Hey Guys!
This week was mostly spent finding some of the materials I
needed to build my device. I wanted to build a device with mostly commonplace
materials so that it would both be affordable and easily assembled by anyone
(including for classroom demonstrations of the applications of renewable
energy).
My mentor and I looked through the materials that he had in
his office and lab to see what we could find. We found that we already had some
graphite rods that we could use for the electrodes and also found a container
full of Na2SO4 that would work for our salt.
Additionally we found an old copper tube that could be used
as the collection tube.
Next week, I will have to research more about where I can
find a suitable container and seals. When my mentor built a similar device
before, one of the problems he ran into was the sealing. The cap on the
container was not tight enough to prevent the escape of gases and the sealing
on the collection tube, duct tape, as pictured above (I got the copper
collection tube from his earlier device) was not adequate either. I hope to find a better method to seal the gaps.
Do you know why duct tape is not a proper sealant? Because, typically duct tape is suitable for all kinds of jobs including insulation between water and the inside of an object.
ReplyDeleteGood question Farhan! While duct tape is adequate for many seals, it is not airtight like I need it to be for my device. It would still allow for gas to escape from the container through the gaps in the tape.
DeleteLet me know how finding a seal works. I know you want it to be reusable but you may have to make a few that are not reusable to make sure they don't leak. I recommend something liquid and pliable that hardens to get that seal.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr. Ray, that's a good suggestion. I'll make sure to give those a try and keep you updated on how it's going! I bought some caulk recently and will present my ideas to my mentor this week and will test if caulk can be used as an effective seal.
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