Back to the Future!

How long has the idea of using trash for energy been around?  At least since the the movie "Back to the Future" came out in 1985.  In "Back to the Future," Doc fills his time machine with garbage to power a trip back to the future.  Mr. Fusion, the name given to this garbage to energy generator, may have seemed like some science fiction idea that may never become reality, but it has.  A larger scale Mr, Fusion has been created and has proven to turn everyday garbage into energy.  This technology consists of a tank that contains plasma arcs that reach almost 6000 degrees Fahrenheit.  Simply put a plasma arc is a  lightning strike.  The high temperatures of the plasma arc cause anything within the tank to break apart into smaller and smaller particles until a gas is produced, that can be burnt just as natural gas is burnt, to create mechanical energy.  This mechanical energy can be used to power a car, or to make electricity.  So if this type of technology can convert any type of garbage into energy why did Doc pick through the trash and then pour a beer into Mr. Fusion?  I'm sure it was done that way just to make the scene more interesting and to grab the attention of the audience.  By the way pouring liquids into a fusion gasifier ( the technical name of this "lightning tank") would cause big problems. But isn't it great when seeming out of this world ideas in movies become reality.