Science · 6 pages · 12 min

How electrolysis splits water

Current drives hydrogen off one electrode and oxygen off the other, about two volumes to one.

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From the opening

Electrolysis splits water by spending electrical energy on a reaction that will not run by itself. Hydrogen gas appears at one electrode and oxygen at the other, in volumes about two to one when those are really the gases being made. The opening covers which electrode makes hydrogen, why the volumes are two to one, and what the electrolyte is for.

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Inside

Which electrode makes hydrogen
Why the volumes are two to one
What the electrolyte is for
When salt sends you chlorine
Where the idea stops applying
A distinction worth keeping

Sources

Electrolytic splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen
Electrode reactions that set the two-to-one gas ratio

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How electrolysis splits water

From the opening

Inside

Sources

Also on the desk