Originally posted by Savaric
I'll ask my chem teacher about the hho gas. I'm sure it's not new either. Thanks for the science article Xaxer!
My guess is that, like most such things, the chemistry's nothing new but the application is. There are two halves to invention: First, discover a principle, energy source, or phenomenon; and second, put it to some demonstrable, practical use. The first is, "If I do this to water, it turns into that and the other, and when they come together again, they release a lot of heat". The second is, "Utilizing the HHO reaction, I've made a super blowtorch". It's often not the same person who does the two halves.

I wouldn't disparage either inventor - the one who comes up with something fun but useless, nor the one who makes something useful by building on the work of others. Unfortunately, it's a lot easier for the second to make money.