3 ms·
Breaking bonds does not release energy. Bonds are the way the are because they are (locally) the lowest-energy configuration for the atoms that are taking part.
by jbri 16y ago
Breaking bonds does not release energy. Bonds are the way the are because they are (locally) the lowest-energy configuration for the atoms that are taking part. You need to put energy in to get out of a low-energy configuration.
The device appears to use water->hydrogen as an energy storage mechanism, to solve (at some efficiency cost) the issue of energy demand generally being out of sync with the supply from the sun. You put energy in to convert water into hydrogen+oxygen, and then you can get that energy back out by converting it back into water.
- runningdogx 16y agoSince most reactions do not end up with all the constituent atoms as free ions, the real question is how the sum of bond energies of the reaction product(s) compares to the sum of bond energies of the starting molecule(s). In the case of water, 2 H20 -> 2 H2 + O2 is endothermic, but reactions do not have to be endothermic, or else chemistry would be very boring and cold.