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The claim:
1 gram of nickel can generate E-Cat energy equivalent to the energy generated by 517 kilograms of oil. [Here]
If the world consumes 89 million barrels of oil per day, how many ounces of nickel does that correspond to in E-Cat energy?
First, a barrel is a unit of volume and a gram is a unit of weight (technically mass).
A barrel of oil will weigh differently than a barrel of cotton because of the density of the material in it. (Density is mass per unit volume.)
So we need to know how many kilograms a barrel of oil weighs.
To find how much a barrel of oil weighs, we must know the density of the oil.
The density of oil varies.
We will take an average crude oil density value as $\rho = \frac{850 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} kilograms}}{1 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} cubic meters}}$.
Since $1 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} cubic meter} = 264.17 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} gallons}$ and there are $42 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} gallons} = 1 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} barrel}$, we can find the number of kilograms of oil in one barrel by converting
$\frac{42 \text{\hspace{1 mm} gallons}}{1 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} barrel}} \cdot \frac{1 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} cubic meter}}{264.2 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} gallons}} \cdot \frac{850 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} kilograms}}{1 text{\hspace{0.7 mm} cubic meter}} \approx 135 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} kilograms oil} \text{\hspace{0.7 mm}barrel}$
So there are about 135,000 grams of oil in one barrel of oil.
Supposing the world consumes 89 million barrels of oil each day, we have
$\frac{135,000 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm} grams oil}}{1 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm} barrel}} \text{\hspace{0.5 mm}} \cdot \text{\hspace{0.5 mm}} 89 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm} x \hspace{0.5 mm}} 10^{6} \text{\hspace{0.5 mm}barrels oil per day} \approx 12 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm} x \hspace{0.5 mm}} 10^{12} \text{\hspace{0.5 mm}grams oil per day}$
The world consumes over 12 trillion grams of oil each day!
Now, if 517,000 grams oil = 1 gram nickel (E-Cat energy-wise),
then 12 trillion grams of oil translates to
$\frac{1 \text{\hspace{1 mm} gram nickel}}{517,000 \text{\hspace{1 mm}grams oil}} \cdot \text{\hspace{1 mm}} 12 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm} x \hspace{0.5 mm}} 10^{12} \text{\hspace{0.7 mm} grams oil} \approx 23,210,831.72 \text{\hspace{0.7 mm}grams nickel}$
So the daily energy from 12 trillion grams of oil corresponds to the daily E-Cat energy from 23 million grams of nickel.
If the world uses 23 million grams of nickel every day, that is
$(23 \text{\hspace{1 mm} x \hspace{1 mm}} 10^{6}) (365) \approx 8.4 \text{\hspace{1 mm} x \hspace{1 mm}} 10^{9} \text{\hspace{0.7 mm}grams nickel annually}$.
Therefore, replacing our current consumption of oil with E-Cat energy would consume an estimated 8.4 billion grams of nickel annually.
Now annual nickel production is roughly on the order of 1,300,000 tonnes.
Since one tonne = 1000 kilograms = 1,000,000 grams, we have that annual nickel production is about 1.3 trillion grams. This means that
$\frac{1.3 \text{\hspace{1 mm} x \hspace{1 mm}} 10^{12}}{8.4 \text{\hspace{1 mm} x \hspace{1 mm}} 10^{9}} \approx 155$.
In other words, the current annual production of nickel is 155 times the amount of nickel we would use annually to replace oil at our current level of use.
Not only that, estimated reserves of nickel worldwide are on the order of 140 trillion grams, enough nickel for
$\frac{140 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm} x \hspace{0.5 mm}} 10^{12}}{8.4 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm} x \hspace{0.5 mm}} 10^9} \approx 16,667 \text{\hspace{0.5 mm}years}$
using the current energy-equivalent consumption of nickel.
Of course this is static reserve, and not exponential reserve, but as a rough estimate, 16,667 years of nickel fuel for E-Cat energy sounds pretty good. Remembering that nickel is a very common element in our solar system means that we would be able to mine all the nickel we need or want for this ultra-clean power.
These are huge numbers.
How about something more tangible – like pocket change?
The US has a unit of money called a nickel which is a 5 cent piece, or 1/20 of a dollar (since 1913 called a Federal Reserve Note). First introduced in 1866, the Shield nickel was a 5 gram coin of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Later, other designs for the nickel were introduced, including my favorite, the Buffalo nickel, minted from 1913 to 1938.
In other words, this small piece of change has the energy density of close to 650 kilograms of oil!
Since there are about 135 kilograms of oil in one barrel, we have discovered that, E-Cat energy-wise, one little
5-cent coin $\approx$ 5 barrels of oil.
Holy cow.
Start saving!
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Related Links
Density of Oil from Engineering Toolbox
Short-term Energy Outlook from Energy Information Administration
International Nickel Study Group homepage
Nickel melt value for coin from Coinflation
Great article. Since a barrel of oil is worth around 80 dollars, five cents will get you four hundred dollars (nickel LENR fuel preparation not included).
Excellent post Ruby.
Once the stopper of ignorance is breached then we can anticipate all sorts of other nuclear processes.
It is still early days yet.
This reminds me of Marconi and his wireless. The first messages were sent in Morse using primitive equipment. And now life would be inconceivable without radio waves.
Let us hope that we soon see a breach of this scientific group-think that is called “Peer Review”.
(The peers that do review it say it is true. The trouble is that there are too few true scientists and too many sycophants).
My great fear is that someone will be able to “get to” Rossi before he can sell the e cat.
It has occurred to me that the regulators cannot regulate this device if they refuse to believe it exists.
Stifling this particular scientific advance (i.e. Ni+H=Cu+heat) would be virtually impossible to succeed. There is a well know design that gets 2X return, and here is a detailed description of a device and formula from a US government contract: http://www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/GernertNnascenthyd.pdf
As to “peer review:” the reason Rossi hasn’t gotten published (except by himself) is that he has proprietary concerns that make secrecy necessary. Watch how the scientific community reacts when (if) Rossi gets his patient and takes a more open stance. On the same hand, watch what happens when Rossi and his special Italian Sauce gets the fame he deserves.
By the way, even if the US politicians bad LENR, the cost savings is so great (90%) and the fuel so common (nickel is 3% of the mass of the Earth), that any other country would beat our pants off in the world economy if they adopted it. Besides, the Greens will predictably push this clean energy technology.
You sure about the Greens pushing this particular clean energy? I suspect that they have a moral objection to cheap energy. Expensive energy the filthy masses cannot afford appeals to them greatly.
That is a very cynical and partisan opinion. On the other hand, GreenPeace is strongly against anything nuclear, so they may be the exception. No, generally Greens are against CO2 emissions, and therefore clean energy is defined by them as anything that is clean and abundant, it would be a distortion to add expensive (unless you are have a bias against Greens for some reason).
The first real victims of this energy source will not be oil, gas and coal. No, although over time it will be replaced by LENR, the real victims will be wind and solar and anything else that is called green energy.
BTW dangerous human caused global warming doesn’t exist. With the introduction of the E-Cat, the global warming money craving gravy train is going to crash real soon.
It is wrong to differentiate: LENR is way cheaper than any other energy production technology, so all other energy infrastructure and assets will be obsolete in the blink of an eye. BTW, dangerous human caused global warming is a scientific consensus, but in my opinion includes both greenhouse gas and waste heat ( A peer-reviewed article “Global energy accumulation and net heat emission” calculates that a lion-share of the extra accumulated heat is from mankind’s heat emissions!).
In other words, LENR technology is not a magic bullet solution to global warming (but it is to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions).
ma avete mai pensato che con E-CAT, POTREMMO RICARICARE, A CICLO CONTINUO, TUTTI I LAGHI DELLE CENTRALI IDROELETTRICHE, ALTRA ENERGIA A COSTO ZERO DI MATERIA PRIMA? OLTRE A RIPRENDERE LE OLTRE MILLE MINI CENTRALI IDROELETTICHE, DISMESSE DALL’ENEL, DAL 1963 AL 1980??!!!
CON COSTI IRRISORI DEL NICHEL, UTILIZZATO DALL’E-CAT? E DA ENERGIA PULITA?
Google translate:
Thanks Ruggieri. My Italian is pathetic, and I’m not quite sure what you’re saying.
I do know that BIG hydro-electric dams interrupt the fish and wildlife, as well as the rivers and dams from their natural flow of little water alternating with more flooding causing sediment build-up and algae clog the waterways. Humans have not learned to reproduce the ebb and flow of our waterways by artificial release of water, and they do a poor job of it.
“Mini-hydro” for small-scale use has been fairly effective, but only with the few who live on property with appropriate stream.
Actually, at current prices, 1.25 grams of Nickel is worth less than 3 cents ($0.03) and oil is about $90 per barrel (more or less), recenty having been above $100/barrel. So three cents of Nickel energy gets you 45,000 cents worth of oil energy.
That is a factor of 15,000 to 1.
Wow, good thinking JF!
Thanks. I try.
Also, using different heat transfer technology, the E-CAT can produce steam at a temperature of 450 degrees C (842 F). That’s useful for electricity production. It’s sad to watch freedom of the press in action.
Just to add that in addition to being very cheap (1 cent of nickel yields the energy of about 15000 cents of oil), it is also very abundant (i.e. nickel is about 3% of the Earth’s mass, whereas oil is less than a hundred trillionth of a percent of the mass of the Earth).
Known oil (including oil sands) is estimated at 3,740,000,000 barrels, and since a barrel of oil is about 150,000 grams, that means there is about 561,000,000,000,000 grams. The mass of the Earth is about 5,970,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 grams, so oil is about .00000000001 percent of the mass of Earth.
If the confrontation with Iran results in oil selling for $250.00 a barrel, then 3 cents of Nickel (about 1.25 grams) will have the energy equivalence of 12,500 cents of oil (5 barrels). Wow. That’s over 40,000 to 1. But I don’t have a steam car!
Correction: 5 barrels of oil @ $250/barrel is $1250.00 or 125,000 cents (not 12,500) for only 2-3 cents of nickel. Let’s hope oil doesn’t go up to $250.00/bbl (bbl = barrel). Sometimes the news media takes a while to catch on.