What is the process of water electrolysis?

1. Electrolysis of water: Open the active plugs on the graduated glass tubes on both sides of the Hoffman electrolyzer, and pour a dilute sulfuric acid solution with a concentration of 1:8 into the spherical funnel. When the liquid in the two graduated tubes will rise to the pistons, the pouring speed slows down so that the liquid level slightly exceeds the two pistons. Close the piston, put a thinly rolled filter paper strip into the glass tube on the piston, suck out the liquid that exceeds the piston, and then install the devices for detecting hydrogen and oxygen respectively. An electric key is connected in series to the wires of the two electrodes and connected to an 18-volt DC power supply. After energization, a large number of bubbles will appear on the two poles. After 4 to 5 minutes, about 10 ml of hydrogen can accumulate in the cathode tube, and about 5 ml of oxygen can accumulate in the anode tube.
Theoretically, the volume of hydrogen generated after water electrolysis should be twice that of oxygen. Due to reasons such as the solubility of oxygen in water being slightly greater than that of hydrogen and side reactions occurring on the electrode, the volume of oxygen obtained is generally always smaller than the theoretical value. In order to reduce the error, the power is often turned on for a period of time to allow the decomposed oxygen to dissolve in the liquid on the anode side to make it saturated, and then the gas accumulated in the two tubes is released and readjusted before conducting the experiment.
2. Synthesis of water: First fill the measuring tube with water, turn it upside down and put it into the sink so that the open end is submerged about 3 cm below the water surface. Use the drainage method to first introduce 6 ml of oxygen, and then 6 ml of hydrogen to fully mix the two. Then connect the two platinum wires with the closed end exposed outside the tube to the induction coil and the 6-8 volt DC power supply.
An electric key is used to close the circuit, and an electric spark is generated between the platinum wires in the tube. At the same time, the mixed gas of hydrogen and oxygen is exploded, causing the entire device to vibrate strongly. During the explosion, the water level in the tube suddenly dropped, and then quickly rose back to 1/4 of its original volume. It shows that 3 volumes out of 4 volumes of mixed gas are effective.
The operation method of the water synthesizer assembled with a glass tube and a rubber stopper with electrodes is basically the same as above, except that the induction coil is not needed. Connect the two copper wire rings on the rubber plug to the 6V DC power supply and the electric key respectively. When the circuit is closed, the tungsten wire in the tube is burned out immediately, and the sparks generated cause the hydrogen and oxygen mixed gas to explode. As a result, the gas in the tube is reduced to 1/4 of its original volume.