A nickel sponge for cooling air.A nickel sponge for cooling air W. Edward Wallace of the Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh has spent years studying the unique properties of metal "sponges" that absorb enormous quantities of hydrogen. "Expose them to hydrogen, and they just gobble 1. gobble - To consume, usually used with "up". "The output spy gobbles characters out of a tty output buffer." 2. gobble - To obtain, usually used with "down". "I guess I'll gobble down a copy of the documentation tomorrow." See also snarf. it up," he says. "And if you warm them or depressurize de·pres·sur·ize tr.v. de·pres·sur·ized, de·pres·sur·iz·ing, de·pres·sur·iz·es To reduce the pressure of air or gas within (a chamber or vehicle, for example). them a little bit, the hydrogen comes gushing gush v. gushed, gush·ing, gush·es v.intr. 1. To flow forth suddenly in great volume: water gushing from a hydrant. 2. out." At the same time, the introduction of hydrogen into these metals generates heat, whereas its removal cools the material. Now, Wallace is using that knowledge to develop a hydrogen-based air conditioner that harnesses a car engine's waste heat. Although the idea isn't new, Wallace is counting on an improved design and better materials to succeed where preceding efforts had failed. Wallace's system consists of two linked cylinders containing specially formulated nickel-based alloys. One alloy is tailored so that, when heated, it releases hydrogen more readily than the other. Exhaust heat would be routed to boil hydrogen out of one alloy, transferring the hydrogen to the other alloy, where it is absorbed. A fan cools the first alloy, which then starts to take back the hydrogen, causing the second alloy, as it releases hydrogen, to cool down significantly. Such a system, says Wallace, not only saves fuel because it requires no gasoline for power but also avoids the use of chlorofluorocarbon chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Any of several organic compounds containing carbon, fluorine, and chlorine. A number of different CFCs have been made and sold under the trade name Freon. refrigerants Chemical refrigerants are assigned an R number(sometimes the label replaces it with the word Freon) which is determined systematically according to molecular structure. The following is a list of refrigerants with their R numbers, IUPAC chemical name, molecular formula, and CAS number. , which have been implicated im·pli·cate tr.v. im·pli·cat·ed, im·pli·cat·ing, im·pli·cates 1. To involve or connect intimately or incriminatingly: evidence that implicates others in the plot. 2. in the depletion of the earth's ozone layer. Wallace expects to have a prototype assembled within the next few months. |
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