# Supposed the U.S. went to hydrogen powered cars
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 20, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510 "2006-08-20T23:33:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/1 "2006-08-20T23:33:13Z")
So, our cars are running on hydrogen, either by fuel cells or by combustion. The hydrogen is combined with oxygen, giving off water as waste. So far, so good.
Now, consider the amount of stuff cars currently put into the air in their local environments. Suppose instead that rather than pumping exhaust into the air, all those cars were sucking oxygen out of the air. I mean, isn’t that what they’ll be doing? How good can that be for people on the highways and in other heavy-traffic areas?
Then, suppose, to avoid the potential problem, cars also have oxygen on board. That can’t be very safe, what with car accidents and all.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/2 "2006-08-21T00:09:53Z")
Given the fact that the Earth has been happily supporting combustion for billions of years, I am confident that there is enough oxygen in the atmosphere to support a few hydrogen cars.
Manufacturing, transporting, and storing the hydrogen is the real problem.
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### Author:  [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/3 "2006-08-21T01:02:51Z")
They release oxygen to the air , when water is broken down for the fuel. I find it amusing that depending on how water is supplied for the electrolysis of water, that people could end up having their own heavy water supply. The heavy water molecule is harder to split during electrolysis then regular water. By having a tank of water at home that your photovoltaic cells use to eletrolysis hydrogen during the day, you can end up concentrating heavy water in the tank over a period of time. How’s that strike you as a school science project?
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### Author:  [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/4 "2006-08-21T01:19:59Z")
I’ve always figured that, should hydrogen cars start looking viable, I’d buy stock in companies that produce/distribute road salt. Think of all the cars in Chicago, dripping water out of their tailpipes in January…
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### Author:  [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/5 "2006-08-21T01:21:52Z")
The heavy water on hand part intrigues me. I like it when my ice cubes sink.
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### Author:  [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/6 "2006-08-21T01:30:19Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#):
>
> They release oxygen to the air…
That’s one method, which would give us locally high concentrations of oxygen. After all, it may be much cheaper to buy hydrogen, rather than maintain our own hydrogen production at home.
Just as the smog in L.A. doesn’t affect me (apart from global warming), local concentrations can be thrown off whack, no? One would think that the little exhaust cars give off would be no big deal, right? Rather than smog days, maybe in twenty years L.A. will having asphyxiation days as the oxygen is sucked up by millions of cars running 24/7.
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### Author:  [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/7 "2006-08-21T04:45:50Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#):
>
> …all those cars were sucking oxygen out of the air. I mean, isn’t that what they’ll be doing?
Yes, just like gasoline powered cars are doing now.
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### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/8 "2006-08-21T07:14:45Z")
A similar topic comes up in GQ every now and then, with people wondering what the water vapor from all those hydrogen powered cars will do to the climate. I can’t find the thread, but someone crunched the numbers and figured out that in a city like Phoenix, AZ the amount of water vapor emitted by swimming pools was vastly greater than the water vapor that would be emitted by a city full of hydrogen powered cars.
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/9 "2006-08-21T08:20:30Z")
That was me. But more to the point, water vapor in the atmosphere is in saturation. If you were to create gigantic water vapor emitters, all you’d get is more rain.
But year, the amount of water lost through evaporation in outdoor swimming pools is immense, and much greater than what would be emitted from the tailpipes of cars. And just think how much water vapor goes back into the air after a good hard rain on a hot day.
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### Author:  [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposed-the-u-s-went-to-hydrogen-powered-cars/369510/10 "2006-08-21T12:44:32Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#):
>
> A similar topic comes up in GQ every now and then, with people wondering what the water vapor from all those hydrogen powered cars will do to the climate.
Water vapor?! I’m all for it, in Pheonix. It’s way too humid here.
> [@scr4](#):
>
> Yes, just like gasoline powered cars are doing now.
Ah-ha! I knew there was something obvious I was missing. Thanks!