Solar Hydrogen Car
Series and Parallel Circuits
In a series circuit there is one pathway for the current to flow through. The current's strength through each of the individual components / diodes remains equal throughout the series. In a series circuit, the voltage at the output / power source is the strongest. As the voltage moves through the series circuit, it becomes weaker and weaker and will have zero volts remaining at the end of the circuit.
In a parallel circuit there are two or more pathways for the current to flow through. The current's strength through each of the individual components / diodes is divided equally. In a parallel circuit, the voltage at the output / power source is the strongest. As the voltage moves through the parallel circuit, it divides itself evenly to each of the series in the circuit. When the voltage reaches the end of the circuit there are zero volts left.
In a series circuit there is one pathway for the current to flow through. The current's strength through each of the individual components / diodes remains equal throughout the series. In a series circuit, the voltage at the output / power source is the strongest. As the voltage moves through the series circuit, it becomes weaker and weaker and will have zero volts remaining at the end of the circuit.
In a parallel circuit there are two or more pathways for the current to flow through. The current's strength through each of the individual components / diodes is divided equally. In a parallel circuit, the voltage at the output / power source is the strongest. As the voltage moves through the parallel circuit, it divides itself evenly to each of the series in the circuit. When the voltage reaches the end of the circuit there are zero volts left.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Hydrogen fuel cells are energy sources that generate electrical power efficiently and quietly without creating pollution. The byproduct of hydrogen fuel cells is water, which is harmless to the environment. The purpose of a hydrogen fuel cell is to produce an electrical current that will be directed from the fuel cell to do work and then can be redirected back into the fuel cell forming a circuit. The hydrogen fuel cell uses a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to create energy, which produces water as a byproduct. As long as there is a flow of hydrogen and oxygen into the fuel cell, energy will flow out.
Hydrogen fuel cells are energy sources that generate electrical power efficiently and quietly without creating pollution. The byproduct of hydrogen fuel cells is water, which is harmless to the environment. The purpose of a hydrogen fuel cell is to produce an electrical current that will be directed from the fuel cell to do work and then can be redirected back into the fuel cell forming a circuit. The hydrogen fuel cell uses a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to create energy, which produces water as a byproduct. As long as there is a flow of hydrogen and oxygen into the fuel cell, energy will flow out.
Solar Panels
Solar panels are devices that can harness energy from the sun and convert it into a useable energy. The sunlight (solar radiation) contains energy which when absorbed by certain materials can be turned into an electrical current and then harnessed for power. Solar panels do not produce any pollutants or carbon dioxide but a large surface area of solar panels is needed for energy to be harnessed at a useful rate. Due to the solar panel's location the amount of sunlight hitting the solar panel is not constant because of the time of day / year and the weather. Solar panels have an average efficiency rate of 15% - 18%.
Solar panels are devices that can harness energy from the sun and convert it into a useable energy. The sunlight (solar radiation) contains energy which when absorbed by certain materials can be turned into an electrical current and then harnessed for power. Solar panels do not produce any pollutants or carbon dioxide but a large surface area of solar panels is needed for energy to be harnessed at a useful rate. Due to the solar panel's location the amount of sunlight hitting the solar panel is not constant because of the time of day / year and the weather. Solar panels have an average efficiency rate of 15% - 18%.
Reflection
In this project we used hydrogen fuel cell combined with solar panels to construct solar cars. I learned a lot about how hydrogen cells and solar panels function, both individually and in combination. I also learned a lot more about circuits and how they are built / how they function. Overall my group worked well together. We were able to use each other's strong suits to design and construct our car. The biggest issue that my group ran into was the weight of the car because of its size. We had to change the design of our car multiple times so that there would be enough room for the circuit board, hydrogen cell and solar panel to be placed on the car without making it too heavy for our motor to move. Right before we took our finished cars outside to be raced we decided to reroute our circuit board so that the solar panel was the primary source of energy and the hydrogen was the secondary source. When we connected battery packs to the updated circuit board it worked much better than when we had the solar panel and hydrogen cell connected as the primary energy source. When we actually went to race our car with the solar panel and hydrogen cell outside our car didn't work because there wasn't enough power in the motor to move our car. Overall, even though our car never actually worked I gained a lot from this project. I learned a lot more about solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, circuits and even chains and sprockets.
In this project we used hydrogen fuel cell combined with solar panels to construct solar cars. I learned a lot about how hydrogen cells and solar panels function, both individually and in combination. I also learned a lot more about circuits and how they are built / how they function. Overall my group worked well together. We were able to use each other's strong suits to design and construct our car. The biggest issue that my group ran into was the weight of the car because of its size. We had to change the design of our car multiple times so that there would be enough room for the circuit board, hydrogen cell and solar panel to be placed on the car without making it too heavy for our motor to move. Right before we took our finished cars outside to be raced we decided to reroute our circuit board so that the solar panel was the primary source of energy and the hydrogen was the secondary source. When we connected battery packs to the updated circuit board it worked much better than when we had the solar panel and hydrogen cell connected as the primary energy source. When we actually went to race our car with the solar panel and hydrogen cell outside our car didn't work because there wasn't enough power in the motor to move our car. Overall, even though our car never actually worked I gained a lot from this project. I learned a lot more about solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, circuits and even chains and sprockets.