Hydrogen from water?

Question

I want to know how to seperate the two hydrogen atoms from water, please don't tell me something that I'd need a lab for (if thats possible), but just for a experiment,

Thanks.

Answer 1

I'm not sure what you're planning on doing with the hydrogen, but this looks like it may work:

http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/7_12/ele...

Answer 2

The process is called hydrolysis. To perform hydrolysis all you need to do is create a closed circuit which runs through water. The electric current will ionize the water producing H2 gas.

Answer 3

Just heat it up that will make the molecules separate giving you 2 hydrogen molecules and 1 oxygen molecule I really don't see how you could use them for anything since there both just gases  

Answer 4

The simplest way to do this is electrolysis; you can do this with a glass of water, a 9-volt battery, and two wires.  The hydrogen atoms will separate and form H2 gas at the negative electrode, while the oxygen atoms will form O2 gas at the positive electrode.  If you have 2 test tubes, you can collect the gas.

Answer 5

electricity my friend.

if u fill a glass of water half way and drop a nine volt battery ( the kind that shock your tounge) in there you will see bubbles from each end of the prongs.  this is the easiest way but if you design a better circut system it would be easier to trap just the hydrogen.

Answer 6

The easiest way to produced hydrogen (and oxygen) will be the electrolysis of water.  Dropping a 9V battery in some water with an electrolyte will do the trick, but it's not very elegant.  And it's hard to start and stop the reaction.

And it would be nice to use platinum electrodes, but who can afford that.  What I would suggest is to use two pencils for electrodes.  Graphite is a conductor and it won't react with the chemicals in your electrolyzer.  Cut off the erasers as the metal band and sharpen both ends.  Repeat with a second pencil.  Ideally, you should have a couple of wires with alligator clips at the ends, and a couple of test tubes or substitutes for them, and the equivalent of a beaker to do this in.  

Dissolve a spoonful of sodium bicarbonate in the water in the beaker.  The amount isn't too critical.  This will become the electrolyte solution that will conduct electricity.  Fill the test tubes with water and then turn them upside down in the water in the beaker.  The tricky thing is to find some what to hold all of this together.  The alligator clip leads go on the ends of the pencils and to the leads on the 9V battery. The pencils go into the solution at an angle so that the open ends of the test tubes are right above the tips so that they gas will travel up into the test tubes and displace the water, and collect the H2 and O2 gas.

Here's a picture.

http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC041148/mysite/el...

Except your pencils should be at an angle and the inverted (water filled) test tubes should be above the tips of the pencils.  And one battery will work nicely.

http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/fil...

When all of this is held in place then water in the beaker will be decomposed by the electricity and and the gases will displace the water in the test tubes.  Have fun.

Oh, by the way.  Someone suggested heating up the water to decompose it.  That's rubbish.  All you will get, when it comes to a boil, are bubbles of dissolved air, followed by bubbles of water vapor.

Answer 7

easiest way is to pass a current through water. you need a 12v power pack, leads, and 2 platinum electrodes. this will generate bubbles when hooked up. one set of bubbles will be hydrogen (negative eletrode), the other oxygen. Catching it can be done by the downward displacement of water.