Solar Hydrogen System
Hydrogen Cells:
A hydrogen fuel cell is an electrochemical cell in which the energy of a reaction between a fuel (liquid hydrogen) and an oxidant such as liquid oxygen, is converted directly and continuously into electrical energy. People decide to use hydrogen fuel cells because they are clean, quiet, safe, efficient, sustainable and modular compared to other options out there. For example, we used a hydrogen fuel cell (Alkaine) in the car we constructed because it was safe (no one got shocked), quiet (the motor made little noise) and it got the job done (car moved=efficient). However, you must be sure to eliminate large air bubbles in the cell and to make sure it is charged properly, in order for the cell to function correctly and fully. In order to start the reaction, a power supply is needed (solar panel).
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Solar Panels:
A solar panel is a panel designed to absorb the sun's rays/light energy for generating electricity or heating. In this project, we used 5 cell photovoltaic solar cells to power our hydrogen fuel cell and without it, our car would not have moved. People often decide to use solar panels as a source of electricity/heat because it is very environmentally friendly alternative to other electricity options out there.
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Series and Parallel Circuits:
A series circuit has one path for current to flow and the current flowing through every series component is equal. The circuit we constructed for the hydrogen fuel cell was a series circuit. We also discovered that our car moved faster when we used a series and not a parallel circuit. According to Kirchhoff's law the voltage drops on each resistor, and the total voltage is equal to the sum of the voltages across the resistors. This means if the path becomes open (broken), the circuit wont work in terms of the resistors.
A parallel circuit has multiple paths for current to flow and the voltage across every parallel component is equal. When we constructed a parallel circuit for our car, it moved slower compared to using a series circuit. In a parallel circuit, each resistor has its own path. This means that if one path is broken, the other paths will still function.
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Reflection:
This project has helped me learn a lot more about circuits, hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels. I had to understand how they worked in order to utilize their functions to create a moving car. However, I ran into my fair share of problems while trying to do just that. First of all, I had to design the car so that the bread board, solar panel, motor and the hydrogen fuel cell all fit on the car design without falling over or interfering with the wheels. To accomplish this I had to make little compartments for each item and then a path for the wires to go. I also had to make sure the circuit I created was series and that it connected the solar panel to the hydrogen fuel cell then to the motor and lastly to the breadboard. Which was a lot easier said then done. It look some guidance from Ms. Harlan to get our wires adjusted on the breadboard to get the motor to work. Overall I think this project was a great learning experience and helped me to learn (hands on) how circuits and hydrogen fuel cells really work even though it was quite challenging and stressful at times to get working.