How does electricity split water?
536437
In order to overcome the strength of the  oxygen-hydrogen bond of water, a force must be used to electrochemically decompose a sample of water.  This is called a decomposition voltage and it is roughly about 1.2 volts at 25 degrees C.  In the lab a little more voltage is necessary to have the reaction occur at an acceptable rate.\nThis requires a cathode and an anode to produce hydrogen and oxygen gas, and of course a voltage.  \nElectrolysis of water:\n4H+ (aq) +4e- ------ 2H2(g) reduction at cathode\n2H2(l) ------- O2(g) + 4H+(aq) + 4e- oxidation at anode\n\n2H2O(l) ------- 2H2(g) + O2(g) net reaction\n\nEnergy: DeltaGrxn = +474.4 KJ\n\nGood night and Good Luck.
304465
Well, metal oxides dissociate in water, forming the O-2 ion. This is so extraordinarily basic that it doesn't exist. The splitsecond it's created, it grabs a hydrogen from the surrounding water and forms two OH- ions.
51965
Hmm...  If I remember the physics right, it goes like this: Take two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen and mix them in a chamber with a catalyst and a proton exchange membrane and you get water and electricity.
1001225
"gods_my_ruler" obviously has NO IDEA what he is talking about.\nOf course you can, easily split H2O into H2 and O2 gas through a process known as "electrolysis".  Actually, 12 volts is way over the minimum voltage required to electrolysize water.\nYou will also, of course, need to use some form of electrolyte (commonly, "salt", or Na/K Hydroxide are popular choices) in order to help the water conduct electricity since pure water does will not conduct at all.\n\nBut you question was about controlling the current flow.\nI assume you are having problems with the current getting too high and overloading your power supply?\nFor starters, I would downgrade your power source to something with a little less voltage if possible.\nYou can also use combinations of small (on the order or just a few ohms or less) resistors wired in series/parallel in order to give you just the right resistance you are looking for in order to decrease the current through the cell.\n\nWithout more specifics about the problem you are having, that is about all the advice I can give for now.\n\nRemember, it is not the voltage that controls the H2 production rate, it is the current.\nAccording to Ohm's Law,\nV = R*I\nso a higher voltage (with a given resistance) does mean a higher current, but the same goal could be achieved with a lower voltage and much lower resistance.\n\n\nEDIT:\nIn reply to "kurticus1024",\n\nUsing a reostat or variable resistor would work to dynamically control the resistance in the circuit, and thus the current through the cell, however, most reostat which I am aware of have a high minimum resistance (i.e.  even when turned all the way to the minimum setting, they are far from zero ohms) so by doing this, you will be DRAMATICALLY increasing the resistance through the cell and intern virctually cutting your cuttent to just a few miliamps.  A few miliamps is fine for many common electrical components whcih the reostat was designed for but if you intend on produce Hydrogen, you are going to have to wait a VERY long time to get any sizeable amount.
1167923
water is generated by combining Hydrogen and Oxygen in a retort and applying eletrical spark.\nCoolant and pharmaceuticals labs
469159
Wizzard is almost right, except for the part about your body being a good insulator except for your hair.  The truth is, most of your body is a good conductor not an insulator.  Water conducts electricity, and since 70% of your body is water, you conduct pretty well.  \n\nSince like charges repel eachother, when your body carries an electric charge, those charges are going to try to separate from each other as much as possible.  They are going to go to the extremities of your body, like the hair folicles on your skin and head, and then they're going to try to separate even more.  Since your hair is very light, even a little charge can be enough to push the hairs apart and make them stand on end.
1169890
Pure water is a poor conductor but when you have water on a surface, you basically have an electrolyte solution that allows electricity to flow much easier.
196494
No. It is not possible for the following reasons...\n1) Water is a compound, so it can only have molecules adn not atoms.\n2) The only atoms that you will get when you break down a water molecule are two atoms of hyderogen and one of oxygen\n3) What we get thru electric lines is only electrical energy. This is transferred by the vibration of the atoms in the cables used to supply electricity. So no atoms are actually sent accross\n4) Even if all these were possible, the procedure will be extremely expensive.
1017764
It is due to the hydrogens bonding to the oxygens. Water always easily breaks up into H+ and OH-, and therefore attracts polar molecules. Also, keep in mind things dissolved into water are either polar or nonpolar, so it based on what is being dissovled into water, it can either become ionized  (break into particles that are charged) or not.
700454
One way to do that for relatively small volumes of water is to force the sea water through a special membrane filter under high pressure. The filter membrane must be constructed so that its holes are large enough to just pass a water molecule, but not large enough to pass metal\nmolecules, salt molecules, algae, etc. The result would be fresh clean water with a lot of brine solution left in the pressurized tank that needs to be dumped.\n\nAnother process which is more poractical for large volumes of fresh water production is electrolisis. In that process, electrical current is passed through the water to break it down into its basic elements such as hydrogen and oxygen (and all the other junk that is left over).\n\nOnce the hydrogen and oxygen are collected and recombined, the result is pure fresh water. Again, the vat or tank holding the original sea water now has a heavy brine solution which must be disposed of somehow. Most any use of sea water to produce fresh water will generate a lot of salty brine by-product that could poison sweet earth in the vicinity if it is merely dumped.
274197
salt water..., oh..., did you know that pure 100% water conducts no electricity at all..., but it is almost an impossible state to get it in..., even in nuclear and cogeneration plants that use high pressure dry stream.., they can only get water to maybe 3 to 5 points per billion pure..., and thats still conducts electric current..., and when it gets around 10 to 11 parts per billion..., they need to clean it again...
1110280
Depending on quality of the distilling process. The conductivity should be very near 0. Pure water does not conduct electricity, it is the impurities such as iron that conduct.
928923
No, because there are no ions in there.  Add some metals, or salt, or acid/base, and then it will.  In tap water, there are those, so tap water does conduct electricity.
461954
Apply an electric current. The hydrogen and oxygen atoms will be seperated from one another. The hydrogen atoms will be attracted to the negative pole, the oxygens will migrate to the positve poles.\n\nThey can be collected in gaseous forms if you have the poles isolated from one another.\n\nBoiling it will do nothing but convert water molecules from their liquid form to a gaseous state. The molecules will still be intact.
545877
Likely you can not connect them in parallel and may risk damage if you do.  Consider the analogy between electric current and water flow.  Voltage is equivalent to water pressure and electric current is equivalent to water flow rate.  If you connect two tall water towers in parallel, water will flow from the taller tower (higher voltage) into the lower tower (lower voltage).  You will likely drive electric current the wrong way through the 14V unit perhaps causing resistance heating and damage.
702210
If you know mechanical terms, think of it like this. Your electrical circuit has become a closed fluid system (city water supply) instead.\n\nCurrent is the "mass flow rate" of electrons.\n\nVoltage is the "system pressure".\n\nYou can have a pressurized water pipe with no fluid movement (Your faucet). In an equivelant electrical circuit, you would have a Voltage (Potential) with no Current inside the "Circuit".\n\nYou can have fluid/ electrons moving through a pipe/ wire but inevitably, something has to be helping it through (a Voltage difference or a Pressure difference).\n\nTherefore:\nYou can have Voltage/Potential (a pressure) without Current (flow). But you can't have Current (flow) without some voltage (pressure difference). \n\nWhen the breaker/ switch opens, current ceases to exist. The Voltage (charge) is not reliant on the existence of a current.\n\nWhen the flow of electrons stops, current ceases to exist. Regardless of the existing Potential you can still find, the nonexistant current cannot be defined or measured.
1002879
That's a big no.  The same chemical properties that make it so oil and water don't mix makes it so oil cannot conduct electricity...ever!  In fact, to make it do so you'd have to change it's composition so completely it wouldn't really be oil anymore! :-P