While refining a radio-frequency cancer therapy he’d developed, Kanzius noticed that the treatment, which uses high-energy radio waves to destroy cancer cells that have been “tagged” with nano particles, had another unexpected application as an alternative energy source. Turns out if you point the Kanzius “Non-Invasive Radio Wave Treatment” at a bit of saltwater, it will burst into flame–one whose temperature reportedly exceeds 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Apparently, Kanzius’s invention–which uses just 200 watts of directed radio waves, not quite enough electricity to light three 75-watt light bulbs–breaks down the hydrogen-oxygen bond in the water, igniting the hydrogen.

“This was an experiment to see if I could heat saltwater, and instead of heat, I got fire,” Kanzius told WPBF. “You could take plain saltwater out of the sea, put it in containers and produce a violent flame that could heat generators that make electricity, or provide other forms of energy. If I were to be bold enough, I think one day you could power an automobile with this, eventually.”