ChemCar

CuSo4 from what i understand will act as the electrolyte for a electrolytic reaction for the Cu. That was my plan in the beginning anyways, but looking more into it i might have to have an anode with another metal in which the dissolved Cu has a place to go after being dissolved. Apparently it doesn't like being in solution. We are planning on testing this around monday, hopefully. We might have to go in another direction and just have the Cu dissolve in a relatively high concentration of acid. A bit easier on the design, but might propose a safety concern. LOL. Some background info on the contest: We have to design a car that: is ran on a chemical process has to stop by means of a chemical process to a desired distance, (judges pick the distance at the event) no circuit timers/remote controls/nor-human interaction is permitted has to be the size of a shoe-box we only have $250 to spend Our plan: My group and I decided to use a lithium battery to power a motor. And with in the circuit we will have a wire (to a certain thickness) of Cu that will be either sitting in CuSo4 solution or a strong acid in which will be getting dissolved at a constant rate. From this we can calculate how long our circuit will last thus how far our car will go. In theory anyways...lol

Never mind on Cu dissolving with electric current with the help of a basic solution. It readily forms Cu(OH)2 which is quite insoluble. Sorry bout that. Just running a current through a copper wire in a Cu-X solution will have it dissolve into that solution. The current will depend on that solutions conductivity. I suggest CuSO4.

Im pretty sure that both Zn and Cu can be dissolved in electrolytic reactions. Both going faster if its a basic electrolyte. The minimal voltage of Zn is around 1.216 V while Cu's is around .22 V. Hope this helps

Hey everyone! Hate to admit this but was google-ing for some answers about electroplating Copper in CuSO4 and came upon this site. My problem consists of building a stopping mechanism for a lithium powered shoe-box car. My groups plan was to break the circuit by dissolving a copper wire in CuSO4 solution by electroplating it into solution. If anyone can help me out here, I really need to know if you guys would know of any tables out there relating copper wire thickness vs time to break circuit under constant voltage. Thanks a bunch! ChemCar