solar hydrogen system!!!!
hydrogen cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. There are many types of fuel cells, but the most common fuel is hydrogen. They all consist of an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte that allows charges to move between the two sides of the fuel cell.
solar panel
A solar panel is a panel that uses energy and light from the sun to generate electricity.
series and parallel circuits
In a series circuit the amount of energy or voltage that is produced is slightly greater than that of a parallel circuit, but unlike a parallel circuit if one of the components in the series malfunctions then the entire series will collapse and be not useable until the component is fixed or replaced. In our project the most important asset of the power source was the voltage, and the best overall power source was the AAA batteries but there were two AAA batteries, one in parallel and one in series and when we measured we found that the one in series did in fact have a higher voltage then the one in parallel.
Building process, testing results, racing results, modifications
Building our car was not very difficult, but it did have its challenges. Sometimes when we needed parts they were hard to find or we couldn't find them. An example of this would be when we tried to find a rod to connect the wheels so that they could keep rotating without having to stop. When we tested the car with the different sources ( AA batteries, solar panel, etc.) in the lab it worked fine. The wheels rotated smoothly and everything stayed in place. The only modification that we needed to make was that we needed a barrier to hold the hydrogen cell and solar panel in. When we went to race we had the hydrogen cell as our main source, so we didn't get the power that we needed to move the car. When we put the solar panel in as our main source it picked up more power from the sun and turned the wheels, but the car wouldn't move on the ground. Overall I think that we were successful because our car worked, it just didn't have the power.
conclusion questions
1. two AAA batteries in a series
2. Voltage
3. 2 solar modules and connect them to a series to get the most voltage out of it.
4. 3 Hydrogen fuel cells and also connect them to the series to get the most voltage out of it.
5. use a solar panel all the time but while simultaneously charging a hydrogen fuel cell for when there isn't enough light to power the solar panel alone.
6. photovoltaic cells work using the photoelectric effect, solar cells use photons from the sun that hit silicon atoms and knock off the electrons off and with the electrical imbalance in the cells, it holds the loose electrons together and forces them to flow in the same direction. (http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=51)
7.the water upon entering the cell the hydrogen and oxygen split, and the hydrogen goes over the anode and chemically combines with the catalyst and the hydrogen atoms loose their electrons which give off the electrical energy and then the hydrogen turns around and goes over the cathode which chemically combines the hydrogen and the oxygen back together and also combines a electron back from the one the hydrogen lost during the original chemical reaction.
2. Voltage
3. 2 solar modules and connect them to a series to get the most voltage out of it.
4. 3 Hydrogen fuel cells and also connect them to the series to get the most voltage out of it.
5. use a solar panel all the time but while simultaneously charging a hydrogen fuel cell for when there isn't enough light to power the solar panel alone.
6. photovoltaic cells work using the photoelectric effect, solar cells use photons from the sun that hit silicon atoms and knock off the electrons off and with the electrical imbalance in the cells, it holds the loose electrons together and forces them to flow in the same direction. (http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=51)
7.the water upon entering the cell the hydrogen and oxygen split, and the hydrogen goes over the anode and chemically combines with the catalyst and the hydrogen atoms loose their electrons which give off the electrical energy and then the hydrogen turns around and goes over the cathode which chemically combines the hydrogen and the oxygen back together and also combines a electron back from the one the hydrogen lost during the original chemical reaction.