Mera Mihai
- Jun 19, 2017
- 8
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2017
- Messages
- 8
Hi
For the past few days I have been trying to produce oxygen and hydrogen from water, main purpose being to get a similar effect from inhaling hydrogen as you do from helium. Because of this goal, I can't have oxygen and hydrogen together and I can't have other gasses like chlorine in the hydrogen. And yes, I am aware of the danger and how to be safe around hydrogen.
What I figured out already:
For my device I used some steel wire for the electrodes (the guy at the shop said it's not steel, but it obviously can't be pure iron, it's mild steel, I suppose). I tried carbon and the anode decomposes in the water and is also hard to get (pencils were my only viable source, batteries are too expansive). This steel should be good because, as far as I understand electrolysis, the only thing that should be able to happen is iron should migrate from the anode to the cathode, so I should be able to switch the two around from time to time or just replace them with new ones (I can get the wire for less than a euro/kg). For the electrolyte in the water I used NaOH, because I had it on hand and is also cheap and shouldn't produce anything I don't expect, at least, not nearly fast enough. It's reaction with iron should produce hydrogen gas, so if it did happen at any speed that matters I should be able to see bubbles on the electrodes just by putting them in the solution. For the power supply I used a phone charger with a broken connector.
My questions:
If any of you guys know an example online of somebody building the tubing and everything to keep the gases separate and do it cheaply, I would love to not have to come up with my own design.
On the power supply, it says 12V, 2A. My understanding of electronics is quite rudimentary, so as far as I know, that would mean that the voltage it provides is always 12 volts, while the current can go up to 2 amps before it starts to get damaged. Is this correct?
I also have no device to measure the intensity, so I thought I would buy a watt-meter, and assuming a 95% efficiency, calculate the intensity from P=U*I. This, if it works, would be the simplest solution.
Is there a way to increase the amps without increasing the voltage? Bringing the electrodes closer is not an option, but what effect would increasing their surface area have, if any?
If I can get a bunch of power supplies for laptops very cheaply, could I wire them in series to get a higher voltage?
Finally, if I were to build my own power supply, from just 4 diodes (I don't think I really need the capacitor, I just need the electrodes to not switch), how could I know what voltage it gives, without testing it? Can I work out the theoretical DC voltage on paper? Also, how can I know the max intensity my power supply would be able to handle? If you can point me to a site from which I can learn about this, I am willing to learn.
Thanks in advance. Once I get all this figured out, I'll make an article somewhere about how I did everything.
For the past few days I have been trying to produce oxygen and hydrogen from water, main purpose being to get a similar effect from inhaling hydrogen as you do from helium. Because of this goal, I can't have oxygen and hydrogen together and I can't have other gasses like chlorine in the hydrogen. And yes, I am aware of the danger and how to be safe around hydrogen.
What I figured out already:
For my device I used some steel wire for the electrodes (the guy at the shop said it's not steel, but it obviously can't be pure iron, it's mild steel, I suppose). I tried carbon and the anode decomposes in the water and is also hard to get (pencils were my only viable source, batteries are too expansive). This steel should be good because, as far as I understand electrolysis, the only thing that should be able to happen is iron should migrate from the anode to the cathode, so I should be able to switch the two around from time to time or just replace them with new ones (I can get the wire for less than a euro/kg). For the electrolyte in the water I used NaOH, because I had it on hand and is also cheap and shouldn't produce anything I don't expect, at least, not nearly fast enough. It's reaction with iron should produce hydrogen gas, so if it did happen at any speed that matters I should be able to see bubbles on the electrodes just by putting them in the solution. For the power supply I used a phone charger with a broken connector.
My questions:
If any of you guys know an example online of somebody building the tubing and everything to keep the gases separate and do it cheaply, I would love to not have to come up with my own design.
On the power supply, it says 12V, 2A. My understanding of electronics is quite rudimentary, so as far as I know, that would mean that the voltage it provides is always 12 volts, while the current can go up to 2 amps before it starts to get damaged. Is this correct?
I also have no device to measure the intensity, so I thought I would buy a watt-meter, and assuming a 95% efficiency, calculate the intensity from P=U*I. This, if it works, would be the simplest solution.
Is there a way to increase the amps without increasing the voltage? Bringing the electrodes closer is not an option, but what effect would increasing their surface area have, if any?
If I can get a bunch of power supplies for laptops very cheaply, could I wire them in series to get a higher voltage?
Finally, if I were to build my own power supply, from just 4 diodes (I don't think I really need the capacitor, I just need the electrodes to not switch), how could I know what voltage it gives, without testing it? Can I work out the theoretical DC voltage on paper? Also, how can I know the max intensity my power supply would be able to handle? If you can point me to a site from which I can learn about this, I am willing to learn.
Thanks in advance. Once I get all this figured out, I'll make an article somewhere about how I did everything.