Skip to Content

Why Can’t Cars Run On Water?

Why Can’t Cars Run On Water?

Many people are confused about the presence of cars that can run on water as some fake videos have misconceived them.

Moreover, consumers dream of replacing gasoline with water, and some people are trying to make fake videos about such vehicles to seek attention and likes from them.

Why Can’t Cars Run On Water? Cars can’t run on water because water is a highly stable molecule, and it is difficult to break a strong covalent bond joining oxygen and hydrogen together. Furthermore, splitting water molecules require a lot of energy, making it impossible to generate more energy than is utilized for splitting a molecule. In addition, this process is expensive as you need a lot of money to build an infrastructure for electrolysis. Furthermore, there are safety concerns related to hydrogen gas which is highly flammable and can cause an explosion. 

The issue of the presence of water-fueled cars has been subjected to controversy for a long time, but there are no such automobiles in real that can replace gasoline with H2O.

In addition, it is still not possible to design a vehicle with a proper structure that can allow water to be used as fuel due to some limitations of laws and scientific facts.

Is it possible for cars to run on water?

Many people are trying to search out the fact about cars, whether they can run on water or they have to use gasoline only.

You are probably confused by the fake innovations of people who post fake videos and pictures of manufacturing a water-fueled vehicle whenever the fuel prices go high.

Several attempts have been made to introduce automobiles that can run on H2O instead of gasoline, but all failed due to technical errors, and all were scientifically wrong.

No doubt, it is possible to manufacture such cars, but it requires a specific setup and proper infrastructure.

In addition, you have to devise particular strategies to control the flammable hydrogen gas.

Why can’t cars run on water instead of gasoline?

There are many limitations to producing cars that can use water as a fuel instead of gasoline. Such problems are barriers to turning this dream of gasoline consumers into reality.

Expensive setup

The production of hydrogen gas requires a proper infrastructure that can add to the price of a car.

It requires using specific metals in the electrolysis process to extract hydrogen from the H2O molecule. The metal bars are expensive and are used in an electrolysis chamber to split a molecule.

Furthermore, storage houses are required to store hydrogen gas that has to be used for providing power to the piston.

It increases the overall cost of a vehicle and makes it more expensive than an electric vehicle.

According to an estimation, the water-fueled car can cost around $90,000 to $95,000, while the same electric vehicle is available at almost $30,000 to $35,000.

It is expensive to build a separate tank for hydrogen production, but it is tedious to manage the process as it takes a lot of time and effort.

Stability of water molecule

The concept of water-fueled automobile production is against the laws of thermodynamics which state that energy is only transferred to different forms, and it is impossible to produce and destroy it.

However, this process involves the production of hydrogen gas in a separate tank that can ultimately be used to drive a vehicle.

So, this concept is scientifically wrong because water cannot burn, and you have to split the H2O molecule to produce useable energy; otherwise, it cannot proceed further.

You have to use hydrogen instead of a water molecule or another method for splitting a molecule that requires less energy.

Risk of explosion

Adding an electrolysis chamber under the car hood that contains hydrogen is not safe. The hydrogen atom is highly flammable and poses a risk of explosion.

Hydrogen gas can easily catch fire when it comes in direct contact with a small flame.

As a result, the regulatory authorities have shown concerns about contact with hydrogen and its presence inside vehicles.

So, they are not willing to permit manufacturing automobiles that are supposed to run on water as fuel.

In addition, there is a risk of bursting of storage chamber carrying hydrogen during severe crashes because it contains a lot of energy produced by splitting its molecule.

Production of less energy

The amount of energy used during the splitting of H2O is more than that produced after electrolysis.

The rules of thermodynamics state that it is not possible to create energy from water that is more than the one spent in breaking it.

Accordingly, it is not possible to extract more energy during the recombination of two atoms in the fuel cell, which makes the future of cars uncertain.

So, it is not a problem to use hydrogen for driving a vehicle, but the production of energy more than that used for breaking a molecule is an issue that needs to be fixed.

Lack of infrastructure

The installation of hydrogen infrastructure is an essential task while manufacturing water-fueled automobiles.

A proper setup of electrolysis tanks requires a lot of money as you need metallic bars, a tank, and an electrolysis solution.

It takes a high cost to design a suitable infrastructure and requires specific safety measures to deal with the tank as it is dangerous to be in contact with hydrogen gas.

Dependency on electrolysis

The splitting process of water depends on electrolysis, which involves using electricity to break a molecule of H2O. Current passes from a molecule and breaks a chemical bond in this process.

It occurs inside an electrolyzer that can contain two metallic plates named cathode and anode to pass an electric current through the solution. On the anode side, H2O reacts and releases oxygen and hydrogen.

Furthermore, the hydrogen ions move on the cathode side as they have a positive charge and form hydrogen by combining with electrons.

This way, hydrogen gas is produced in the fuel cell, which is further used to operate the engine of these vehicles.

What are the benefits of water-fueled cars?

Water-fueled cars have many benefits that attract environmental warriors and consumers to produce them as soon as possible.

One of the prominent reasons for an interest in such vehicles is the reduction of gasoline cost as you can quickly fill the tank with water.

In addition, it helps maintain the engine’s operating temperature and releases heat into the atmosphere, ensuring the engine’s smooth operation.

It prevents the buildup of carbon deposits and allows smooth gearshifts. Accordingly, it increases the life expectancy of engine components, including rings, pistons, valves, etc.

Moreover, it provides almost 30 to 35% increase in gas mileage. Therefore, an increase in the fuel economy allows you to save a lot of money when you compare it with an investment in gasoline.

Who had claimed to manufacture water powered cars?

Many companies and individuals had claimed to manufacture water-fueled cars, but all of them were scientifically wrong, which led to failure.

Garett had made a carburetor with electrolysis plates in its lower portion and contained water. Still, he failed to prove it according to the law of thermodynamics as there was no new energy source.

In addition, Genepax has revealed information about a membrane electrode assembly that is used to extract hydrogen from H2O.

Hydrogen was produced as a result of the reaction between water and metal hydride that was considered rubbish later on.

However, Stanley Meyer has claimed to install splitters and replace them with spark plugs.

Then, he claimed to use fuel cells for splitting H2O molecules recombining in a combustion chamber to release energy, but he could not prove it.

In the same way, Daniel Dingel, Genesis World Energy, Daniel Klein, and many others have tried to build a system for such automobiles, but they failed, and their claims were incorrect.

How does a water-fueled car work?

Many industries use techniques to produce hydrogen from H2O for different purposes and transport them in storage tanks.

In the same way, these vehicles require the splitting of a water molecule to use energy for driving the vehicle.

It is a highly stable molecule due to the presence of two covalent bonds joining hydrogen and oxygen atoms together. This strong bond requires a lot of energy to be broken and release the atoms.

Electrolysis helps break the bond between these atoms and produce oxygen and hydrogen. This process requires a separate tank for holding the gases separately.

Hydrogen and oxygen have to recombine by using the energy produced during electrolysis. It occurs in a specific combustion tank or a fuel cell tank that mixes and ignites the two atoms.

The production of an H2O molecule is an exothermic process and releases energy that can be used to drive a piston, leading to vehicle movement.

It requires a lot of skill, cost, and proper infrastructure that is still lacking.

Is there any chance of water powered cars to come?

Many people ask about the future of water-fueled cars and whether there is any chance of such vehicles coming in the near future, or is it just impossible to do.

These vehicles make some sense to the automakers, and they can be turned into reality, but there are a few limitations to using water as a replacement for gasoline.

It is challenging to split H2O molecules because it needs a lot of energy. Therefore, you can expect to see hydrogen-powered vehicles if they have encountered the problem of getting hydrogen.

The automakers require a revolutionary step to bring favorable changes in design to make them suitable for water as a fuel. Still, it remains uncertain until some future developments are made.

Multiple attempts are made in the past and present to manufacture such automobiles that show the interest of people that can probably lead to their production in real.

Furthermore, the presence of hydrogen-powered fuel cell cars, including Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo, in the markets gives rise to hope of getting water-fueled vehicles in the future.

Related Articles:

Do Police Cars Change Traffic Lights?

Can E85 Cars Take Regular Gas?