Did you know that everything is made up of tiny particles called atoms? Two or more atoms chemically bonded together form molecules. Every Element consists of molecules. Everything in this world is made of elements. Elements bond together to form compounds. Did you know that compounds could be broken down to a simpler form when exposed to heat or electricity? This process is known as electrolysis. After a long, intense period of research, we have obtained interesting information pertaining to the subject of electrolysis. We have learned about the laws of electrolysis, it’s applications in the industrial world, the scientists who experimented with electrolysis, and what they discovered.
In 1832, Michael Faraday was experimenting with electrolysis of molten salt and found that the quantity of elements separated by passing an electric current through it were proportional to the amount of electric charge passed through the circuit. This is the first law of electrolysis. Michael Faraday also discovered the second law of electrolysis. the mass of the separated elements was directly proportional to the atomic masses of the elements.
Sir Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday’s mentor, was an accomplished chemist. He was a pioneer in electrochemistry. He used an electric battery to separate salts. This is now called electrolysis. He later separated potassium, sodium, calcium, magnaisium, barium, stronium. Another scientist is a French man named Paul Hroult. He was the inventor of aluminium electrolysis.
Water electrolysis is a process of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is an element that was discovered Hydrogen gas, H2, was first artificially produced and formally described by T. Von Hohenheim (also known as Paracelsus.) Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It has an atomic mass of one. It has three naturally occurring isotopes. Hydrogen gas is highly flammable.
Oxygen is a gas with an atomic mass of fifteen point nine nine nine four. It has seventeen known isotopes. Oxygen was first described by Micha Sdziwj, a Polish alchemist and philosopher in the late 16th century. The gas was named by Antonie Lavoisier.
Electrolysis is a growing practice, and there are new applications being thought up constantly. The process of electrolysis is commonly used all over the industrial world. Many factories have been devoted to studying and doing water electrolysis. Electrolysis is also used in manufacturing many important things such as: aluminium, lithium, sodium, potassium, and aspirin. Other products include hydrogen cars and fuel cells. Another product of electrolysis that you may be familiar with is chlorine. It is used to kill bacteria in pools. Chlorine is also an element. In our experiment, one of the elements we used electroylsis to produce was chlorine gas. Another important use for electroylsis has been for the creation of hydrogen. This is a useful activity because hydrogen can be used as fuel in some cases. Although hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth, we can always harness electricity and use it to create more hydrogen. It is basic economics, supply and demand. If we have more hydrogen fuel, It becomes cheaper, and if it is a cheaper alternative, more consumers will use it. Electroylsis is also used in many other industrial capacities.
In retrospect, electroysis is not only an fascinating topic, It has many useful results. We believe that electroylsis will emerge as a major method of hydrogen production, and one day, may bear even more significance on the industrial world.
