I advance some novel arguments for the use of historical experiments in science education. After distinguishing three different types of historical experiments and their general purposes, I define complementary experiments, which can recover lost scientific knowledge and extend what has been recovered. Complementary experiments can help science education in four major ways: to enrich the factual basis of science teaching; to improve students’ understanding of the nature of science; to foster habits of original and critical inquiry; and to attract students to science through a renewed sense of wonder. I illustrate these claims with my own recent work in historical experiments, in which I reproduced anomalous variations in the boiling point of water reported 200 years ago, and carried out new experimental and theoretical work arising from the replication of some early electrochemical experiments.

How Historical Experiments Can Improve Scientific Knowledge and Science Education: The Cases of Boiling Water and Electrochemistry.

From this chapter it will be seen that the history of the development of fuel cells runs through several phases. In a beforehand phase, the development of energy in its various forms and also of automobiles and especially electric vehicles has been described. Then it has been discussed that three scientific fields were beforehand of the fuel cell effect, namely the Chemical Technology of gases (discovery of hydrogen and oxygen), Catalysis, and electrochemistry (discovery of the battery by Alessandro Volta). The first phase started with the discovery of the fuel cell effect by Christian Friedrich Schoenbein in January 1839 and the invention of the fuel cell by William Robert Grove in 1842 and passed through the invention of porous electrodes and_stack formation to the introduction of a matrix for the uptake of the electrolyte in 1889. The second phase began with motivation by Wilhelm Ostwald. Many researchers dealt with high and low-temperature fuel cells and the development of hydrophobic electrodes. In the middle of the last century, the third phase began and the basis of our present systems was laid. The cell types of Bacon and Grubb lead to the application in space. The fourth phase started with the phosphoric acid fuel cell, and the uptake of the development of the proton exchange fuel cell and solid oxide fuel cell, also in Japan, which was followed by the technology development of fuel cells for transportation, for education, for stationary and for portable application.


Keywords:

acid electrolyte fuel cell;
alkaline fuel cell;
direct methanol fuel cell;
molten carbonate fuel cell;
phosphoric acid fuel cell;
proton exchange fuel cell;
polymer electrolyte membrane;
proton exchange membrane fuel cell;
solid oxide fuel cell;
absorption;
adsorption;
alcohol;
ammonia;
Apollo space flight;
bacon cell;
battery: history, primary, secondary;
boron hydride;
butane;
carbon dioxide;
carbon monoxide;
carbon monoxide poisoning;
carbonate: molten;
carbonate electrolyte;
Carnot process;
catalysis;
catalyst: noble, non-metallic, non-noble, platinum;
cell: electrochemical, galvanic, gaseous, gaseous voltaic, voltaic;
cesium fluoride;
chlorine/alkali electrolysis;
coal;
cogeneration;
decan;
diffusion electrode;
doebereiner's lighter;
double layer;
double layer electrode;
double porosity electrode;
double skeleton electrode;
DSK electrode;
electrical telegraph;
electric vehicle;
electro-boat;
electro-car;
electro-ship;
electrochemistry: history;
electrode: carbon, gaseous diffusion, metallic, parameter, platinum, porous;
electrolysis: high-temperature;
electrolyte: liquid, membrane, solid, solution;
electrolyzer;
electrotraction;
energy conversion;
energy: conservation, sources, history;
ethane;
ethanol;
ethylene glycol;
fluoride;
electrolyte;
fluorinated sulfonic acid;
fork-lift;
formaldehyde;
formiate fuel cell;
formic acid;
fuel cells: acid, alkaline, discovery, gaseous, gaseous voltaic, high-temperature, history, low-temperature, medium-temperature, military, mobile, portable, space, stationary;
fuel cell system;
Gemini space flight;
glycerol;
glycol;
grove cell;
grove symposium;
HCl electrolysis;
Hindenburg syndrome;
high-pressure cell;
high-pressure fuel cell;
hydrazine;
hydrocarbons: anodic oxidation, reforming;
hydrogen: balloon, discovery, electrode evolution, generation, history, hydrophobic electrode;
hydrophobicity;
hydroxide electrolyte;
ion exchange membrane;
ionic membrane;
ionic membrane fuel cell;
indium oxide;
iridium;
lead;
liquid;
hydrocarbon;
lithium;
lithium oxide;
membrane and electrode assembly;
membrane;
membrane potential;
metal hydride;
metal hydride battery;
methane;
methanol;
mobile fuel cells;
nafion;
natural gas;
nickel/cadmium battery;
osmium;
oxidation: anodic, cathodic;
oxygen: discovery, electrode, evolution, generation, history;
platinum;
platinum/ruthenium;
polystyrene sulfonic acid;
porous electrode;
potassium hydroxide;
potassium boron hydride;
pressure vessel;
propane;
propanol;
proton electrolyte fuel cell;
polytetrafluoroethylene;
rechargeable alkali manganese cells;
Raney catalyst;
rhodium;
Rosetta stone;
ruthenium;
saturated hydrocarbon;
selenium;
silicon carbide;
silver carbonate;
solid polymer electrolyte;
sorption;
sulfur;
sulfur dioxide;
trifluoromethane sulfonic acid;
tin;
voltaic battery;
voltaic combination;
voltaic series;
Volta's pile;
water power;
wind power;
zinc/air battery: history

History of low temperature fuel cells

The lemon cell, consisting of pieces of two different metals stuck into a lemon or other fruit, is pictured in many general chemistry textbooks without being discussed. We describe simple experiments, suitable for the general chemistry laboratory, which elucidate how this kind of cell works. They show that (i) the cell is not two metal-metal ion half cells, and (ii) the cell reaction involves dissolution of the more active metal and generation of hydrogen on the less active metal. Why the cell works this way is explained, and the cell's historical importance is discussed.

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Observations on Lemon Cells.

Studies of the interdependence of electronic and atomic dynamics and structure at the electrode-electrolyte interface

In another paper in this series, we developed a symmetrical theory of mass which describes how systems of positive mass and negative mass will respond to an input of thermal energy. A system composed of positive mass or negative mass will respond to an input of thermal energy in opposite ways. For example, if a system composed of positive mass expands in response to radiation from a hot body, a system composed of negative mass will contract. Likewise, if the system composed of positive mass contracts when brought in communication with a cold body, a system composed of negative mass will expand. In addition, when a system of positive or negative mass is brought into contact with radiation from a thermal reservoir either hotter or colder than the system, thermal processes are induced such that the sign of the change of entropy of a system composed of positive mass is opposite of that of a system composed of negative mass. That is, in response to thermal energy, a system of negative mass behaves as if it is a system of positive mass going backwards in time. This is reminiscent of Feynman’s definition of antimatter as matter going backwards in time. Negative mass is consistent with the negative energy solutions to the equations of the Special Theory of Relativity when combined with quantum mechanics. Formally, the total energy of a particle can be either positive or negative, which means that the mass of that particle can be either positive or negative. Dirac eliminated the negative mass solution by giving certain complex properties to the vacuum. Pauli used only the positive mass solutions to build the theory of spin and statistics. On the other hand, we interpret both the positive and negative energy solutions to be real solutions that represent substances with positive mass and negative mass, respectively. Thermal energy is only one part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. It is well known that matter and antimatter respond to electromagnetic radiation in opposite ways. For example, if an electron moves one way in an electromagnetic field, a positron will move in the opposite way. We apply our theory of positive and negative mass to matter and antimatter and suggest that it productive to consider matter as having a positive mass and antimatter as having a negative mass. The equations presented here, which treat matter as having a positive mass and antimatter as having a negative mass, can account for the experimental observations of matter and antimatter in electromagnetic fields. Our treatment allows the symmetry between matter and antimatter to be treated in a more causal manner.

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N. P. Date

Papers

Electrochemistry: History and Theory