A professor at Purdue University, Jerry Woodall, has found a method of producing hydrogen from aluminum alloy pellets and water. This is very important for the motor industry as it promises to solve many of the problems that confront the introduction of engines running on hydrogen as a fuel.

Although hydrogen is the perfect alternative fuel, its exhaust containing nothing more harmful than water vapor, its use has been dogged by a bad press, with memories of old airship disasters like the Hindenburg, the problem that generating it by electrolysis uses more power than it produces, and the difficulties involved in storing it in quantity. The Purdue solution offers a way around all of these, suggesting that cars of the future need only fill up with the alloy pellets.

Hydrogen is generated spontaneously when water is added to pellets of the alloy, which is made of aluminum and a metal called gallium. The researchers have shown how hydrogen is produced when water is added to a small tank containing the pellets. Hydrogen produced in such a system could be fed directly to an engine.

Gallium is an important ingredient since it stops a skin of aluminum oxide forming and protecting the metal from further reaction with the water. And the by product of the reaction is hydrogen…

The Purdue Foundation has applied for the patent to the process and plans are in process for its commercial use.

Warwick University’s Eco One

The WMG students at Warwick University have designed and built one of the greenest cars on earth, the Eco One - and it’s made from potatoes and cashew nuts, amongst other exotic materials. Amazingly, it’s a racing car capable of 150 mph and runs on bio-fuels.

The ultimate aim of the students’ project is to build a car that is ninety-five percent bio-degradable or recyclable. The Eco One is just the beginning, it seems. But it does show what is already possible in this field of research and points the way for manufacturers of green cars in the future.

The Eco One will debut at the Sexy Green Car Show at the Eden Project between March 30 and April 15, where it will stand alongside the offerings of some of the largest car manufacturers in the world. To learn more, visit the Warwick University site or read PitPass’ article giving the racing view of the project.

Only those as ancient as I am will remember that indicators were once little arrows that swung up from between the doors to show which way you were going to turn. They might have been a logical development of the old hand signals but were not exactly highly visible from either end of the car, even when supplied with lights.

It was inevitable, therefore that designers soon came up with a better solution to the problem - the flashing lights at front and rear that joined the main lights in a cluster. According to research published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology, however, the idea needs refinement, even though we have used it for fifty years. The question is: do the indicators go inside the main lights or outside?

Their research has shown that indicators placed between the main lights are less easily identified and reacted upon by other road users. Much clearer is the system whereby the indicators are close to the corners of the car and outside the headlights. It seems a fairly obvious conclusion after a few seconds’ thought but many designers may not have considered the problem, judging by the numbers of cars with indicators in the “wrong” place these days.

So the Lotus Elise up there would be a no-no to the psychologists, whereas the Audi immediately below would receive the seal of approval. A designer’s lot is not an easy one…