Myths & Realities About Hydrogen Fuel

Saturday, Mar 21, 1:30 pm Public & Free

Rene Carlos, Advanced Composites Group,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

National Science Foundation, Room 110
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA (*)
(Flyer)

Mankind has known of and studied hydrogen for over 300 years, and applied it to vehicles for over 200--first in balloons and dirigibles, then as high-performance rocket fuel, by military, civil, and commercial organizations. More recently, multiple navies have tested and deployed hydrogen-containing submarines. This is in addition to chemical and nuclear applications, and most likely consumer electronics in the near future. With fuel cost and availability worsening, and concerns that greenhouse gases produced by fossil fuel use are driving climate change, hydrogen has been promoted by some in government and industry as the ultimate widely-available and pollution-free fuel for private automobiles as well. Using fuel-cell technologies, such automobiles are claimed to exhaust nothing but water; hydrogen can also fuel conventional but modified piston engines.

But the devil is in the details. Many of the technical hurdles and shortcomings are usually left out of the conversation. The very claim that hydrogen is abundant and pollution-free is a matter of interpretation. Issues of sourcing and manufacture, as well as practical distribution and handling, haven't been as visible in the debate, while fears of Hindenburg-style disasters have gotten more traction than the evidence would suggest. In addition, fuel cells can use many other fuels besides hydrogen, including gasoline; the future of cars, with electric and hybrid cars also in contention, is far more complicated than the average driver has been led to believe. Even fuel-cell researchers themselves disagree on hydrogen's merits.

Rene Carlos is a mechanical engineer in the Advanced Composites Group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. In that capacity he has served on multiple flight projects resulting in operational spacecraft, as well as on ground tests and technology demonstrations. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in Materials Science, at Northwestern University. Personally, he has analyzed alternate-fuel conversions for his own vehicles.

* NSF is one block south of the Ballston-Marymount University metro stop on the Orange Line. For most drivers the easiest route is to exit Route 66 onto Fairfax Dr. eastbound to N. Stuart Street. Enter the NSF building at the corner of N. Stuart Street and 9th St. N. Parking is available in the Ballston Common mall, in the NSF building, and at other area parking lots and garages. Metered parking is also available on the surrounding streets. (Map)

Skeptical Eye, Volume 20-2 2009

• Kurtz Receives Klass Award
• Current & coming events
• Prez sez—present
• Prez sez—past
• UFO Investigation
• Science, Magic and Skepticism
• Heavy Mental
• Newton: The Alchemist
• About NCAS
• Write us

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Darwin at 200, Human Nature at a Few Million, A Myth Dispelled

Saturday, Feb 14, 1:30 pm Public & FREE

Dennis K. McBride, Ph.D., Potomac Institute for Policy Studies,
Georgetown University Medical School
Georgetown University Public Policy Institute

National Science Foundation, Room 110
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA (Map)

This talk first reviews some of the least known but important elements of Charles Darwin’s portfolio as he published “Origins” in 1859, and “Descent of Man” in 1871. (For example, Darwin was, fortunately for us, very prone to sea sickness.) Focusing on the evolution of humanity and on natural selection’s counterpart, sexual selection, Darwin’s 1871 book re-fueled a firestorm, one that still burns today. Poll numbers show that a significant proportion of today’s population does not accept Darwinism as applied to humans. Darwin foresaw and actually embraced this resistance. More importantly, a significant proportion of adults, including academics, accept human evolution but eschew the idea of a DNA-supported (i.e., not genetically determined) “human nature.” At least three evolved characteristics of human evolution make the species very different from its closest relatives: the opposable thumb, bipedalism, and the encephalized brain (which increased in size by a factor of 3 over the past few million years). Dr. McBride will touch on interesting examples of evolved human nature, including pregnancy sickness and male preference for mates with certain waist/hip ratios. With these, we will examine the way in which the realities of bipedalism and encephalization explain birth-related injury, and how this consideration undermines one of the most troublesome socio-legal myths of our time: the myth of shaken baby syndrome.

Dennis K. McBride, Ph.D. is Academic President of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington area think tank dedicated to the provision of science and technology policy expertise to the administration, congress, and the judiciary. Members of the Institute remain actively engaged in the scientific disciplines for which they provide expertise. McBride is an evolutionary psychologist with an extensive background in the science of human evolution. His most recent book, Quantifying Human Information Processing (Rowman & Littlefield) is followed by a soon to be released, co-authored treatment of Best Available Science. As an active adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University’s medical school and Public Policy Institute, he has also held appointments as professor in colleges of engineering and arts and sciences.

* NSF is one block south of the Ballston-Marymount University metro stop on the Orange Line. For most drivers the easiest route is to exit Route 66 onto Fairfax Dr. eastbound to N. Stuart Street. Enter the NSF building at the corner of N. Stuart Street and 9th St. N. Parking is available in the Ballston Common mall, in the NSF building, and at other area parking lots and garages. Metered parking is also available on the surrounding streets. (Map)

Skeptical Eye, Volume 20-1 2009

• Current events
• Prez sez
• 20 Years Ago
• 20th Greetings
• Robert Park Receives Klass Award
• Skeptic on the Loose!
• Brunch at Jackie’s with James Randi
• James Randi Receives Klass Award
• ESP
• Sir Isaac Newton
• “Expelled”
• From the Copy-right Office: Protecting your Elvis Sighting

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How Statistics Are Misunderstood in the Media and Society

Saturday, Jan 10, 1:30 pm Public & FREE

Rebecca Goldin, Ph.D.
Statistical Assessment Service

National Science Foundation, Room 110
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA






Dr. Rebecca Goldin is Director of Research for the Statistical Assessment Service (stats.org), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization affiliated with George Mason University. STATS’ mission is to improve the quality of scientific and statistical information in public discourse and to act as a resource for journalists and policy makers on scientific issues and controversies. STATS' work has been featured on NBC Nightly News, the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and ABC's 20/20 - and in print by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, US News & World Report, New Scientist, New England Journal of Medicine, and many other publications.

Dr. Goldin is Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences at George Mason University, and a member of the Science Policy Committee of the American Mathematical Society. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard, and her PhD from MIT. She taught at University of Maryland as a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow before joining George Mason in 2001. In 2007 she was the first recipient of the Ruth I. Michler Memorial Prize, which honors outstanding young women in the field of mathematics.

* NSF is one block south of the Ballston-Marymount University metro stop on the Orange Line. For most drivers the easiest route is to exit Route 66 onto Fairfax Dr. eastbound to N. Stuart Street. Enter the NSF building at the corner of N. Stuart Street and 9th St. N. Parking is available in the Ballston Common mall, in the NSF building, and at other area parking lots and garages. Metered parking is also available on the surrounding streets. (Map)