If cars of the future are powered by fuel cells, as many predict
(see “A tankful of sunshine”),
they will undoubtedly require sensors to detect leaks of the
potentially explosive hydrogen fuel. Now scientists at France’s National Centre
for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Montpellier and the University of California
at Irvine have created a new type of hydrogen sensor using arrays of nanoscopic
palladium wires (Science, vol 293, p 2227). They’ve found that the arrays’
electrical resistance rapidly decreases when they are exposed to
hydrogen—and the decrease is proportional to the gas’s concentration, even
in the presence of…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Technology
Robots are about to overtake armed soldiers as the deciders of war
News

Humans
Iron Age Britons may have removed the brains of the dead
News

Life
Frozen squirrel scat preserves ancient DNA from hundreds of species
News

Environment
The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction
Features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally
2
Dinosaur-killing asteroid impact site stayed hot for millions of years
3
The last-ditch plan to save coral reefs from utter destruction
4
You could get some of the benefits of sleep without having to nod off
5
Robots are about to overtake armed soldiers as the deciders of war
6
A golden age of maths is dawning and mathematicians are freaking out
7
Wildlife thrives in solar farm built on restored peatland
8
Why you need to future-proof your brain in middle age and how to start
9
What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?
10
Mysterious ‘cold blob’ in the Atlantic suggests the AMOC is weakening