How does the owi salt-water car work?

Answer 1

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts energy from a fuel into electrical energy. Fuel cells can operate continuously as long as the necessary reactant and oxidant flows are maintained. In this cell, magnesium is the anode, the porous carbon sheet (air) is the cathode, and saltwater is the electrolyte. This is known as an air-depolarizing type of battery. During chemical reactions, alkaline earth metals (magnesium) lose two electrons. Elementary halogens such as chlorine, which can be found in ordinary table salt (NaCl), are also relatively reactive. Unlike the alkaline earth metals, the halogens tend to gain electrons. These are known as oxidizing agents because they remove electrons from other elements.

The saltwater slowly dissolves the magnesium sheet to produce hydrogen ions that migrate to the carbon cathode, thus creating an electrical current. The carbon surface would almost immediately become blocked, or polarized, by the hydrogen except that the carbon is porous. Air diffuses down through the carbon and yields oxygen that combines with the hydrogen to form water, permitting the electrical effect to continue.