Why can’t you just put put hydrogen and oxygen in a tank (with a 2:1 ratio) and make water? What would water be without both?

Question

Why can’t you just put put hydrogen and oxygen in a tank (with a 2:1 ratio) and make water? What would water be without both?

In: 2

Answer 1

You can, with one additional step. You just need a small addition of energy – ie, a spark – and the process will make water. However, it’ll release even more energy that’ll probably cause the tank to explode.