Seperation of H2 and O2 Gas by Electolysis

I do not see a method that allows hydrogen to be collected in one spot while the oxygen molecule can be collected elsewhere.

Didn't you do this at school?
A simple H shaped glass aparatus with + electrode one side and - at the other... the H collects in one vertical arm and the O in the other.

If the elecrtrodes are separate the gas production will be separate... unless my memory has completely fried .

Del

What would happen to the school experiment if AC is used?

Using AC would be deliberately contrary...the sort of problem creation exercise practiced by my Mother in Law... .

If you only have AC then break open your wallet and buy a diode.

Easy ... just grab every 3rd atom 50 or 60 times per second

For that you would need a mechanical flip-flop driven by Strauss music.

O-H-H--O-H-H--O-H-H--

Hho, hho, hho. Most amusing!

H is the lightest gas so a long tube with H and O coming in the middle, and H exiting at the top, and O at the bottom should do it. A kind of vortex tube should also work.

The main problem with using AC to produce the mixture of H's and O's is that you will have the exact critical mixture waiting for an occasion to explode. This is extremely dangerous even in small quantity. Use DC and keep them separate right from production. This will probably save lives.

If you already have them mixed from some process, dilute them ASAP and burn it. Do not try to compress the critical mixture or use any other energetic process. You would literally be playing with fire...

Tcorn,137,

As others have indicated, Hydrogen is produced at the negative electrode (cathode) and Oxygen is produced at the positive electrode (anode).

As this question is so basic to the subject of electrolysis, I humbly recommend that you study up on the subject, so that you understand the basic principles and the safety issues. If you Google "electrolysis water" you will find enough to get you started. I also suggest that you look up the properties of hydrogen and oxygen to understand some of the safety issues.

There are kits that are designed to be an introduction to what you are trying to do Here is a kit that generates H2 and O2 by solar power. After the gases are collected, the fuel cell is reversed to produce electricity to power a small toy car:

http://www.super-science-fair-projects.com/fuel-cell-car-experiments-science-kit.html

Tad

Add together the cost of the means of producing the electricity to make the H and compare the cost with using other types of energy. H is not energy dense so you need about 5 times more H than gasoline to drive the same distance. When you add all the costs together H is the most expensive energy storage medium. {It is not a fuel.]

Standard electrolysis is as described, but less than 5% of H is made by that very expensive method. Other methods use coal, oil methane and other "polluting" materials to make H. HHO gas such as Meyers is too dangerous to use as an auto fuel as well as being too expensive.