COULD SCIENTISTS EVER DEVELOP AWAY FOR HUMANS TO EXTRACT THE OXYGEN FROM WATER?
Oxygen can be extracted from water in a process known as electrolysis. Water molecules consist of two hydrogen atoms paired with one oxygen atom. Connecting two electrodes to a power supply and placing them into salted water allows an electric current to flow. Electricity is the flow of electrons, therefore one of the electrodes – the cathode – becomes negatively charged due to the buildup of electrons, while the other – the anode – becomes positively charged because of an electron deficit. This difference in charge causes water molecules to separate into their constituent parts, with oxygen bubbles appearing on the anode and hydrogen bubbles accumulating on the cathode. Your question could also be referring to whether we might one day be able to ‘breathe’ in water. To do this, humans would need a system similar to fish gills in order to harness dissolved oxygen.