[gsmollin]

Any alkali metal is a strong reactant. All the metals are energy rich, which is why they corrode, and are never found in nature in their metallic state. (Except gold, which is non-reactive.) Therefor, all you people are missing the point. Sodium, or lithium, or any other metal cannot be a primary fuel because it only occurs in nature in its oxide form, and all the energy you can get from it when you react it must be added during the refining process.

The one possible exception is hydrogen, which can be removed from hydrocarbon fuels and used as a fuel, however, even hydrogen needs the addition of heat to break the hydro-carbon bond, just not a lot of heat. This is as close as you get to replacing hydro-carbon fuels with metallic fuels.

[Simmer]

In a hundred years time, with no oil and all electrical power produced in giant fusion plants on the moon, you may be glad of a sodium engine to power your personal helipack[]

Difficult practically though, pellets of gunpowder is about the nearest match I could find on a quick search.
 
http://www.automobileindia.com/Timeline/time1.html

Come to think of it, gunpowder is probably a much better bet, fuel already mixed with oxidant and most of the products gaseous.  

Sorry Zichichi, I've joined the sceptics!

[David Sparkman]

Hmm, I think you are all missing some important points.

1. the heat of the reaction is probabily liqudizing some of the chunk and this is causing the splitting.

2. the proper use of such concentrated energy mass would be in a battery like device to produce a slow, steady stream of energy. The system would have to be self contained and produce salt NaCl as the final product. The sodium would produce hydrogen which would be reacted with oxygen to produce electricty. Not necessarly efficent, but it beats towing along a tank of H2 if water is available. See my suggestions on the reason for using hydrogen cars in another thread.

3. And what if the device is in an accident?

David

[Simmer]

But in the future we will be less concerned with the safety and efficiency of a device and more with how much fun it is.  

This will be partly as a result of advances in medical science but mainly because all the proper geeks will have removed themeselves from the gene pool through cold fusion experiments.

[ScientificAngel]

Surely there are some varnishes that are heat resistant and alkaline resistant.
I think the problem is another:
Does hydrogen give problems?
Some experiments can give us the answer.

God can give to us 4 new
earth scientifically from Jupiter...

[daveshorts]

Personally I would rather be sitting on a tank of hydrogen, than one of sodium - at least the hydrogen isn't going to hurt you if it comes into contact with you and it will disperse quickly, the sodium will give you serious burns on contact, and has a tendancy to explode on contact with water produceing caustic byproducts and to top it all hydrogen!