How to produce Oxygen and Hydrogen from water

[bernardgreen]

At 20 minutes into the video the explosive power of Hydrogen mixed with Oxygen is demonstrated, that said the whole video of the DIY development of Electrolysis is ( to me ) interesting/

 

[ericmark]

I remember being shown how to do it at school, they used I think sulphuric acid as a catalyst, well I did not have any sulphuric acid so tried salt, lucky I never gassed myself, seem to remember the oxygen combined with the chlorine, so only gas at one jar, and it didn't half burn when we lit it so see if it burnt with blue flame. Maybe it was not a good idea teaching that at school?

 

[SUNRAY]

A demonstration rather than 'experiment' was running the H&O pipes to the top and bottom of an open vertical glass tube (can't remember but i suspect O2 top and H bottom), lets sat 1½" diameter and 3 feet long.

The idea then was to drop a glowing taper in to the top which ingited the gas blue and as it dropped it turned orange.

Well that was the theory...

Is kinda gave a bit of a blue but we had to black the room to see it, that must have haken ½ hour and a thousand tapers.

Suddenly it worked and the bright colours were as good as any firework display.

So the teacher tried again and again and again...

Suddenly it worked and the gang was as good as any firework display.

When the lights came on there was no sign of the tube, retort stands supporting it and the rubber tubes or the electrolyser made of a beaker and glass tubes. the whole lot had been blown clean off the bench and all the glass broken.


Ours was the third class to be demonstrated and gloated as we described to the others.