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A machine to breath underwater
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deleted-302761
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A machine to breath underwater
I need a method for separating oxygen from water bellow the surface. Is it a possible science fair project to be done? I was thinking about using the bubbles in water but can't think of a way to create them.
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Re: A machine to breath underwater
One of the methods often used in submarines and in space vehicles work by using a CO2 scrubber to remove the CO2 from the air. The used air is passed through a device that contains a metal oxide that absorbs the CO2. In a long term situation the device is then purged and reused. If you truly want to create oxygen from the water, that's most often done with electrolysis. Electricity is passed through water to break the bonds in H2O and separate out the hydrogen and oxygen.
Science Buddies doesn't have a project specifically demonstrating the process, but this is how you might see the effect. (http://cdn.teachersupplysource.com/imag ... 3556-1.jpg shows it being done in a beaker) Take a bowl of tap water and immerse two test tubes so they're completely full of water. Bring them out, *upside down* so that the bottoms are sticking out of the surface and still filled with water. Figure out something to hold them that way without blocking the open end. Take two wires and stick each one into one of the test tubes through the open mouth. Attach the other end of the wires to a power source - like a 9V battery or a 12v battery if you have one. The impurities in the water will allow current to flow through the wires and the water. The energy will break the water into its components - you'll see one bubbles in the test tubes and one will be larger than the other. Can you guess whether the larger one is hydrogen or oxygen? The hydrogen can then be used to power something while the oxygen can be used in a breathing system. The drawback to electrolysis is that it uses a lot of energy. Making an underwater breathing system that runs solely off the oxygen in water is going to need a lot of battery power.
You had said you wanted to use the bubbles in water but don't know how to create them? The bubbles are air or gases released by something in the water. You can obviously create your own if you have an air source but if you had that you wouldn't need to then harvest them for breathing. Can you clarify what you were thinking about the bubbles?
Howard
Science Buddies doesn't have a project specifically demonstrating the process, but this is how you might see the effect. (http://cdn.teachersupplysource.com/imag ... 3556-1.jpg shows it being done in a beaker) Take a bowl of tap water and immerse two test tubes so they're completely full of water. Bring them out, *upside down* so that the bottoms are sticking out of the surface and still filled with water. Figure out something to hold them that way without blocking the open end. Take two wires and stick each one into one of the test tubes through the open mouth. Attach the other end of the wires to a power source - like a 9V battery or a 12v battery if you have one. The impurities in the water will allow current to flow through the wires and the water. The energy will break the water into its components - you'll see one bubbles in the test tubes and one will be larger than the other. Can you guess whether the larger one is hydrogen or oxygen? The hydrogen can then be used to power something while the oxygen can be used in a breathing system. The drawback to electrolysis is that it uses a lot of energy. Making an underwater breathing system that runs solely off the oxygen in water is going to need a lot of battery power.
You had said you wanted to use the bubbles in water but don't know how to create them? The bubbles are air or gases released by something in the water. You can obviously create your own if you have an air source but if you had that you wouldn't need to then harvest them for breathing. Can you clarify what you were thinking about the bubbles?
Howard