If pure hydrogen and pure oxygen are both very flammable, why is water not?

Question

If pure hydrogen and pure oxygen are both very flammable, why is water not?

In: 1

Answer 1

>If pure hydrogen and pure oxygen are both very flammable, why is water not?

Because water is a different substance than Hydrogen and Oxygen.
The characteristics of a compound’s individual components have little to no bearing on most the characteristics of the compound.

Do note that Oxygen is in fact **not** flammable, however pure. It’s an (*the*) oxidizing agent, i.e. its presence allows flammable substances to burn (react with Oxygen).
Since water is the *product* of Hydrogen’s oxidization reaction with Oxygen it can help to think of it as Hydrogen’s “ash”, the inert residue that remains after all the exciting things have already happened.