Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Environmentally Friendly Fuel of the Future

Hydrogen fuel cells have been called the environmentally friendly energy source of the future. The idea of converting hydrogen into energy has captured the imagination of automobile designers as well as rocket scientists. There have been rumors of hydrogen cars for decades, though a viable model has yet to be developed. Hydrogen creates a great amount of energy without burning fossil fuels or emitting harmful chemical by-products. A simple combination of oxygen and hydrogen can create new energy as long as there is hydrogen available to feed the fuel cell.
The Abundance of Hydrogen
There is hydrogen that could be used by hydrogen fuel cells in almost every element on earth. The trouble is that hydrogen is never found alone - it is always combined with another element. For example, simple water is a combination of two hydrogen atoms with one oxygen atom. Scientists have developed ways to isolate hydrogen from the other elements it bonds to through a heating process, or through the proper application of electricity. NASA uses hydrogen fuel to create the massive amount of energy necessary for rocketing space shuttles into outer space, and has used the technology since the 1970s.
Fuel Without Pollution
Aside from the limitless availability of hydrogen, the best part of hydrogen fuel cells is that they produce virtually no pollution whatsoever. After the fuel cells have burned off the hydrogen and used the power, they emit pure, clean water. Technology is being produced to make the fuel cells smaller and more efficient. If hydrogen becomes more affordable and easy to use, it could replace harmful pollutants that create our electric power today. The impact on the environment could be dramatic if we stopped using fossil fuels and began to create power through a process that's only by-product would be clean water.




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