The National Hydrogen Association calls hydrogen the perfect fuel. Because hydrogen gas is made from water, we will never run out of it. Indeed, an electrical voltage applied to water will split water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas according to the following equation.

2H₂O + electricity 2H₂ (g) + O₂ (g)

What's more, hydrogen as a fuel does little harm to the environment. Besides heat, the major product of the combustion of hydrogen in air is water.

2H₂ (g) + O₂ (g) 2H₂O + heat

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses tons of liquid hydrogen to power the space shuttle's main engines. Do you suppose that water can be used as a raw material to produce hydrogen that one day will replace petroleum as a major fuel?

Go to Why Hydrogen? and list ten reasons why the United States should switch from a petroleum-based economy to a hydrogen energy economy.

Additional Activities

1. Isn't hydrogen dangerous? What happened to the Hindenburg? Read the story of the Hindenburg and find out how safe hydrogen really is.
   
   
2. Read Dawn of the Hydrogen Age, a futuristic article on the benefits of hydrogen fuel recently published in Wired magazine.