Hydrogen and it's Specific Heat.

[Amit Kumar]

Hello,

I had a few questions regarding hydrogen.
I know for a fact that hydrogen has a high value of specific heat.
My questions are:
1). Isn't hydrogen supposed to be a good coolant, and if it is is it actually used ?
2). If it is a good coolant how does it work as a fuel ?

I hope these questions make sense, and thanks in advance.

 

[SteamKing]

Hello,

I had a few questions regarding hydrogen.
I know for a fact that hydrogen has a high value of specific heat.
My questions are:
1). Isn't hydrogen supposed to be a good coolant, and if it is is it actually used ?
2). If it is a good coolant how does it work as a fuel ?

I hope these questions make sense, and thanks in advance.

It's tricky using elemental hydrogen in many applications because it is highly flammable in the presence of oxygen and open flames, static electricity, etc.

Hydrogen's physical properties, like specific heat capacity, are separate from its chemical characteristics. Whether or not hydrogen is a good coolant has nothing to do with whether it will ignite if mixed with oxygen and a spark is made.

Here's what happens:

 

[Circlotron]

Hydrogen is sometimes used as a coolant inside really big electrical generators in power stations. It is very thin and whispy compared to air and this is a big concern for a generator running at 3600rpm when the rotating part is 2 metres diameter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-cooled_turbo_generator
https://powergen.gepower.com/plan-build/products/generators/hydrogen-cooled.html