Can anyone offer an answer to the question - At what temperature would water molecules break down into their constituent elemental forms (2 Hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom)?
Many thanks!
Water starts to dissociate into atomic and molecular hydrogen and oxygen at about 1800°K (2780°F). At low pressures, dissociation is complete above 3500°K (5840°F).
Since your OP’s been answered, it’s probably worth noting that the traditional (and easier) way to split water is to run electricity through it.
Many thanks you 2!
Actually, we wewre looking for the non-electrical method as part of a discussion of how water comes to form in the first place. When I explained that the process occurred as part of the death cycle of stars, someone asked how this could be, since the high temperatures would prevent molecular bonding - and I stated that I was certain that it took extremely high temperatures to break water molecules apart - certainly in the thousands of degrees Farenheit or higher.
The generally accepted explanation for water formation is this: you have an atmosphere with oxygen (which would have originated in a supernova at some point) and hydrogen, then add a spark. BOOM. Water.
That was one big f***ing spark.