hydrogen in stirling engine

[andrew_snwl]

How can you fill the pistons of the engine with hydrogen??? What kind of technique is used and from where can I find to buy hydrogen in small quantity??
Its just that in my school project, I am deciding between air and hydrogen as gas. It seems that with hydrogen it works faster and I would like to hear from anyone's experience from this.

thanks
Andrew

[mscoffman]

Hydrogen works better than air in these engines. But you need to consider the negatives;
a) if any oxygen, from leaks, gets combined with the hydrogen it will become explosive. So
the hydrogen gas must stay pure in form, b) hydrogen gas travels right through many metals,
which causes their embritalment and eventual leaks from inside away into the atmosphere.
...Not cool.

If you still want to try it, you can buy a cylinder full of hydrogen gas from
an industrial gas supply company, just as you would a bottle of propane
or oxygen. You will need a high pressure gas regulator to let it out though.

Or you can make some yourself by doing electrolysis, this is not hard and you may
like to try this if you need just a small amount. Then there is the way balloon people
do it; chunk some scrap aluminum metal into concentrated HCL hydrochloric acid.
This reaction yeilds aluminum chloride salt plus hydrogen gas.

:S:MarkSCoffman

[MasterPlaster]

interesting video

http://rutube.ru/tracks/1418683.html?v=c4bd782b447267d20df7b3217a3dbc83