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The Vanishing Invention

by Bob Wilson at autoenglish.org
 
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LEVEL: Intermediate
LANGUAGE: science
READABILITY: 12.42 (Coleman Liau index)
WORDS: 195

 

   

The Vanishing Invention

In 1998, a Valencian professor made an amazing claim. Professor Antonio Cervilla discovered how to use water as a substitute for petrol.

 The scientist said that you could drive from Bilbao to Valencia on just half a litre of water. His invention uses a molybdenum compound to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike other methods, no electricity is required and the reaction happens at atmospheric temperature.

 This impressive technology is based on the way plant enzymes break down water. The use of molybdenum is the perfect choice because, although rare, it is cheap and found all around the planet.

 Since the claims were made, nothing more has been heard about this fabulous technology. There is no explanation for the disappearance anywhere on the internet, apart from a list of similar inventions which have also vanished. An inventor from the Philipines called Daniel Dingel developed a water-fuelled car but was arrested at the age of 82 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

 If this technology were to become widely available, it would prove disastrous for petrol station owners and would also save the planet from the impending environmental catastrophes being caused by pollution.