Yesterday's Pizza Crust Powers Tomorrow's Hydrogen Car

Great Scot!!! It seems that Doc Brown and Marty McFly weren't too far off when they turned to the Mr. Fusion to power the DeLorean (part number 19852015A - Don't believe me? Check it yourself).

Joseph Longo of Startech Environmental Corporation has created a machine that takes any type of waste, and turns it into clean burning hydrogen. The entire construct is made of off the shelf technology. Separately, these pieces do nothing spectacular. The sum of the parts is much more than expected. At the heart of the Startech Plasma Converter is a tool that could be found in most metal shops - plasma, as in a plasma torch. Electricity passes through the air between two electrodes and ionizes some of the atmosphere, creating plasma. It looks like lightning, and burns hotter than the sun. Garbage goes in, and burns at such a high heat (30,000 Fahrenheit) that nothing toxic remains. What is left over is a gas from which hydrogen is easily pulled, and an obsidian-like substance. No fumes. No waste.

Another side benefit of the burner, is that once it is running, it makes it's own power. It's almost a perpetual motion machine.

Garbage in, and power out. I like that.

If you'd like to read more, check out the latest issue of Popular Science.