Ohio State's Center for Automotive Research is probably best known as the builders of the Buckeye Bullet, the electric land speed vehicle that in 2004 set the national speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats for electric vehicles at 314.958 mph. The Buckeye Bullet was built to replace the previous generation vehicle, a Formula-1 style open cockpit car, the Smokin' Buckeye.The Center is now working on hydrogen-powered vehicles. To that end, they have installed a hydrogen fueling station, the only one in the state. There are only 15 or so in the entire country.
In the true spirit of a school that excels in sports, for one of their first projects they chose to convert a golf cart to run off of fuel cells powered by the gas. The department has posted an interesting video about this experiment and the department's research.
My only question: when I play golf, metal clubs end up thrown around with considerable vigor. Are the hydrogen tanks shielded well enough to prevent a Hindenburg-type meltdown?
1. Yes, safety has always been one of the main concerns about hydrogen-powered vehicles. I think it is a good idea to start small in hydrogren, and go for things like golf carts. Learn on things that can be fixed easily, and which won't need to carry around too much hydrogen.
Posted at 7:04PM on Dec 28th 2006 by mesothelioma