Hydrogen: Can it save our planet?

Other philosophers believe that the conscious cannot be defined. Instead, they believe it is something that we have to co-exist with, without knowing the true explanation for what it is and why we have it.

Concluding words…

In conclusion, the brain is a complex organ in our body with different functions and needs. Consciousness still remains an enigma within our body due to the testing difficulties. Yet, there are many theories associated with it. By having many interpretations of the consciousness state, it opens doors to new possibilities and allows more room for research to be done to solve this problem. In order to get a result and full explanation, new technology needs to be used and there will eventually be a breakthrough in this case. Therefore, the question on what consciousness is still stands unresolved. Nevertheless, there are many ideas and thoughts which are used to fill that space for the definition of consciousness.

Sources

● Wikipedia. 2022. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page. [Accessed 11 February 2022]. ● Is consciousness a product of the brain or/and a divine act of God? Concise insights from neuroscience and

Christian theology. 2022. Is consciousness a product of the brain or/and a divine act of God? Concise insights from neuroscience and Christian theology. [ONLINE] Available at: scielo.org.za/scielo.php? script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222016000400125. [Accessed 11 February 2022].

By Ishita Nadipalli Year 9 With the rising demand for clean energy due to climate change, people are searching for a new fuel that can be sustainably produced and burnt without polluting. Hydrogen amounts to 75% of matter in the universe and when produced correctly, it can be used as a versatile energy source with the only byproduct being water. This could stop the production of the biggest contributor to climate change: greenhouse gases. But how does it work and how effective will it be? Hydrogen poses a unique challenge when compared to fossil fuels which can simply be dug from the ground: it must be separated from another molecule before it can be of any use. Thankfully, there are many ways of doing this and these methods are categorised using colours. Most hydrogen produced nowadays is grey hydrogen which uses natural gas and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but if you use carbon capture to bury the carbon dioxide underground it is classified as blue. Grey hydrogen is produced by reacting methane with steam, using nickel as a catalyst. Other methods are dark green, pink and turquoise but ideally, most of it would be produced sustainably using electrolysis to split the hydrogen molecules from water and create green hydrogen, which makes up only 1% of hydrogen produced. Electrolysis works by using two electrodes separated by a thin membrane called PEM. At the positive anode, a current is sent through the water to split it into oxygen and positively charged hydrogen ions with the electrons flowing through an external circuit. The hydrogen ions pass through the membrane to the negative cathode, leaving the oxygen at the anode and joining with the electrons in the external circuit to form pure hydrogen. While it is not perfect, the technology being used for these processes are ever-advancing. This rainbow of hydrogen extraction methods is very promising because if hydrogen is truly the key to powering our future, we will need as much of it as possible. Due to its simplicity, there are infinite uses for this clean fuel and it can be an effective substitute for other energy sources which are currently polluting our atmosphere. For example, the heating and hobs in your household which are probably fueled by natural gases can easily be replaced by burning hydrogen instead. Adapting power stations to run on hydrogen is not a significant problem either as they will not need much modification and since the technology is very similar to the engines of a plane, it is not unlikely that the abundant atmospheric gas could fuel journeys across the world. However, burning hydrogen is not the only way to obtain energy: it can also be converted into electricity using fuel cells. This versatility is unique to hydrogen and broadens all the possibilities for its usage. It can replace batteries and also has an advantage over them as fuel cells last far longer. Fuel cells are a growing market especially sought after by data centres as a backup power supply, with an estimated twothirds of data centres expected to have fuel cells by 2050. They also provide a way of decarbonising the transport industry, with hydrogen cars already available to purchase in the UK. 1kg of hydrogen can keep a car