Archive for November 6, 2018

Why can’t we manufacture water?

Water is becoming an increasingly important issue in the developed world. But this issue is nothing new for other, less developed nations. For centuries, clean drinking water has been hard to come by for many populations, especially the poor. In some areas, water may be available, but it’s often disease-ridden, and drinking it can be fatal. In other areas, a viable water supply is sim­ply not available at all.

A 2006 United Nations report estimated that as much as 20 percent of the world’s population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water [source: BBC]. This leads us to wonder: If we need it so badly, why can’t we jus­t make it?

Water is made of two hydrogen atoms attached to an oxygen atom. This seems like pretty basic chemistry, so why don’t we just smash them together and solve the world­’s water ills? Theoretically, this is possible, but it would be an extrem­ely dangerous process, too. Read more