AC: Alternating current. Electrical energy (electrical current, voltage) which alternates cyclically between positive and negative in polarity.
Acetone: A highly flammable, colorless solvent. Also known as propanone, dimethyl ketone, and other names. It is readily soluble in water, ethanol, ether, etc., and itself serves as an important solvent (actually the strongest consumer-grade solvent available to us). Its most familiar household use is as the active ingredient in nail polish remover. Also used to make plastic, fibers, drugs and other chemicals. Pure Acetone used to be considered a major fuel saving additive, however recently we've found that its side effects drive most experimenters to steer away from Acetone as a fuel additive. Use Xylene instead!
Ampere (amp): A measure for electrical flow. How many electrical particles flowing in a conductor (wire, resistor, etc) per unit of time.
Anode: The positive-charged pole (wire or plate) in an electrolyzer or battery.The electrode with the positive voltage. In an electrolyzer, this is where the oxygen is being produced.
Atom: Once thought to be the smallest part of an element or substance. Today we know it's not so - it is made of "sub-atomic particles" such as electrons - that can probably be broken down further.
Atomize: Making liquid or substance into a mist.
Baking Soda: The household name for Sodium Bicarbonate. A popular catalyst for electrolyzers. Non toxic (used in food, for dental health, etc.) and is a user friendly alternative to other catalysts. Note: the only "baking soda" suitable for electrolysis is PURE SODIUM BICARBONATE. No sugar or leavening stuff please.
Bio fuel or Biofuel: Fuel (for transportation, in our case) made from "biomass" - biological sources such as corn or wood that have completed their life cycle; environment friendly. Biofuel could be liquid, gas or solid.
Blow by (gas): Gases that skip past the piston rings in an engine; normally routed back into the intake via the PCV valve.
Brown's Gas: A mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. The product of an electrolyzer. Two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen plus some water moisture. Named after Prof. Yull Brown but goes by many other names: Rhode’s Gas, after it earlier researcher, Dr. William A. Rhodes; also called HHO (Hydrogen-Hydrogen-Oxygen), hydroxy, oxy-hydrogen, green gas, di-hydroxy, watergas or water gas, waterfuel or water fuel, etc. In Korea they call it Brown Gas. Korea by the way has very good technology of HHO generators for industry. Brown's Gas is great not only for supplemental fuel for engines, but also good for cutting metal, soldering, brazing (joining metals at high temperatures), as well as the welding of various metals inexpensively (compared to the commonly used welding with acetylene).
Bubbler: A safety-enhancing device (or part of a device) to bubble air through water in an electrolyzer. It could be a stand-alone device, however in our DIY Electrolyzer and also in our Vaporizer, the bubbler is built-in so no external bubbler is necessary.
Carb: Carburetor.
Catalyst: A material used to induce or enhance the chemical reaction between other materials without being changed in the process.
Cathode: The negative-charged pole (wire, plate) in an electrolyzer or battery. The electrode with the negative voltage. In an electrolyzer, this is where the hydrogen is being produced.
Cell (or Electrolyzer cell): Defined as one unit in an electrolysis system (a series of individual cells). By a certain arrangement of electrodes (when plates are used), a single device can have several cells. In Water4Gas electrolyzers where electrodes are spiraled to save energy, each device (one jar) would constitute one cell.
Check Valve: A device that allows flow of gas or liquid in one direction only, usually through a hose or piping system. It closes automatically when the flow stops or is reversed.
CNG: Compressed Natural Gas (Methane).
Current: (in electricity) the movement of electrons through a conductor. Measured in Amperes. If for instance the conductor is copper, "electrons" are those particles of the copper atoms, which are leaving their place and moving along between other atoms in the copper.
D17: Refers to document D17.pdf written by Patrick Kelly titled "Dealing with the Vehicle Computer". Is available on the Internet (search Google for "Dealing with the Vehicle Computer" WITH the quote marks). It tells you how to build this EFIE alternative, called D17 for lack of a better name:
def.: definition.
DC: Direct current. Electrical energy (electrical current, voltage) which does not alternate in polarity, in other words it keeps its positive and negative; and is also somewhat "stable", in other words it doesn't pulse. Even if it changes all the time, it could still be called DC if it has those characteristics.
DEMSE: Dual-Edge MAP Sensor Enhancer. A dual-knob device to adjust the air-to-fuel ratio in the mixture. Refer to DVD 3 for building it, and DVD 6 for tuning.
Distilled water: Water that has been "purified" of its contaminants, acids and minerals such as salt. Rain water and filtered water are not distilled water!
DIY: Do It Yourself.
DPDT: Double Pole, Double Throw. Switch type that can switch two circuits separately (that's the "double pole"), and is capable of making an electrical connection in each of its "throws" (sides of its motion).
ECU: 'Engine Control Unit' or 'Electronic Control Unit'. Sometimes called 'Powertrain Control Module' (PCM). Your car's computer. It's the heart of the engine management system in a modern car, collecting many inputs from sensors around the car and controlling all functions of the engine such as fuel injection and heat management.
Efficiency: The ratio of total output power to input power expressed as a percentage. A numerical expression of the ratio between waste and actual work done. For example a low-efficiency car engine uses most of its input to produce heat, noise and vibration, rather than forward motion.
EFI: Electronic Fuel Injection. The modern science of wasting gasoline.
EFIE: Electronic Fuel Injection Enhancer, a device to correct the stoichiometric level programmed into a car in order to accommodate waterfuel technology. Manufactured by Eagle Research (www.Eagle-Research.com) and FuelSaver-MPG.com
Electrode: A conductor (such as metal wire or plate) which dips into an electrolyte and allows the current (electrons) to flow to and from the electrolyte.
Electrolysis: When a direct current is passed through a liquid which contains ions (an electrolyte), chemical changes occur at the two electrodes; usually a separation of oxygen from hydrogen or other substances it is chemically bonded with. In our case the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Electrolyte: A solution of catalyst in water in an electrolyzer. We sometimes refer to the catalyst as electrolyte. That's a common mistake – the catalyst in our case would be the Sodium Bicarbonate ("baking soda") and the electrolyte would be the solution, or the mixture of Sodium Bicarbonate and water.
Electrolyzer: Water Fuel Cell (WFC). A device or machine that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen thus producing Brown's Gas or HHO. Common misnomers are 'hydrogen generator' and 'fuel cell'. Sometimes called 'cell', as in 'Joe cell'.
Electrolyzer cell: A single cell in an electrolyzer or part of Multi-Cell system: an anode and a cathode immersed in an electrolyte. An electrolyzer can have one cell or many. Also see 'cell'.
Emissions: Let's not go into science formulas here. I'll give you a very simple definition: If it stinks – it's emissions. Harmful emissions. There are emissions that are so called "odorless", but that is a misleading concept because the body senses it one way or another. Yes, we have become numb to harmful, very hostile emissions. But see, a hungry yet healthy cat will not touch a spoiled fish, even if you can't smell anything "fishy". Old-school chefs will give a piece of the day's fish to the house cat. If the cat sniffs it but won't touch it, the fish goes to the garbage. Now if you would thoroughly cleanse your body and move to a very clean village up the mountains for a while, immediately after your return (for possibly a short while before you become numb again) you'll be able to sniff all those "odorless" harmful emissions! Standards of government-permissible emissions are way too high health-wise, they are hostile to life and we should not agree with those anymore!
Energy: The capacity to do mechanical (such as motion) or electrical work (such as light or sound).
Ethanol: One of the biggest energy scams (or energy mistakes if you will) of modern times! Also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless, slightly toxic chemical compound, and is best known as the alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. Produced today from corn as a common fuel additive, enforced on drivers across the USA and other locations as an "improvement" to gasoline. It is very bad both for gas economy of the individual AND to national economy, since its low energy efficiency requires us to import MORE petroleum for every gallon of ethanol we use. PER GALLON, IT HAS ONLY 2/3 OF THE ENERGY OF GASOLINE. Find all the (stinking) facts about ethanol by visiting www.zFacts.com ETHANOL IS THE MAJOR REASON YOU ARE LOSING MILEAGE WITH CERTAIN GAS STATIONS. DO NOT PAY FOR THEIR "CHEAP" GAS BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY COSTING YOU MORE.
Exothermic: (of chemical reaction or compound) Releasing energy, usually in the form of HEAT. The word means "outside heating".
FE: Fuel Economy.
Free energy: Energy you did not have to pay for. It's a common concept between scientists and "energy experts" that free energy is physically impossible. They are right - from their point of view - however that viewpoint is wrong and faulty. See, if a paid-for instrument or process, or just a change of usage to an existing instrument, brings you energy or extra energy you don't have to pay for, then IN THE BOTTOM LINE (in other words after your costs have been paid for) what you're getting now can surely be considered free energy. All "free energy" methods and devices are based on this same basic principle. Solar energy is one good example: you pay for the solar device, hopefully not an arm and a leg, and from that point on the sun gives you (not free yet) energy; the moment the solar device has finished paying for itself, it starts to produce TRULY FREE ENERGY. Get it? Another example is water4Gas technology – our "free energy" comes simply and directly from REDUCTION OF WASTE in our poorly-designed engines. Since we have oceans of water, any energy or energy savings derived CHEAPLY from water is considered free, economically speaking. If you have been conditioned to believe that free energy is not possible, change your thinking about it and you'll see many instances and opportunities of free energy. And, er, by the way, don't forget to tell your professor...
Fuel: Any substance (liquid, solid or gas) that releases its stored heat energy and turns it into actual heat and motion energy, when treated in a certain way such as by burning or by combustion in an engine. When the fuel is burned it is destroyed and leaves us with problematic pollutants. In this regard (harmful by-products of fuel burning), water is not "fuel" because when "burned" it reverts back to water vapor and oxygen that feeds back into the atmosphere.
Fuel cell: A device which produces electricity by using fuel (such as hydrogen) and a chemical which reacts with it at two electrical terminals, thus producing electric energy that can be used to drive a car or do other useful work. Calling an electrolyzer "fuel cell" (or HHO fuel cell, etc.) is obviously a misnomer - an electrolyzer inputs electricity and (in our use) outputs hydrogen, while a fuel cell normally takes in hydrogen and out comes electricity! Those are totally separate technologies. However, the public itself is a common and undeniable source of new words, so if so many people call an electrolyzer "fuel cell", at a certain point you stop correcting them and it becomes a new term. Where does it stand now, nearing 2010? I am not sure, time will tell.
Fuel efficiency: Defined by the amount of work (how much motion, in the case of cars, or how many hours of operation for a lawnmower or generator) can be obtained for the amount of fuel we put in. Commonly called 'Fuel Economy' and measured by miles per gallon or kilometers per litre.
Fuel Heater: A device to safely heat up the fuel, using electrical power or better yet re-circulated heat from the engine. Reduces surface tension of the liquid fuel, thus causing finer air/fuel mixture droplets, resulting in better and fuller combustion of that mixture.
Generator: A device that generates some sort of mechanical or electrical energy, or generates a substance (as in "hydrogen generator"). When mentioned in Water4Gas literature, we refer to stationary engines that are used to convert liquid fuel to other types of energy, usually electricity. Sometimes called 'Genset'.
GP-7: An advanced fuel additive for 2-stroke engines, by Torco Racing Fuels, Inc.
GPH: Gallons Per Hour.
Green Gas: Another name for Brown's Gas.
GST: Gas Saving Technique for vehicles using WATER or Hydrogen-On-Demand. GST's are a set of methods, devices and additives all working together to maximize your fuel economy, while also minimizing harmful emissions resulting from poor engine design and inefficient use.
HHO: Hydrogen+Hydrogen+Oxygen. The product of splitting water (H2O) into its components. Common name for Brown's Gas.
HOD: Hydrogen On Demand. A system to generate hydrogen on board the vehicle/generator only when the engine is running without storing any of it.
Hydrogen: The lightest and most abundant element. A gaseous diatomic element (in simple words: gas that always has particles in pairs). The atom consists of one proton and one electron.
Hydroxy: Another name for Brown's Gas.
ICE: Internal Combustion Engine. The most common type of engine in cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, tractors, light airplanes, generators and lawn mowers for the past 200 years.
Joe Cell: Type of electrolyzer constructed of a series stainless steel tubing, one inside the other. Powerful yet relatively expensive and hard to replicate. Some people such as Bill Williams claimed to have run a vehicle exclusively on a Joe cell.
Knocking: Also called "pinging" - banging noise in the engine, caused by improper combustion.
kWh: Kilowatt hour(s).
Lean (mixture): Less fuel and more air in the air/fuel mixture. In accordance with common wisdom (the questionable "wisdom" of modern automakers) the mixture should be ideal at 14.7 parts air to 1 part gasoline. But in actual fact it can be 50:1 or leaner.
LED: Light Emitting Diode.
MAF: Mass Air Flow. One of the inputs the ECU takes into consideration when determining the amount of fuel to be injected into the engine.
MAP (sensor): Manifold Air Pressure (sensor).
MAP Sensor Enhancer: An electronic device that enhances fuel economy via the MAP Sensor - if the car has such a sensor. Some folks say "MAP Sensor" when they mean MAP Sensor Enhancer; please use proper terms.
Methane: Natural gas or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Mixture: Other than the normal English definition of 'mixture', we use this term for the mixture of air and fuel, in a carburetor or fuel injection system of ICE.
Molecule: Compound of two or more atoms, the smallest independent unit of chemical compounds.
MPG: Miles Per Gallon. The most common expression of fuel economy, the higher the better. In the metric system it would be expressed in KPL or kilometers per liter. Some use miles per liter, which gets confusing. Here's a simple conversion between those:
-if you have MPG and you want miles per litre - divide by 4.545
-if you have miles per litre and you want KPL - multiply by 1.601
-if you have MPG and you want KPL - divide by 2.839 (in other words 1 MPG = 0.35 KPL)
mV: milliVolts.
mL or ml: milliliter, one thousandth of a liter.
Multi-Cell: A HOD system built from several cells for better thermal efficiency (good solution to thermal runaway) and higher HHO production.
Nitrogen: An odorless, gaseous element that makes up 78% of the earth's atmosphere, and is a constituent of all living tissue. It is almost inert (limited in ability to react chemically) in its gaseous form.
NOx: Gases consisting of one molecule of nitrogen and varying numbers of oxygen molecules. Nitrogen oxides are produced in the emissions of vehicle exhausts and from power stations. In the atmosphere, nitrogen oxides can contribute to formation of photochemical ozone (smog), can impair visibility, and have health consequences; they are thus considered pollutants. [EPA]
O2: Oxygen.
Octane rating: A number representing the ability of gasoline to control pre-detonation, in other words its anti-knock capability; not necessarily a better fuel for a certain job.
Odometer: Mileage or kilometer gauge.
On board: Mounted on (or in) a vehicle.
On-Board Diagnostics, or OBD: A generic term referring to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. OBD systems give the vehicle owner or a repair technician access to state of health information for various vehicle sub-systems. We refer to it as a generic term for the entire "program" running the vehicle, including its usage of energy in various conditions. While there are differences between vehicles, OBD-I generally refers to pre-1996 vehicles and the more advanced (and more pervasive) system OBD-II refers to models 1996 and newer. In some newer models OBD-II is replaced or supplemented with what's called CAN (Controller Area Network) where on board devices can talk to each other without going through the ECU.
Oz or Ounce: An imperial (non-metric) measuring unit. It is used both for volume and (but a different unit!!!) for mass or weight. Which gets very confusing sometimes. When we speak of ounces we're usually talking about liquid volume. When you use the unit converters (see top of glossary) to convert ounces to grams or liters, be sure to use the proper setting for your calculations - mass (weight) or volume.
Oxygen: A non-metallic gaseous element that makes up 21% of the atmosphere.
Oxygen sensor or O2 sensor: An electronic device that measures the proportion of oxygen (O2) in the gas or liquid being analyzed. Used in science labs. In modern vehicles it is a small sensor inserted into the exhaust system to measure the concentration of oxygen remaining in the exhaust gas to allow the ECU to control the efficiency of the combustion process in the engine. A "side effect" of oxygen sensors is that they can disrupt fuel-saving technologies that create a lean fuel-air mixture. If the engine burns too lean due to any modifications (such as adding oxygen from an electrolyzer), the sensor will detect the mixture as being too lean, and the engine computer will adjust the injector pulse duration, so that the air-fuel mixture continues to stay within the stoichiometric ratio of 14.7:1 on a typical vehicle. There are ways that the oxygen sensor can be overcome. Sometimes, a device can be inserted inline with the sensor, which tricks the engine computer into thinking the mixture is stoichiometric, when actually it is either rich, or lean, and therefore, this modification will not be automatically corrected by the oxygen sensor. [source: Wikipedia]
Oxyhydrogen or oxy-hydrogen: Another name for Brown's Gas.
PCV: Positive Crankcase Ventilation, a system using a PCV valve to evacuate "blow by gases" and moisture from the crankcase of an internal combustion engine. Well, that's the official definition anyway... In fact, blow by gases are a whole lot of junk: burnt and un-burnt fuel and oil escaping from the cylinder, past the piston rings (much more if you have worn-out rings) during a piston's power stroke, and into the crankcase. These by-products of combustion form acid and sludge in the crankcase and cause smoke. And, naturally, they do not help mileage either when the PCV system "re-circulates" this junk back into the intake manifold - the breathing part of the engine. The air entering the engine should NOT have sludge added to it! It must breathe clean air in order to work properly. And this is where the PCV Enhancer comes into the picture.
PCV Valve: Positive Crankcase Ventilation Valve, a one-way valve that ensures continual re-circulates junk from a gasoline internal combustion engine's crankcase. More details in PCV.
PCV Enhancer: A device to clean the blow-by gases (see PCV) so they do not re-enter the engine.
Petrol: A mixture of various hydrocarbons used as a fuel (in the USA we call it 'gas').
Ping or pinging: Also called "knocking" - banging noise in the engine, caused by improper combustion.
Potassium Hydroxide: NaOH, lye. A common catalyst used in electrolyzers. Quite toxic and corrosive, has much more user friendly alternatives such as Baking Soda and Sodium Citrate.
PWM: Pulse Width Modulator. A device that controls the amount of power delivered to an electrolyzer (also used for controlling electrical motors and other devices). We do it by changing the ratio of ON time to OFF time, thus creating an effect of reduced overall energy, over time in general, delivered to the electrolyzer. Another good reason to use PWM in HHO production is to excite the electrodes many times a second, resulting in a more efficient, less heat producing electrolysis.
Rich (mixture): More fuel and less air in the air/fuel mixture. In accordance with common wisdom (the "wisdom" of modern automakers) the mixture should be ideal at 14.7 parts air to 1 part gasoline. But in actual fact it can be as lean as 50:1 or more. Therefore ANY number beyond the very minimum that is needed can be considered "rich". I know it's not "conventional wisdom" but in a decaying planet we must try to prevent ANY waste of energy, even a drop adds up to a river.
Scangauge-II: The most popular scanner between "mileage seekers" due to its ease of use and its capability to display instant or averaged MPG, between many other codes and vehicle conditions such as temperature.
Scanner: An electronic device, usually handheld, that reads and sometimes re-programs vehicle computer error codes.
Short (circuit): Electricity taking a "shortcut" due to a (greatly) reduced resistance than the proper path, resulting in very high (and uncontrolled) electrical current. Usually ends up in fire or severe damage.
Sodium Bicarbonate: Baking Soda, in slang. A popular catalyst for electrolyzers. Non toxic (used in food, for dental health, etc.) and is a user friendly alternative to other catalysts.
Sodium Citrate: An optional catalyst for electrolyzers. Non toxic (used as food ingredient in ice cream, cream cheese, etc) and is a user friendly alternative to other catalysts. Not as cheap as Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) but keeps the electrolyzer cleaner.
Sodium hydroxide: NaOH, lye. A common catalyst used in electrolyzers. Quite toxic, has user friendly alternatives.
SPDT: Single Pole, Double Throw. Switch type that can switch one circuit (hence "single pole"), and is capable of making an electrical connection in each of its "throws" (sides of its motion).
Spiral: a coiled shape, like the thread of a screw or like a coil spring. The difference between 'coil' and 'spiral' is that a coil can be winding upon itself, but a spiral is spread out through space. When an electric current is flowing in a spiral conductor (wire), it creates a magnetic vortex (rapidly spinning flow, like a whirlpool).
Stoichiometric: Describing a (fuel/air) mixture of "proper" proportions. According to automotive conventional wisdom it should be 14.7:1 but in actual fact these are arbitrary numbers. A car can drive just as nicely on 25:1. In fact if you were to design it in a slightly different way (ignition timing and valve timing are major players in this game), then its so-called "Stoichiometric" balance would now be 25:1 (for example).
Thermal Runaway: Might happen in an electrolyzers, refers to a situation where an increase in temperature changes the conditions in a way that causes a further increase in temperature leading to a destructive result.
Tower: A common name for the Water4Gas electrolyzer core, used for holding the wire electrodes in place.
Tuner: Auto mechanic that specializes in tuning vehicles and engines for best performance, or maximal fuel economy, or both.
VAC: Volts Alternating Current.
Vaporization: The physical change of going from a solid or a liquid into a gaseous state.
Vaporizer: A device that adds water vapor to the air/fuel mixture of a vehicle's engine in order to boost its power, save gasoline and reduce harmful emissions.
VDC: Volts Direct Current.
Voltage offset: Voltage added to the output signal of the oxygen sensor. The combined signal (with the offset) is fed back to the ECU.
Voltage: Measure of electrical tension or pressure. The unit is Volt, named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta.
Water Gas, Watergas, Waterfuel or Water-Fuel: Yet more names for Brown's Gas.
Water: An oxide (chemical bond with oxygen) of hydrogen. One of the most abundant compounds on Earth. In its pure state such as distilled water, it does not conduct electricity; but with a little help from a catalyst can be be electrolyzed (separated) into hydrogen and oxygen.
Watt-hour: a unit of work. A simple multiplication of the number of Watt (which expresses how many electrons in a given unit of time) by the number of hours that this number of Watts is applied. Or, in the case of a battery, how many hours can the battery provide those Watts before it's depleted.
Watts: A unit of electrical power; not potential power (voltage) but actual work done. To find the "wattage" or in a simple word electrical Power, multiply Volts by Amps. Named after Scottish engineer and inventor James Watt.
WFC or Water Fuel Cell. Common name for electrolyzer.
Xylene: Most will say it is a thinner. But FireNet International (UK) says it is actually part of gasoline: "Dimethylbenzene. An aromatic compound having the formula C6H4(CH3)2. Xylene is a major component of gasoline." |