the electrolyser uses the different ionic charge on the different atoms in the m olecule to split it into its

respective charged atoms or molecules, for example, water gets split into Hydrogen and Oxygen because in the water molecule the hyd rogen is slightly positively charged and the oxygen is slightly negatively charg ed. These charges are only very slight, +1 electron volt (ev) for each hydrogen and -2 ev on each oxygen atom. Just for comparison 1 electron volt is 1.610-19 Co ulombs (c) and 1 Coulomb is the charge transported by a steady current of one am pere in one second. The hydrogen is attracted to the negatively charged electrod e or Cathode and the oxygen is attracted to the positively charged electrodes or Anodes. At the anodes the oxygen ions loose an electron and bond to form oxygen gas, at the cathodes the hydrogen ions get an electron from the cathode and the n bond to form hydrogen gas. This transfer of electrons from and to the electrod es completes the circuit and allows current to flow. A catalyst can be used to m ake the process more efficient by reducing the energy needed to start the proces s; the catalyst that I use is sodiumhydroxide in a 1 to 40 mix with deionized wa ter. The water doesn t need to be deionized but it extends the lifetime of the uni t as minerals and other stuff won t build up on the electrodes. we made the end walls out of polycarbonate as I had some laying around and it is a strong material that is actually used to make blast and bullet proof screens. I designed the end plates according to the amount of polycarbonate that I had b ut there inst really any limits, the end walls are 240X200mm. The end walls cont ain 18 8.5mm holes that allow clearance for M8 Bolts and a 11.4mm hole with a 1/ 4in BSP thread taped into it. The threaded hole is for the valves and the hose t ails. The 8.5mm hole centres are 14mm away from the edge of the of the plate and are 42.4mm horizontal and 43mm vertically spaced, the 1/4in BSP threaded hole i s 42mm away from the top left corner horizontally and vertically The electrodes are made of 0.7mm thick 316 grade stainless steel as it is pretty stable and unreactive, the best material would be gold but that would cost far to much. There are two different designs the only difference is the location of a 3mm hole, this hole allows the water and electrolyte to equalise in the cells of the electrolyser and the bigger holes allow the gases out and are in line wit h the 1/4in BSP holes in the end walls. Both plates are 200x160mm, as this fits tightly between the bolts with the rubber over them, and have a tag in the middl e at the top that is 6.5x10mm and is for a flag connector for powering the elect rolyser. The equalising holes are small to increase efficiency and is located 20 mm from the corner. The 10mm hole is located 22mm from the corner