I know that we can extract hydrogen from water v.i.a electrolysis and we can store it and use it as a fuel. My question is and I'm not sure if this method/process has been exploited yet but why can't we or what is stopping us from simply "igniting" the hydrogen from the water and using it's energy the very instant it's "extracted" ? Why do we have to do all the waiting, storing, etc, etc. I'm definitely no expert but it would seem more "efficient' if it was just used the instant it was converterted.

 

What would be the point? Let's put in 100 W of power to extract hydrogen and oxygen from water just to immediately ignite it to get 25 W of power out of it. Why not just use the 100 W you started with to do whatever you intend to do in the first place?

 

I know that we can extract hydrogen from water v.i.a electrolysis and we can store it and use it as a fuel. My question is and I'm not sure if this method/process has been exploited yet but why can't we or what is stopping us from simply "igniting" the hydrogen from the water and using it's energy the very instant it's "extracted" ? Why do we have to do all the waiting, storing, etc, etc. I'm definitely no expert but it would seem more "efficient' if it was just used the instant it was converterted.

Hydrogen from water v.i.a electrolysis is a net energy loss. It's not a fuel. At best it's an inefficient storage system when you have lots of energy to waste.

Buy $1.00 of gas. Dump $0.75 of it on the ground, then use the $0.25 to run a engine. Does that sound like good energy policy?

 

There is one instance that I know of where useful Energy can be obtained from Water,
but it's still no where near being what You might call "efficient".

Super-Fine Atomization of Water,
( which takes a ~400+PSI Pump ),
and then blowing it into a Plasma-Arc,
( generated by a Spark-Plug, which is connected to a very-high-Voltage DC-Power-Supply ),
will cause the Water to dissociate on the spot and create an impressive, but kinda small, Fire-Ball.
This can be a bonus in a very high-powered Piston-Engine.
But the type of Piston-Engine that can benefit from this type of "Fire-Ball"
is grossly inefficient in the first place, barely getting up to around ~10% efficiency.

Water has a specific "Angle" between it's 2 Hydrogen-Atoms.
This "angle" is NOT A FIXED VALUE, as you may have been taught in Science-Class.
When the "angle" between the 2 Hydrogen-Atoms is persuaded into becoming wider,
it requires less work to get one, or both, of the Hydrogen-Atoms to
separate from the Oxygen-Atom.

Notice that to increase the "angle",
outside Energy, in one form or another, had to be applied to the Water-Molecule.

Impurities in the Water can affect the "angle".
Pressure can affect the "angle".
Temperature can affect the "angle".
Electrical-Fields can affect the "angle".
Magnetic-Fields can affect the "angle".
Added Chemicals can affect the "angle".

When the "angle" becomes greater than 180-degrees, the Atoms will separate.

There's a lot of POWER tied-up in making this "angle" smaller,
and therefore there is a lot of Power required to make the "angle" larger,
or to cause complete separation.

Water wants to be at it's "ideal" "angle".
If You succeed in separating it's Atoms,
they will try to get "back to ideal" in a truly explosive manner.

Now, You just have to figure-out how to increase the "angle" with
readily available, "natural-Power", or with "man-made-Power".
Some methods are far more efficient than others.

Power can be neither created, nor destroyed,
but it can be changed into different, sometimes more useful, forms.
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