How to think about the claim of a water-powered car?
by Salman Hameed
An engineer in Pakistan, Agha Waqar Ahmad, is claiming that he has invented a "water-kit" that allows cars to run on water alone. Okay - so lets cut to the chase. This is most likely bad science (a violation of 2nd law of thermodynamics) or possibly outright fraud. But that is not the point of this post. There are a number of good articles that have come out challenging the claim - and I have posted Pervez Hoodbhoy's article below. What is striking about this story is not the claim itself. There are many people who make bold, audacious claims that are often wrong. I get regular e-mails from people who have solved some of the ultimate questions in cosmology - and they are often making simple mistakes. That is no big deal. One always has the delete button.
The key surprise in the water-kit story is the reaction of the media, the government, and some of the scientists. The media not only covered the story, but framed it in the context of elevating Pakistan's image in the world. Some of the senior government officials peddled it as a solution to the energy crisis - and a diversion from the myriad of problems currently facing Pakistan. And the credulous reaction of some of the scientists - including the infamous AQ Khan - hmm...well...I'm at a loss for words to possibly explain this reaction of scientists.
I was trying to figure out how to evaluate this episode. This is indeed Exhibit A in the demonstration of the lack of scientific culture at some of the most important levels of Pakistani society. In particular it exposes the hyper-reactive media and the way they frame the story in a jingoistic manner. But this media-reaction is now a world-wide problem - and therefore, we need some basic critical thinking skills in evaluating claims.
It is this area that exposes the credulity of some of the senior government officials. For example, a basic knowledge of the nature of his claim (the violation of the second law of thermodynamics) and how such breakthroughs are announced. Just look the academic spat over the discovery of possible life forms in Martian meteorite, ALH 84001, or the more recent debunked claims of faster than light neutrinos. It is not that new discoveries are not made or that the second law of thermodynamics is sacred. But rather that any news regarding the violation of a well-tested law requires multiple tests before we can sure of the new claim, let alone being peddled as a solution to energy crisis.
The pertinent question is: Has there been decline of a scientific culture in Pakistan? I don't know the answer. After all, the government did host a hilarious Islamic Science conference in the 1980s (some of the details were presented by Pervez Hoodbhoy in his 1992 book, Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the battle for Rationality). This puts to rest the idea that there were more institutional checks when it came to science. From this perspective, the more sensationalist media is the new ingredient that may be be providing a particular frame to fuel claims like the water car. But I'm also heartened by the number of op ed pieces being written to shame all those who succumbed to this claim.
In any case, I don't think the central blame for this debacle lies with the engineer who made the claim of the water car. There are always people making outrageous claims. The blame, in this particular case, lies with the people who used the claim to propagate their own agendas - be it the ratings or a short-lived political slogan.
Here is a clip of a relatively well-respected talk show that features the 'inventor' of the water kit (tip from Zakir Thaver):
And here is an excerpt from an excellent article by Pervez Hoodbhoy on this whole episode:
An engineer in Pakistan, Agha Waqar Ahmad, is claiming that he has invented a "water-kit" that allows cars to run on water alone. Okay - so lets cut to the chase. This is most likely bad science (a violation of 2nd law of thermodynamics) or possibly outright fraud. But that is not the point of this post. There are a number of good articles that have come out challenging the claim - and I have posted Pervez Hoodbhoy's article below. What is striking about this story is not the claim itself. There are many people who make bold, audacious claims that are often wrong. I get regular e-mails from people who have solved some of the ultimate questions in cosmology - and they are often making simple mistakes. That is no big deal. One always has the delete button.
The key surprise in the water-kit story is the reaction of the media, the government, and some of the scientists. The media not only covered the story, but framed it in the context of elevating Pakistan's image in the world. Some of the senior government officials peddled it as a solution to the energy crisis - and a diversion from the myriad of problems currently facing Pakistan. And the credulous reaction of some of the scientists - including the infamous AQ Khan - hmm...well...I'm at a loss for words to possibly explain this reaction of scientists.
I was trying to figure out how to evaluate this episode. This is indeed Exhibit A in the demonstration of the lack of scientific culture at some of the most important levels of Pakistani society. In particular it exposes the hyper-reactive media and the way they frame the story in a jingoistic manner. But this media-reaction is now a world-wide problem - and therefore, we need some basic critical thinking skills in evaluating claims.
It is this area that exposes the credulity of some of the senior government officials. For example, a basic knowledge of the nature of his claim (the violation of the second law of thermodynamics) and how such breakthroughs are announced. Just look the academic spat over the discovery of possible life forms in Martian meteorite, ALH 84001, or the more recent debunked claims of faster than light neutrinos. It is not that new discoveries are not made or that the second law of thermodynamics is sacred. But rather that any news regarding the violation of a well-tested law requires multiple tests before we can sure of the new claim, let alone being peddled as a solution to energy crisis.
The pertinent question is: Has there been decline of a scientific culture in Pakistan? I don't know the answer. After all, the government did host a hilarious Islamic Science conference in the 1980s (some of the details were presented by Pervez Hoodbhoy in his 1992 book, Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the battle for Rationality). This puts to rest the idea that there were more institutional checks when it came to science. From this perspective, the more sensationalist media is the new ingredient that may be be providing a particular frame to fuel claims like the water car. But I'm also heartened by the number of op ed pieces being written to shame all those who succumbed to this claim.
In any case, I don't think the central blame for this debacle lies with the engineer who made the claim of the water car. There are always people making outrageous claims. The blame, in this particular case, lies with the people who used the claim to propagate their own agendas - be it the ratings or a short-lived political slogan.
Here is a clip of a relatively well-respected talk show that features the 'inventor' of the water kit (tip from Zakir Thaver):
And here is an excerpt from an excellent article by Pervez Hoodbhoy on this whole episode:
At first, it sounded like a joke: a self-styled engineer, trained in Khairpur’s polytechnic institute, claims to have invented a ‘water kit’ enabling any car to run on water alone. It didn’t matter that the rest of world couldn’t extract energy from water; he had done it. He promised a new Pakistan with limitless energy, no need for petrol or gas, and no more loadshedding. For an energy starved nation, it is a vision of paradise.
Agha Waqar Ahmad is now a national celebrity thanks to Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Shah. Federal ministers Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani and Qamar Zaman Kaira have added their commendations. President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed his delight. The cabinet has met three times to discuss the water vehicle, and a fourth meeting is scheduled. Reports suggest millions may be spent on the ‘water fuel kit project’.
The media has rushed in to celebrate the new national hero. For TV anchor Talat Husain, thanks to Agha Waqar Ahmad’s invention, Pakistan’s image can go from a country ravaged by terrorism to one of boundless possibilities. Anchor Hamid Mir and Senator Parvaiz Rasheed drove around Islamabad sitting next to the inventor, wondering how to protect the man’s life from Western oil companies. Anchor Arshad Sharif was euphoric about the $14 billion Pakistan would save on oil imports.
Pakistan’s most celebrated scientists were not far behind. Asked by Anchor Sharif whether a car could run only on water, nuclear hero Dr Samar Mubarakmand replied without hesitation: “jee haan, bilkul ho sakta hai” (yes, absolutely possible). For his part, Hamid Mir asked Dr AQ Khan if there was any chance of this being a fraud. The response was clear: “Main nay apnay level per investigate kiya hai aur koi fraud waraud nahi kiya hai” (I have investigated the matter and there is no fraud involved). The head of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr Shaukat Parvaiz, went further: “hum nay bhi iss pay kam karaya tha” (we had some work done on this too).
So, what is the problem? It’s that the laws of physics, in particular a fundamental scientific principle known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, impose inviolable constraints. Every machine constructed anywhere uses the Second Law. This is something that I learned in my first year as a student at MIT and have taught for 40 years. No serious scientist would dream of challenging the Second Law. Agha Waqar Ahmad’s ‘water kit’, if one believes science to be right, simply cannot work. What the inventor, the ministers, the anchors and scientists claim on TV is wrong.Read the full article here. You can also find a story on this claim in the New York Times here.
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But this episode raises bigger questions. Scientific frauds exist in other countries, but what explains their spectacular success in Pakistan? Answer: our leaders are lost in the dark, fumbling desperately for a miracle; our media is chasing spectacle, not truth; and our great scientists care more about being important than about evidence. It is easy for them all to get away with this. As a nation, we have proven unwilling to do the hard work needed to learn to reason, to be sceptical, to demand proof, to understand even basic science. It is easier to believe the world is run by magic and conspiracies, to wish and wait for Aladin’s magic lamp. We live in the age of jahilliya.
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