Team Picture
Hydrogen Cell
A hydrogen fuel cell is an environmentally friendly way to make electricity. It consists of five parts plus an electrical device such as a light bulb, and a conductive wire. The first part is the Anode which is a porous layer on the outside that is first to absorb the hydrogen atoms. The second layer is the catalyst which absorbs the electrons from each atom and allows the protons to pass through to the next layer. The absorbed electrons travel up the catalyst, then through the wire and electrical device causing it to work, the used electrons go down into the fourth layer which is the second catalyst. The protons pass through the third layer named the electrolyte which takes them to the second catalyst where the protons combine with the used electrons and oxygen atoms that get absorbed by the fifth layer called the cathode. Once all parts of the new molecule combine in the catalyst it comes out as H2O and air in the exhaust.
Solar Panel
Solar panels are used to create energy to power almost anything from calculators to houses. Each solar panel is made from tons of smaller pieces called Photovoltaic cells. The way they work is they absorb sunlight that contain particles called photons that interact with atoms in the cells, by bumping into them and causing the electrons to break off. Once they unattach the electrons travel though wire making electricity. other solar panels use the sun directly for heating water in houses and buildings. They work by having a bunch of flat coiled up pipes painted black to absorb heat under the suns rays. when the sun heats up the metal it has more surface area for the water to flow through and heat up.
Series and Parallel Circuits
There are two types of electrical circuits the first one is a Series circuit, it is made of a power source, copper or some type of conductive wire, and one or more electrical devices. The difference is in the way its set up, for the series, the voltage travels from the power source then through the wire to the first device then out into the next wire which could go to another device or back to the power source completing the circuit. the devices are all directly attatched so if the first device goes out all of them go out after it. In a parallel circuit there are multiple paths that the electrons can take. The way its set up is first a power source sends voltage though a wire which then splits in two different ways one keeps going then splits in two again or just goes through a device then back to the power source. The other way goes through an electrical device then back to the power source also. If a device goes out then it wont effect the devices after it.
Reflection
Our solar panel/hydrogen cell powered vehicle took a lot of trial and error for us to finally get it to run right. We had some problems getting it to work at first, with the circuit board we had to make sure that the wires were inserted fully and placed in the right order on the board which took some time to get right. Once we connected the motor and figured out how the electricity would flow in our series circuit, we then had to prepare and connect the hydrogen cell and solar panel. To prepare the cell I had to fill it full with water then put a lid on it without creating air bubbles, it took a couple tries and I spilled a good amount of water on the desk but I was finally able to get it perfect. We connected the cell to the solar panel and since it was to cloudy outside we let it sit in front of a high watt light bulb to charge. When we came back to get it to test, the solar panel was to close to the light and got way to hot to use, so we moved it away to cool down. Our car finally worked after we connected the cell and solar panel to the circuit. The next day was pretty sunny so our class went outside to have a race to see which groups car worked the best using the suns light only. The car we made slowly made it half way to the finish line then stopped along with almost all of the other groups cars. The reason that ours probably stopped was either the hydrogen cell just wasn't generating enough electricity or the solar panels surface area was to small for the suns low concentration of light. With the right conditions a hydrogen cell is a renewable, cost efficient, and environmentally clean way to create electricity. I think they will be made better and more popular in the future.