Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Fry
But the first step is to show that oxyhydrogen is a formidable oxidizer, .
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Just to eliminate possible confusion, it would be good to define a couple terms that are often brought up in HHO discussions. Using these terms correctly in this discussion will help to reduce the amount of time wasted.
Oxidizer:
An oxidizing agent (also called an oxidant, oxidizer or oxidiser) can be defined as a substance that removes electrons from another reactant in a redox chemical reaction. The oxidizing agent is "reduced" by taking electrons onto itself and the reactant is "oxidized" by having its electrons taken away. Oxygen is the prime example of an oxidizing agent, but it is only one among many.
In simple terms:
The oxidizing agent is reduced.
The reducing agent is oxidized.
Catalyst:
Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction,
a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself.
Accelerant:
Accelerants play a major role in chemistry. Most chemical reactions can be hastened with an accelerant. Accelerants alter a chemical bond, speed up a chemical process, or bring organisms back to homeostasis. Accelerants are not necessarily catalysts as they may be consumed by the process. An accelerant can be any substance that can bond, mix, or disturb another substance and cause an increase in the speed of a natural, or artificial chemical process.
All these are from Wikipedia. The bolding re catalysts is mine.