Hydrogen in fuel cells powers automobiles by A. generating electricity. B. creating rapidly combustible hydrogen compounds. C. generating changes in gas pressures that move pistons in car engines.D. combining with equal parts of gasoline to create a fuel with extra octane.
Good rule of thumb, if you don't know guess c. If you did that, you'd be wrong. Then look for the one with the most specific details, well you'd be wrong there too, because the answer is A, which as generalized as it gets. They're still good rules though and if you don't know the answer, using them will give you better then random chance if getting it right. Fuel cells generate electricity by combining hydrogen with oxygen from the air in an electro chemical reaction, usually using a proton exchange membrane.
In Who Killed the Electric Car, they mentioned several points against fuel cells. 1. The infrastructure is yet to be implemented, While you could theoretically plug an electric car anywhere, you'd be hard pressed to find an hydrogen cell at your 7-11. 2. They fail in cold weather. 3. They would cost $1,000,000 apiece while an electric car would cost $30,000 to $100,000 apiece. 4. The technology won't be feasible for another 15 to 30 years. It seems the oil hungry Republicans are excited about fuel cells because they are so unrealistic and far-fetched that they pose no danger to the status quo, unlike electric automobiles. Plus they can pay lip service to constituents by saying they're all about the environment.
