The magnesium injection cycle (MAGIC) is an

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

design under development by Mitsubishi Corporation and the Tokyo Institute of Technology that uses

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

and

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

to generate power."-Free Engine Powers Up"
Mitsubishi website"Clean Magnesium Energy Cycle Hints at Fossil Fuel Freedom"
by Steve Levenstein, July 27, 2007, InventorSpot.com"TIT & Mitsubishi Prototypes Pollution-free Engine Excluding Fossil Fuel"
by Motohiko Hamada and Nikkei Monozukuri, techon.nikkeibp.co.jp The engine also makes use of solar powered lasers.

Overview

The joint project, initiated in 2005 and still in the experimental stage, developed a prototype

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

()-free engine in 2006 that ran successfully without the need for fossil fuels. The chemical reaction between magnesium (in a powder form) and water at room temperature produces high-energy

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

and

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

. The hydrogen is burned at the same time to produce additional high-energy steam. These two steam sources power the engine. The energy cycle produces no carbon dioxide or other harmful emissions. The only by-products of this reaction are water and

magnesium oxide Magnesium oxide (MgO), or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium (see also oxide). It has an empirical formula of MgO and consists of a lattice of Mg2+ ions and O2− ions ...

. The magnesium (a common metallic element) is separated from the oxygen through a solar-powered laser process (the development of which is already well advanced) and is reused over and over again as fuel.

Output

Despite its small

dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...

s (approx. 5 cm in

diameter In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...

and 13.5 cm in height), the engine can generate a heat output of several tens of kW from which power is obtained. The engine is intended for use in cogeneration, automobiles, ships, and many other areas. A statement in 2006 claimed that further research was planned to achieve commercialization within the next three years. No updated timeline has been released.

Personnel

The engine development was led by Professor Takashi Yabe with the help of Professor Ikuta and others of Tokyo Institute of Technology with the cooperation of Ono Denki Seisakusho, K.K., a precision manufacturer located in

Shinagawa, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies. , the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population d ...

. Professor Yabe performed experiments of the technology in 2007 at the Hokkaido Toyako G8 environmental summit hosted in Chitose,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

References

{{reflist Engine technology

Overview

Output

Personnel

See also

References