why can't water burn?

Question

seems like it would since it's made mostly of oxygen. and when split, hygrogen is inflamable?

Answer 1

I don't know but those answers before mine are wrong. No, when water boils it's still water. the asker means when water (H2o) is split into (H) and (o). he's right about electrisity being the requirement for that.
Would the process be a net gain to use electrisity to split water and use the resulting oxygen and hydrogen to produce more electrisity? That's an interesting idea.

some solids, liquids, and gases all burn. Water can take all forms and doesn't burn. Wax can be solid and liquid and it can make a string burn for hours, days, weeks, months, years, is there a limit? try throwing more wax in a candle. it adds to the time the candle stays lit. just like throwing another log on the fire.

Answer 2

Essentially, water has already been "burnt".

In its elemental state, Hydrogen gas (H2) is very flammable when in the presence of an Oxidizing agent (such as Oxygen gas, O2).
Oxygen gas is needed for things to burn, but in and of itself is not flammable.

If one should mix 2 parts Hydrogen gas with 1 part Oxygen gas,
2H2 + O2 --> 2H2O
and ignite the mixture, water would be formed.
Water is the product of this very explosive reaction.

In a way, water could be compared to the ashes which remain behind after a camp fire. The ashes (in addition to the water and Carbon Dioxide produced) are the "left overs" of the logs which went into the fire, just like the water is what remain after the Hydrogen and Oxygen reacted/"burn".


When two chemicals (such as Hydrogen and Oxygen, the components of water) react with each other, a chemical change occurs and the resulting product can have dramatically different properties than its original components.

Answer 3

Because the attraction between 1 Oxygen and 2 hydrogen atoms in water is so strong that the heat of a fire is not enough to break the links, so no oxygen is available and burning is not possible.

Answer 4

Direct quote from previous answer. Looks like someone has the same homework as another person did last year :)

"...Hydrogen gas is H:H (two hydrogen atoms sharing a covalent bond) and molecular oxygen is O=O (two oxygen atoms sharing two covalent bonds).

Oxidation results from electronegativity, or the affinity of atoms for electrons. Oxygen is very electronegative, which means it really, really wants to have it's own electrons, and it hates to share them (metaphorically speaking, of course). Hydrogen is not very electronegative, and its pretty content to walk around as a positive ion with no electrons at all. It is the weakling on the school playground who will get beaten up and have its electrons stolen by the big kids, like oxygen and chlorine.

Two oxygen atons don't like having to share electrons, but they can't take them from one another. But if an oxygen molecule sees two hydrogen molecules, then the two oxygen atoms will part ways, and each will beat up the hydrogen weakling and take both of its electrons. The "fight" that ensues is fire, where the rapid loss of energy (O=O bonds and H-H bonds have a lot of energy, while H-O-H bonds are low in energy) becomes heat and light, aka fire.

An oxygen atom, though it likes electrons, will have a negative charge of -2 if it has the eight total electrons needed for Nobel configuration. Likewise, Hydrogen will have a positive charge if denied its electrons. So oxygen will let two little hydrogens tag along, and the H2O molecule is charge neutral. But in water, the electrons are almost always around the oxygen, while the hydgrogen has very little chance of any electrons being around it for very long. These bonds are low energy.

Other things that burn--coal, gas, methane--these are things where carbon shares electrons with either more carbon or with hydrogen. O2 will come along and steal electrons. But O2 can't steal electrons from water, because the oxygen atom in water is just as tough (electronegative) as the oxygen in O2, so it won't win that fight. But oxygen can take electrons from carbon (giving CO2, or carbon dioxide) or hydrogen, and it does."

Answer 5

Ozone is made of oxygen and its a toxic gas!!.The only

difference between oxygen (O2) and Ozone (O3) is an atom.

The same happens with water, because it has oxygen does not

mean that it can have combustion.In chemistry you can not

generalized the concept that a molecule will react as same as

the atoms that composed the molecule. Some molecules that

have oxygen are flammable but that is possibly due to the atomic

conformation in space of the atoms that compose the molecule.

They are two main factors in molecule properties first the

atoms that compose the molecule, second the way they are

arrange in space because of the bonds they make.

Answer 6

Burn is a rapid oxidation of a molecule. How can a molecule oxidize if it already has oxygen on it?
Also, the bond between the two elements are so strong that for thousands of years water was considered an element. No breaking of the bond exists in nature here on Earth.

Answer 7

water can't burn because when you chemically combine hydrogen and oxygen it is no longer flammable gasses but a new liquid substance, water. this is called a compound, a mixture is where the two gasses would be mixed together and there would not be a new substance.

(it is actually mostly hydrogen, H2O, 2 hydrogens and 1 oxygen)

Answer 8

Water can burn! You just have to a high enough energy source to break the bonds in H20 molecule. It is an extremely strong bond, so you have to have a lot of heat like a laser or extremely hot fire like a magnesium or phosphorus fire. Fire fighters are trained not to throw water on these types of fires instead they try to cover them with sand. The cool thing about burning water is the by product is just more water (steam)!

Answer 9

Water is not flamable.
Actually both hydrogen and oxygen are
highly flamable seperate.
It has something to do with a chemical bond
or some crap, sorry didn't take college chem yet

Answer 10

Combustion as you think of it is typically the liberation of carbon, producing water. It is a dehydration reaction.