Related topics: energy , carbon nanotube , hydrogen , catalyst , platinum
Fuel cell
hideA fuel cell is an electrochemical conversion device. It produces electricity from fuel (on the anode side) and an oxidant (on the cathode side), which react in the presence of an electrolyte. The reactants flow into the cell, and the reaction products flow out of it, while the electrolyte remains within it. Fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained.
Fuel cells are different from electrochemical cell batteries in that they consume reactant from an external source, which must be replenished – a thermodynamically open system. By contrast, batteries store electrical energy chemically and hence represent a thermodynamically closed system.
Many combinations of fuels and oxidants are possible. A hydrogen fuel cell uses hydrogen as its fuel and oxygen (usually from air) as its oxidant. Other fuels include hydrocarbons and alcohols. Other oxidants include chlorine and chlorine dioxide.
The principle of the fuel cell had been demonstrated by Sir William Grove in 1839, and other investigators had experimented with various forms of fuel cell. The first practical fuel cell was developed by Francis Thomas Bacon in 1959.
For more information about Fuel cell, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with fuel cell
Panasonic plans home-use storage cell
Dec 23, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (19) |
9
Panasonic Corp., which recently made a successful takeover bid for Sanyo Electric Co., plans to market a lithium-ion storage cell for home use around fiscal 2011.
Nanoparticles go platinum: NCEM instruments provide key images
Dec 21, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
0
At Berkeley Lab's National Center for Electron Microscopy it was revealed that single-stranded DNA can disperse bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes into individual tubes and serve as guideposts for synthesizing ...
A Search for Stability for Platinum Catalysts
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new carbon support that greatly increases the durability of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells has been developed by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Princeton University. ...
New Bacterial Behavior Discovered
Dec 15, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Bacteria dance the electric slide, officially named electrokinesis by the USC geobiologists who discovered the phenomenon.
'Rock-breathing' bacteria could generate electricity and clean up oil spills
Dec 14, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (8) |
1
A discovery by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) could contribute to the development of systems that use domestic or agricultural waste to generate clean electricity.
Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalized solar energy'
Dec 16, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
1
New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of "personalized solar energy," in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their ...
Hydrogen-Powered Ion Tiger Sets 26-hour Flight Endurance Record
Nov 30, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
2
The Naval Research Laboratory's Ion Tiger, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell unmanned air vehicle (UAV), has flown 26 hours and 1 minute carrying a 5-pound payload, setting another unofficial flight endurance record ...
Green cars to get Copenhagen boost
Dec 03, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
0
American drivers fond of their gas guzzlers will have to quickly learn to love greener cars, which are expected to get a big boost from upcoming international climate talks in Copenhagen.
