Description+by+Tammy+Le

=**Description by Tammy Le** =

There is a new technology coming out to replace gasoline-powered cars- fuel cells. A fuel cell is a mechanism that uses hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, with bi-products of water and heat. It will keep generating power as long as there is a supply of fuel. Fuel cells can be a zero-emission basis of energy if the hydrogen is created from non-polluting sources. Due to the electrochemical process that changes the fuel to energy, the conversion is a quiet and clean process that is much more efficient than fuel burning. Through the electrochemical process, fuel cells create little or no damaging emissions. Instead, the process releases clean water. This water is so pure and clean that at the Ballard Power Systems in Vancouver, tourists can drink the water released from tailpipes of buses motorized by a fuel cell.

Sir William Grove, who was a Welsh scientist, developed the concept of the fuel cell in 1839. The achievement of the internal combustion engine overshadowed the fuel cell. Scientists did not realize the practical uses of fuel cells until the late twentieth century. The fuel cell system was first applied in the 1960s in the Gemini space program. Fuel cells were chosen as the power source over solar and nuclear power. It generated electricity and created the drinking water for the astronauts. Despite the high costs, Dr. Karl Kordesch, who co-invented the alkaline battery, transformed his car on fuel cells in the 1970s. The tank for hydrogen was secured on the roof and the fuel cell and backup energy were stored in the trunk. Fuel cells are being used for multiple purposes. Major auto-making companies are in the process to make a commercial fuel cell car.

Currently, various forms of transportation use fuel cells, such as boats, planes, buses, trains, scooters, and bicycles. In addition, everyday machinery, for example vending machines, highway road signs, and vacuums, and electronic devices, such as cell phones and laptops, are incorporating the use of fuel cells in their source of power. Hospitals, banks, and police stations use fuel cells as the power source to their facilities. These are just a few of the many possible ways fuel cells can be used.

The three applications for fuel cells are transportation, stationary installations, and portable uses. Almost all vehicles use petroleum as their fuel, but fuel cells could potentially powers cars and other means of transportation in the future. The most powerful and strongest fuel cells are stationary fuel cells that are used in a fixed location for the main or the backup power. It provides a clean and dependable source of power on site to places such as houses, hospitals, schools, and banks. Batteries will eventually die and will have to be replaced, while a fuel cell can continue to create energy given that fuel is supplied. This would enable portable fuel cells to power portable technological devices such as computers, cell phones, and hearing aids.

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