What's the process called where you can use electricity to separate the oxygen and hydrogen from water? Is it electrolysis? Can it be applied to other liquids?
1 Answer
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Problem in your question: should be be O and H, because $\ce{H2O}$ (water) is made of H (Hydrogen) and O (Oxygen). $\ce{CO2}$ is carbon dioxide, for reference.
And yes, electrolysis can be performed on many compounds, not just water.
An electrolytic reaction is where an electric current is used to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Splitting water is just one of such reactions.
You can read more here.
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$\begingroup$ When I was younger I went to the Science Center in Toronto (about 1975 I think) and there was an exhibit about Electolysis showing the splitting water phenomenon (Ithink) BUT they also had a part of the exhibit that could take some oxygen and hydrogen and somehow re-integrate them into H2O (without any minerals or additives in it). A kind of REVERSE ELECTROLYSIS, is there such a process? Did the Science Centre in Toronto have such an exhibit in the mid-70's? $\endgroup$ Commented May 10, 2014 at 6:34