen and oxygen in a car engine.  It turns to steam, absorbing heat
> along the way.
>
> It takes a great deal of energy input to split water into its
constituents.
> That energy would return when they combined back into water.  Start with
> water, end with water, no net gain.
>
> Gary Derian <gderian@domain.elided>
>
> > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> > Oxygen is a component of water but that has nothing to do with its
> > usefulness when injected into an engine.  Water vaporizes and absorbs
heat
> > during the compression stroke and maybe even during the power stroke.
> That
> > reduces detonation.
> > >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> >
> >
> > From your argument you can deduce that turbocharging and supercharging
> have no effect
> > either as you are simply putting more of the same into the
> cylinders???(tongue in
> > cheek and argument taken to its extreme...) I dont think so. Adding
water,
> which
> > consists of hydrogen, a highly explosive gas, and oxygen, a very good
> supporter of
> > combustion is bound to have an effect on power. If nothing else the
oxygen
> will make
> > the combustion process more efficient. However, its primary purpose is
to
> cool the
> > charge making it more dense, and i would agree, also to limit
detonation.
> > A final point, if injecting water has no effect other than to cool the
> incomming
> > charge, why do manufacturers go to all the trouble and expense of
> designing it,
> > fitting it, re-adjusting all their ECU points etc when all they need is
a
> slightly
> > bigger intercooler?
> >
> > There's always someone willing to pick 'oles in every little thing you
> > say...........:-)
> >
> > Sean
> > 95 328iCoupe Sport
> > + Proprietor SM Auto Engineering!
> >
>
>
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