HYDROGEN+FUEL+-+Matthew

=Hydrogen Fuel=

__Environmental Effects__ Hydrogen Fuel is an environmentally friendly fuel that has potential to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

__How It Works and the Energy Changes involved__ Hydrogen fuel is used by a fuel cell. A fuel cell is a device that takes stored chemical energy converts to electrical energy directly. This essentially takes the chemical energy that's stored within. Through 2 electrochemical reactions that converts it directly into electricity. The major components of the fuel cell are the electrolyte (the separator), this keeps the reactants from mixing with each other. The next pieces are the electrodes, which are catalysts where the electrochemical reactions occur. Beyond that, there are bipolar plates. This is a way to collect the current and to build the voltage for the cell. A fuel cell can never go dead because there are always chemicals flowing through it. Chemical --> Electrical

__A Particular Example from Around the World__ A hydrogen-powered personal helicopter was created a few months ago. This personal helicopter weighs in at roughly 104kg. Although this helicopter can only last for 90 minutes, it goes up to a speed of 51.4m/s.

On 3rd April 2008 in Madrid, Spain; Boeing successfully flew a fuel cell-powered airplane. The plane flew straight at a cruising speed of 100kmph for 20 minutes on power solely generated by these hydrogen fuel cells.

__Facts and Figures about the Source__ Fuel Cost - Hydrogen is expensive to produce and can only be found mostly in California. Vehicle Cost - Fuel cell-powered vehicles are extremely expensive for most people to afford. However, they are available to few demonstration companies. Fuel Storage - Hydrogen contains less energy than other fuel sources such as gasoline or diesel; this makes it difficult for hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles to go as fast as gasoline vehicles. The technology for these fuel cells are currently improving although, the storage system are way too big in terms of size and weight and are too expensive to make.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hydrogen.shtml http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2008/q2/080403a_nr.html http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/hydrogen-powered-personal-helicopter/ http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/fuel-cell.htm Back to 
 * __Sources__**