Really, the power of the stars...
In this tutorial i'll talk about how to "produce" hidrogen.
Contents:
I - "What is Hidrogen?"
II - "Where is Hidrogen?"
III - "Where can i get it?"
IV - "What do i need to get it?"
V- "How do i get it?"
VI - "How do i gather it?"
VII - "Is this stuff dangerous?"
Let's begin!
Chapter I: What is Hidrogen?
Hidrogen is the first element of the periodic table of elements. I'ts Atom consists of 1 electron and 1 neutron (therefore 1 positron) It is the most basic of elements and the most abundant in the universe. Don't believe it? Then face the facts: 98% of the universe is hidrogen (almost 2 % for Helium and the rest for other elements). It is also one of the most flamable elements (if not the most) in the universe (elements not composites).
Chapter II: "Where is hidrogen?"
Hidrogen is (as you probably guessed) present all over the place. Mainly it is the fuel that Stars use to burn, producing helium as they burn the Hidrogen. When a Star Explodes it releases massive amounts of Hidrogen forming a Supernova. After a supernova is fully expanded it commonly engages reverse and starts compressing into the center of the Supernova, forming a new star (cool stuff hehe).
On Earth Hidrogen is present in the air you breath (very little), but mainly in water.
Water is made of 2 Atoms of Hidrogen and 1 atom of Oxigen. As you all know (or should) The triangle of fire(law that dictates the needs for the ocurrence of a fire) states that 3 things are needed for a fire: A Fuel, A Ignition Source and an Oxidiser (such as oxigen and Nitrous oxide [Muhaha])
As your guessing Water should be highly flamable. It is, when its components are separated (but in the same place) Water itself has strong links between H2 and O, so it is not flamable. So how do you ignite water?
Easy, separate its components. Think of it as baking a cake. Add the ingredients and they dont quite make the cake, but if you Link them, they do. Like water. If you mix hidrogen and Oxigen, you just get a whole lot of...Hidrogen and OXigen mixed, not water. BUT if you wait long enought (or add something to rush the reaction) It will eventually link each other and make...Water.
So how do you get this cool thing?
Chapter III: Where can i get it?
The only means i know of getting Hidrogen is, either go bilions of light years away and gather it from a Supernova, or get it from water (The easyest and cheapest way).
But how do you break this Uber Link?
1 Word: Electricity.
The process is called Electrolisis. It consists of running a DC current trough a composite, separating its components. (works for virtually all mixes even with salt (if ya can melt it lol))
The electricity runs from the negative electrode (the think you stick in the water that is atached to the negative pole of a DC source) to the Right electrode. Hidrogen Ataches itself to the Negative one and Oxigen to the Positive one (correct me if i'm wrong). Since Both these dudes are less dense than water they go up as bubles(like a coke bottle)
Chapter IV: What do i need to get it?
You need:
- A DC current source (battery, power source, etc..)
- Water (the purest the better)
- Wires (copper, steel, whatever conducts electricity. Gold works best
)- Electrodes (Something you stick inside the water. Graphite leads work best, as they dont release anything (iron rusts for example)
These are the basic equipment and materials to perform electrolisis.
The more power full the power source the better. Powerfull doesnt mean just volts. Volts arn't very important, whats important are the Amps. The more amps its got the better. Amps indicate how much electricity runs trough it. Think of it as water pipes. The more water you pump in the fastest and more will end up on the other side of the pipe.
Chapter V: How do i get it?
If you have read this far, you probably have already guessed it.
There are 2 ways:
The geeks way
The poor man way
The poor man way is simply:
Get a power source, maybe an old cell phone battery charger. Just Cut off the plug, seperate the wires, and remove some protective cabling till you expose the inner cable. Then go get 2 Graphite leads. The longer and thicker the better. Then go to your kitchen and get a glass and fill it with water. (if ya cant afford the water, just steal some from a public fountain.)
Add as much salt as you can mix (Water isnt very conductive by itself, so you must add either salt, or an acid to it (Seriously dont add acide unless you know what your doing).
Tie the exposed electric cable to the graphite lead in one end, then stick both leads in the glass of water (dont let the electric wire touch the water, keep it drie as it will rust. Also DO NOT let each lead or wire touch each other as it will short circuit (wont blow up but wont get ya nothing)). Turn the power source on (plug it in if it doesnt have any buttons).
Hurray! Bubbles should start forming arround each lead and then going up like coke bubles. The Electrod that bubbles the most is the one that is producing Hidrogen (Water is H2O you know...).
The geeks way is to use more advanced stuff. Mainly, get a professional lab electrolisis device. OR build a DC current amplifier to get ya 50.000 volts and lots of amps, use google hehe)
Chapter VI: How do i gather it?
The easy way is to put a baloon and fit it arround the cup. But it will get bothe Hidrogen and Oxigen, and may leak.
Other thing is to fill a container with water, then quickly turn it upside down and shove it inside the water.
Hold it over the electrode you wanna gather from and w8. As the Hidrogen or Oxigen bubbles start getting into the container, they will take up space and start pressuring the water bellow them.
As you fill the container with Hidrogen or Oxigen, the water inside it is pushed into the glass of water. Then when no more H or O can get in, slowly raise it (if it has water, it will fall down and youl loose H or O) Then put the cap on tight and store it somewhere upside down (better because greatly reduces leaking chances)
If in doubt use your imagination. but dont expect to get TONS of this stuff.
Go trought trial and error till you find a way that suits you.
Chapter VII: Is this stuff dangerous?
Hidrogen is HIGHLY Flamable. Tough if not in HUGE ammounts shouldn be very dangerous. Tough, when confined in a tick air secured place (lets say a 2 liter coke bottle) And it ignites, it will blow. The hidrogen blowing up isnt much dangerous. BUT the shrapnel of the bottle surelly are. Also Hidrogen makes a VERY loud bang.
There is one experience i once saw. Some guys fill a 2 Liter Coke Bottle with hidrogen, cap it with a fuse. they Bury the bottle 2 meters into their backyard...and ignite. Lets just say that they had to clean the dirt and pay for the broken windows in a 200 meter radious. Thats inside the earth guys...dont advise ya to trie it on the surface with that ammount.
Oxigen is a oxidizer. IT feeds a combustion. Think of a cigarrette. IF you blow into it the ashes will turn a brighter red/orange. Your pumping oxigen (its present in air you know? lol)
The process of aquiring Hidrogen or OXigen described in this book are of VERY little danger. There is 0,001% chance that yould kill yourself, and 0% chance to do it if you use your BRAINS.
Stay Safe.
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial by Eppikk
THE END
