Boffins come up with a micro fuel cell

ILLINOIS BOFFINS have come up with what they think is the world's smallest fuel cell, which is three millimetres square.

OK, it can only manage 0.7 volts with an intensity of between 0.1 and 1 milliampere which can't really power much, but it does seem to point the way to more interesting developments.

According to New Science magazine the cell, developed by Richard Masel, Saeed Moghaddam, and Mark Shannon produces energy without using pumps and electronic control.

Instead it uses the permeability of the membrane to get water molecules in gaseous form into a chamber where there is metal hydroxide.

This creates a chemical reaction that creates hydrogen which reacts with a membrane to produce electricity. µ

L'Inq
Punto