A comprehensive tutorial on fuel cells, written and designed for high school and college students, is now available at Los Alamos National Laboratory's education Web site. The 36-page publication and the Web site were featured in the July 30 issue of Science magazine, which recommended the guide as an introduction to the subject.
The tutorial was developed for the DOE's Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies by Marcia Zalbowitz of the Laboratory's Education Program Office and Sharon Thomas, a recent postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory's Electronic and Electrochemical Materials and Devices Group.
"The Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies receives many requests from high school and college students who want to learn more about fuel cells, so they asked us to develop materials that could be mailed to students' homes," Zalbowitz said. "What we designed has a narrative text with 'tutorial boxes' that contain more detailed information about specific topics."
The tutorial contains a detailed explanation of what a fuel cell is, focusing on the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) technology. These fuel cells operate at relatively low temperatures, have high power density, can vary their output quickly to meet shifts in power demand, and are suitable for transportation applications where quick startup is required.
There is also information about other types of fuel cells and fuels, a brief overview of potential uses for fuel cells and information about areas in need of further research.
"We include a discussion of sustainable transportation and the legislation requiring zero emission vehicles, which has helped force the technology to advance," Zalbowitz said. "We conclude with an overview of the greenhouse effect, global climate change and the role fuel cells can have in reducing carbon dioxide emissions."
Printed copies will be available from the Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies at the Department of Energy before the end of September. In the meantime, it can be found at http://education.lanl.gov/resources/fuelcells.
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Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.