Hydrogen Power on the Cheap–Or at Least, Cheaper

The fuel of the future could be hydrogen—if it can be made cheaply enough. Currently, electrolyzers (machines that split water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen) need a catalyst, namely platinum, to run; ditto fuel cells to recombine that hydrogen with oxygen, which produces electricity. The problem is that the precious metal costs about $1,700 to $2,000 per ounce, which means that hydrogen would be an uneconomical fuel source unless a less costly catalyst can be found. But researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and Monash University in Australia report in Science today that they may have a cost-effective solution.

Chemist Daniel Nocera, head of the M.I.T.’s Solar Revolution Project, focused on one side of the equation: splitting water into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen molecules. This can be done well, but it remains difficult to actually separate the molecules. But Nocera and postdoctoral fellow Matthew Kanan discovered it could be accomplished by simply adding the metals cobalt and phosphate to water and running a current through it. In contrast to platinum, cobalt and phosphate cost roughly $2.25 an ounce and $.05 an ounce, respectively.

“We [have] figured out a way just using a glass of water at room temperature, under atmospheric pressure,” Nocera says. “This thing [a thin film of cobalt and phosphate on an electrode] just churns away making [oxygen] from water.”

Inspiration for the new catalyst came from nature; Nocera studied the chain of processes that take place during photosynthesis, such as how plants use the energy from sunlight to rearrange water’s chemical bonds. In a future hydrogen economy, he imagines, a house would function much like a leaf does, using the sun to power household electricity and to break down water into fuel—a sort of artificial photosynthesis.

According to John Turner, a research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., who was not involved in the research, the discovery could reduce the need for platinum in a conventional electrolyzer. He believes it could also play a role in a future large-scale hydrogen generator, which would collect the energy from sunlight in huge fields and then run that electric current through water to produce vast amounts of hydrogen to meet, for example, the demand from a future fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles. “That’s what his advance is pointing towards,” he says, “finding an alternative catalyst that will allow us to do oxygen evolution (breaking the bonds of water or H2O and forming oxygen) in concert with hydrogen” on a grand scale.

But that still leaves plenty of platinum in the other side of the equation: the fuel cells that combine hydrogen and oxygen back into water to harvest electricity. Chemist Bjorn Winther-Jensen of Monash University in Australia and his colleagues addressed that problem by developing new electrodes for fuel cells made from a special conducting polymer, that costs around $57 per counce.

During experiments, the polymer proved just as effective as platinum at harvesting electricity—and the work could prove immediately relevant in mini fuel cells, such as the kind that are being designed for computers.

In order for this to work on the grand scale of a fuel cell stack for a hydrogen vehicle or power plant “we need to develop a more three-dimensional structure to get thicker electrodes and a higher current per square centimeter,” says Winther-Jensen. Regardless, by reducing or eliminating platinum, the two studies help pave the way for a future hydrogen economy.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR LUCKY NUMBER ?

The science of numbers is probably as old as the history of human thought. Many believe human existence, behavior and thought to be the vehicle of divine expression, and it is possible by applying the science of numbers to learn the laws of divine expression and derive an understanding of the constitution of the Universe, right down to the most trivial happening in its evolutionary progress.

Schools of numerological thought have it that by following certain principles, terminology and signification, it is possible to trace the relation between man and the universe; they also caution that any such exercise would be mystical in nature.

THE KEY NUMBER:

The key to this study lies in finding the corresponding number to a man; a fundamental axiom of numerology is that each one of us can be constitutionally equated to a single-digit number. Once the key number of a person is established, the background knowledge of that number class, behavioral characteristics can be applied to conduct our daily lives in a more productive fashion.

For instance, if your number is 2 then it is known that you have “sympathetic vibratory relations’ with persons whose numbers are 1,3,4 and 9 and in intimate relations with persons whose numbers are 2 and 7. It is also known to numerologists that you are not likely to prosper or effectively work out your destiny in association with persons with whom you are not numerically compatible. On the contrary, by aligning yourself with people with compatible key numbers you can reinforce your power and increase your fortunes.

PROFITING WITH NUMBERS:

If you believe this system works, you could equip yourself with background knowledge and profit in many ways – you could, for instance, select a lucky day to transact important business, you could select a house or a spouse, going by the agreement of numbers.

Profounders of numerology hold the theory that the man who acquires a firm grasp of the numbers science and applies them intelligently is better equipped to succeed in life than the one who lives in ignorance of the laws. They concur that, by applying the laws, it would be possible to trace the law of vibration, periodicity of events, and how both of those relate to matters of common human interest. The science of numerology originated in the dim and distant past; ancient civilizations have identified numbers with certain forces and the wise of the past have left a treasure trove of knowledge in many countries in the world.

FOR KIDS: Homework blues

A good mood may not be so great for school work

Homework can put you in a bad mood, and that might actually be a good thing. New research suggests that, in some cases, being too happy can hurt your performance on certain kinds of tasks.

Researchers from the University of Plymouth in England wondered whether mood might affect the way kids learn. To find out, they performed two learning experiments with children.

The first experiment enlisted 30 kids, ages 10 and 11. Each child was given 20 problems in which a triangle or houselike shape was hidden inside a different, larger image. The kids had to find the small shape while sitting in a room with either upbeat or gloomy classical music playing in the background.

As a measure of mood, the scientists asked the kids to point to one of five faces, ranging from happy to sad. Children listening to the upbeat music tended to point to the smiley faces, indicating that they felt happy. Kids surrounded by gloomy tunes pointed instead to the frowns.

The researchers found that sad kids took at least a second less to find the small shapes. The gloomy kids also correctly identified an average of three or four more shapes.

In the second experiment, 61 children, ages 6 and 7, faced the same type of shape-finding problems. Instead of listening to different types of music, though, they watched one of three scenes from an animated film. One scene was happy. One was neutral. One was sad.

In this study, kids’ moods tended to reflect the scene they had seen.. And just like in the first experiment, kids who felt sad or neutral performed better on the tests compared to happier kids. They solved an average of two or three more problems.

The researchers hypothesize that feeling down makes people more aware of details, perhaps because sadness makes us more likely to focus on a problem or difficult situation. Some studies suggest that mildly sad adults do better than happy ones on tests of memory, judgment and persuasive argument that involve attention to detail.

Not all scientists agree with these conclusions, however. Other studies suggest that people who feel happy are better able to switch between focusing on details and focusing on the big picture. And the new studies have flaws, critics say. It’s possible, for example, that lively music in the first experiment distracted kids from finding shapes.

While scientists work on sorting out the answers, it still might be worth tailoring your tasks to your mood. After eating a yummy bowl of ice cream, for instance, write an essay. Save the math problems for after you’ve been told you can’t have seconds.

Found in: Science News For Kids