fuel cell

noun

a device that produces a continuous electric current directly from the oxidation of a fuel, as that of hydrogen by oxygen.

Origin

1920-25

Examples from the web for fuel cell

Scientists have invented a new platinum alloy that may help fuel cell technology over its price hump.
Instead of a gasoline tank, fuel cell vehicles include a pressurized tank of hydrogen gas.
Recombining the gases in a fuel cell would yield electricity again.
In general, solar electric, solar water heating and fuel cell property qualify for this credit.
Those gases could be stored and later turned back into electricity in a fuel cell.
In this case, water is broken down into oxygen and hydrogen, which can be stored and recombined to power a hydrogen fuel cell.
Oxygen and hydrogen molecules are then sent to a fuel cell that can produce electricity.
Methanol can be manufactured by running a fuel cell backwards.
The companies will form a joint venture to develop and market fuel cell technology.
But hydrogen used in internal combustion engines squanders its best potential, which is to power a fuel cell.

British Dictionary definitions for fuel cell

fuel cell

noun

a cell in which the energy produced by oxidation of a fuel is converted directly into electrical energy

fuel cell in Science

fuel cell
A device that produces electricity by combining a fuel, usually hydrogen, with oxygen. In this reaction, electrons are freed from the hydrogen in the fuel cell by a catalyst, and gain energy from the chemical reaction binding hydrogen and oxygen; this provides a source for electric current. The exhaust of hydrogen fuel cells consists simply of water. Fuel cells are currently used in spacecraft, and increasingly in ground transportation, with potential use everywhere electricity is required.

fuel cell in Culture

fuel cell definition

An electrochemical device where a chemical reaction produces energy that is converted directly into electricity. Once used primarily in space travel, fuel cells are now being considered for use in cars. Unlike internal-combustion engines, fuel cells do not pollute the environment.