[quote]pookie wrote:
Well, as far as I know, the gas is pretty well burned in modern engines. With computer controlled injection, you’re getting the optimal air/gas mixture pretty constantly.
The 35% efficiency is not derived from burning only 35% of the gas; it’s because after detonation, only 35% of the power does useful work. The rest is mostly wasted in the form of heat. The gas itself is probably burned to about 99% efficiency. Would adding hydrogen produce more usable power with less heat?[/quote]
Exactly, I don’t know if you’ve seen this experiment, but if you fill a balloon with pure H and ignite it you get a great fireball, same with pure O. If you put 2 parts H in 1 part O at the same total volume, you get much less light and heat and much more sound. This isn’t proof that the engine works, but it is a really easy way to convince yourself that just gasoline and just hydrogen don’t burn near the same as a mixture of the two.
Also, if you think the gas is pretty well burned in “modern” engines, try a trick. I haven’t done it since I graduated H.S. but I had a '90 Ford Bronco (fuel injected) in good running condition and if you held a lighter at the tail pipe and revved the engine you could get flames. If it were purely CO and CO2 it should extinguish the lighter. Newer engines may be much better, but I was surprised to see that amount of combustibles come out of the tailpipe of a vehicle in good running condition that got decent mileage.