hbg6@citek.phx.mcd.mot.com (05/24/90)
I tried this on sci.energy but got no response, possibly someone here knows. I recently read an article about aluminium/air batteries which was interesting but short on technical detail. Does anyone know how these things are made and is it possible to assemble one from readily available materials ( I have plenty of empty Coors cans and loads of air around here :-) ). Tnx, John
ee5391aa@hydra.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) (05/30/90)
In article <12945@mcdphx.phx.mcd.mot.com> hbg6@citek.phx.mcd.mot.com writes: >I recently read an article about aluminium/air batteries which >was interesting but short on technical detail. Does anyone know >how these things are made and is it possible to assemble one >from readily available materials ( I have plenty of empty Coors >cans and loads of air around here :-) ). I played around with one (a kit from Edmund (Yuppy) Scientific), and came up with the proverbial "mixed review". Messy, fragile, they eat Al alloy like crazy, they make a lot of foam, and other problema variosae. The fragile can be partly fixed. Still, the membrane which allows air to dif- fuse to the anode (I THINK anode....) seems inherently fragile. It generates a lot of foam internally which appears to make it useless as a power source for caving, my main interest in the thing. One thing's for certain: it's an odd (and undescribed) alloy of aluminum that serves as the cathode (see parenthetical note above). I tried several other aluminum sources, cleaning each very carefully, and the output voltage was MUCH lower. I hypothesize...maybe I should say conjecture...naw, let's just call it a wild-ass guess...that the alloy is needed to prevent aluminum from forming its (in)famous oxide film. "It's easy to solder aluminum. It's a pain in the butt to solder aluminum oxide." -- a friend If anyone can find the details on this particular battery (it's patented; I can't find the number) I'd like to know more about it. We will reach the stars! Our power source will be sheer gumption and empty beer cans! d -- "I love eating popcorn. I think of each kernel as the skull of a conquered enemy." Duke McMullan n5gax nss13429r phon505-255-4642 ee5391aa@hydra.unm.edu
markz@ssc.UUCP (Mark Zenier) (06/01/90)
In article <2933@ariel.unm.edu>, ee5391aa@hydra.unm.edu (Duke McMullan n5gax) writes: > > One thing's for certain: it's an odd (and undescribed) alloy of aluminum that > serves as the cathode ... > I hypothesize ... that the alloy is needed to prevent aluminum from forming > its (in)famous oxide film. Out of an article in New Scientist a couple of years back, the alloy includes something like gallium, used to supress the formation of hydrogen. markz@ssc.uucp