After the initial connection of the battery to the platinum wires (See Picture B) the wires immediately started to collect and discharge bubbles of clear gas. The gas began to form and bubble up from all along the cathode and anode wires, but there was a greater frequency and amount of bubbles from the positive anode wire. (See picture C)
After three minutes, I quickly disconnected the battery and connected the multimeter. (See pictures A and C) The meter registered a voltage from the water fuel cell of approx. 2 volts and the charge dissipated rapidly for the first 30 seconds and then more slowly. (See data table 5) The water fuel cell registered no voltage after approx. 4 minutes. (See data table 1)
When I repeated the experiment over 1 and 5 minute time periods, I received very similar results. It appeared that the fuel cell would charge up very quickly and discharge at almost the same rate regardless of how long the batteries were initially applied. (See data tables 2 and 3)
When I repeated the experiment with 4 9v batteries connected in parallel but the results were very similar to those above. The fuel cell would still not charge up to more than 2.1 v. Interestingly however, the fuel cell in this example took longer to discharge.
When I repeated the experiment with 2 9v batteries in series, i.e. 18v dc, the results again were the same as with the original results from the batteries in parallel.
The change came when I repeated the experiment with increased salt concentrations in the fuel cell water. The maximum charge was diminished and the rate of discharge was much faster. (See data table 4)
When I tried the tests again with dirty water from my fish tank, there were similar results to the first test with little salt.
When I tried the test with only fresh water, there was no charge to the battery and I could not measure the results.
Finally, I tried to change the anode and cathode to copper to test the results. There was the same initial bubbling of gas from both the cathode and anode, but the smell of the gas was very strong. The test results were not as strong as with the platinum wires but it was measurable. Interestingly, the water turned green after several trials.
DATA TABLES
1.
|
3 mins,
9 volts |
Volts | Discharge time (M:S) |
| 1 | 2.2 | 4:15 |
| 2 | 2.1 | 4:11 |
| 3 | 2 | 4:01 |
2.
|
1 min, 9 volts |
Volts | Discharge time (M:S) |
| 1 | 2.1 | 4:30 |
| 2 | 1.9 | 4:02 |
| 3 | 2.1 | 4:10 |
3.
|
5 mins, 9 volts |
Volts | Discharge time (M:S) |
| 1 | 2 | 4:04 |
| 2 | 2.1 | 3:58 |
| 3 | 2 | 4:09 |
4.
| Hot, Salty water | Volts | Discharge time (M:S) |
| 1 | 2 | 1:14 |
| 2 | 1.2 | 0:45 |
| 3 | 0.9 | 0:31 |
5.
A
B
C
D
