A few other Europeans are known to have made hydrogen from water by adding acids and metals, but Henry Cavendish, a meticulous British scientist, went further because he had what many of us wish we had enough money to do nothing but experiments. He took advantage of his fortunate financial circumstances for the

Advancement of scientific learning, and he made excellent notes of his discoveries. For men, women are a distraction. Henry was so enthralled with science that he refused to be distracted. He wouldn’t even look!

In 1766, after repeated experiments, he isolated and described hydrogen gas (then called “inflammable air”), identifying it as a distinct element. He applied a spark to the gas, it yielded water, and at length he concluded that water is made of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. Now you know who was the first human on record to reach this conclusion about the nature of water. Travel by hydrogen filled balloons followed soon after, in 1783.

A very admirable partnership was that of Antoine Laurent and Marie Anne Lavoisier. They are deservedly called “the founders of modern chemistry.” They were a French husband and wife scientific team that did the most important experiment of the 18th century, and, interestingly, it had ,to do with identifying the makeup of water.

By proving the composition of H20, Lavoisier disproved the erroneous teaching surrounding phlogiston, which was thought to be a component of combustion. Belief in phlogiston was a mistaken notion held by the scientific community for more than half a century, and it ceased to exist when Lavoisier named the gas formerly known as “inflammable air” hydrogen, from the French hydro (water) + gene (maker). Inversely, you could say “made from water.”

The couple did a tremendous amount of good by their numerous experiments touching on diverse subjects. If they were alive today, you can be sure that they would be at the forefront of pointing to a viable alternative to polluting, expensive, disappearing fossil fuels. For instance, in 1774, they focused sunlight through a series of high powered lenses to produce enough heat to melt platinum, over 3000 degrees. An 18th century artist’s rendering of their device is shown on page 2 of this book. Do you see Lavoisier wearing sunglasses?

Heat has since been used to perform thermolysis of water. Yes, water can be broken down in its component gases simply by applying heat, and a solar collector can provide the heat necessary to do it, by using a catalyst to lower the temperature at which the reaction occurs. The sun is the most abundant source of energy available on this planet, and water is the most abundant resource.