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Hydrogen Fuel Cell vs Combustion: Efficiency Duel (2D)

Interactive 2D schematic comparing Carnot-limited combustion heat engines against a PEM fuel cell — tune fuel supply, reservoir temperatures and load, and watch efficiency bars update live for both pathways.

Energy & Thermodynamics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion drives the exact same physics as the 3D version — Carnot-capped combustion versus a PEM fuel cell — through a flat side-by-side schematic instead of an orbitable scene: a piston-and-flywheel heat engine on the left, an anode/membrane/cathode stack with a glowing bulb on the right. Move the fuel-supply, reservoir-temperature and load sliders and watch both efficiency bars respond instantly, making it obvious the fuel cell's ceiling is never set by temperature at all.

⚙ Under the hood

2D schematic of Carnot-limited combustion (η = 1 − Tc/Th) versus PEM fuel-cell voltage-based efficiency (η = Vcell / 1.48V), with live power and efficiency readouts for both pathways.

Fuel CellCarnot EfficiencyThermodynamicsHydrogen

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install