hydrogen carA hydrogen uses hydrogen as its onboard fuel for motive power. Wikipedia tells me that the power plants of such vehicles convert the energy of hydrogen to torque (or mechanical energy) in one of two methods: combustion, or electrochemical conversion in a fuel-cell:

  • In hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicles, the hydrogen is combusted in engines in fundamentally the same method as traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.
  • In fuel-cell conversion, the hydrogen is reacted with oxygen to produce and electricity, the latter being used to power an electric traction motor.

It goes on to say that hydrogen is one of two natural elements that combine to — oh hey, something I knew! Thank you, bio-chem! What you not know, however, is that hydrogen is not an energy source itself, but an energy carrier because it takes a great deal of energy to extract it from .

After reading about Jesse James looking to beat the landspeed record with a hydrogen-burning , I wanted to look into what dangers be lurking with such a feat.

Here’s what I came up with (with some help, of course):

The show spots on tv aren’t really saying much about the that Jesse will be using and there’s not much info about it online, so it’s hard to know how it will compare to what’s already been done.

The current land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle is 286.476 mph (461.038 km/h) set by Ohio State University’s Buckeye Bullet 2, which achieved a “flying-mile” speed of 280.007 mph (450.628 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August 2008. For production-style vehicles, the current record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle is 333.38 km/h (207.2 mph) set by a prototype Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 Fuel Cell Race at Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah in August 2007. It was accompanied by a large compressed oxygen tank to increase power. Jesse James is going to have to beat 333.38 km/h!

But what we really want to know, of course, is how dangerous is this stunt? I mean, they bill all of his stunts as being super dangerous and death-defying. Well, I’m no rocket scientist — err at least not a hydrogen-powered rocket scientist — so I searched and came up with a great for you, my readers. Here’s all you’d ever need to about hydrogen!

H2 and You

Read, , and enjoy! It took me a few times through, but I think I’ve got the general .

No more will I let my brain the connection between the hydrogen and the Hindenburg (whose shell was basically covered with solid rocket fuel, incidentally). More on that? Right here.

Hydrogen has the ability to help improve the , reduce fuel imports and create jobs. Why do you think so many companies are pursuing it? Because they already understand the great things it can do.

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