TODAY’S PATENT – HYDROGEN SENSOR

The HYDROGEN SENSOR was invented by James H. Terhune (San Jose, CA), John P. Sturtz (San Jose, CA), John P. Neissel (San Jose, CA) on 15^th February 1983, bearing the patent number US4373375A.

The invention relates to a device for determining the concentration of hydrogen in a fluid atmosphere. There is a variety of applications for detecting and monitoring the presence of hydrogen.

A hydrogen sensing device for determining the concentration of hydrogen in a fluid atmosphere consists of a sealed chamber formed with a window which selectively allows diffusion of hydrogen into the chamber. Alpha particles from a source contained in the chamber ionize the hydrogen and a pair of polarized electrodes collect the resulting electrons to provide a current which is a function of the hydrogen concentration in the chamber. A second window permeable to helium allows escape of the helium from the chamber that is formed by the combination of electrons with alpha particles therein.