Re:How a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Engine Works
by avmich on Wednesday December 21, 2016 @10:39AM
(#13229896)
> and, yes, you can have a reaction towards an energetically higher state.
Where does that extra chemical energy come from? Other degrees of freedom of a molecule?
In general, I'd expect the reaction H2 -> 2H+ + 2e- not to be anything like dominant. It's the separation of charges which is the source of energy of the cell, and the energy is released along the path of those charges recombining. Or am I missing something here?
> there are many abstraction layers to get through if you want to have an explanation that would satisfy a physicists.
Yes, I'm interested in the actual physics of the process, not in the net chemical result...
Where does that extra chemical energy come from? Other degrees of freedom of a molecule?
In general, I'd expect the reaction H2 -> 2H+ + 2e- not to be anything like dominant. It's the separation of charges which is the source of energy of the cell, and the energy is released along the path of those charges recombining. Or am I missing something here?
> there are many abstraction layers to get through if you want to have an explanation that would satisfy a physicists.
Yes, I'm interested in the actual physics of the process, not in the net chemical result...