[Corvettaholic]

Well since there isn't an extra reducing agent, wouldn't this be a really cheap way to produce H₂? The only thing you're really expending is water (cheap) and carbon electrodes (cheap). If you had an electrode that wouldn't burn up though... then just the water would be expended. Right? Any idea what would be a good conductor to use that would carry high amperage current to break apart water, and not burn itself up?

About the atomic battery: its on hold. I got a call from the NRC and they told me I can't have a license. To get the stuff I need, it'll take a bit more money that I have. Still waiting for my house refinance to go through so I can pay off the corvette (and fix it), then I can go get a bunch of old radium clocks. Once I get those, I'll be asking plenty of questions about radium salts  

[miaskows]

Diluted water solutions of NaOH are very good conductors of electricity. The only products of electrolyses of such solutions are O2 and H2.

[Corvettaholic]

Thats one way to get hydrogen, but then I have to buy the NaOH which is more expensive than tap water. I'd love to use tap water to get hydrogen, because in AZ our water supply is subsidized by the federal government so we get cheap water. Not good water, but cheap water. If you let it sit out overnight and check it in the morning, you'll see floaties. I know water by itself is a crappy conductor, but with enough amperage it should work. So long as you start with the electrodes really really close to each other so it won't take as much power to get the arc started, then you can draw the electrodes away from each other to extend the arc. So long as it doesn't get extinguished, plain ol water should be a good enough conductor.

All that heat from the plasma... does the heat itself break apart the water or just the insane amount of current? It'll be running over 30 volts, and I know thats more than plenty for electrolysis. The amperage will also be over 50 too, I think. I really need to build a specialized power supply for this... time to go transformer hunting.

[miaskows]

From what they claimed in the invention it seems likely to be burning (oxidation) of carbon electrodes by water rather than usual electrolyses.  The tips of the carbod rods getting overheated by the arc and easily react with water to give CO/H2 mixture.
If you are serious about all of that stuff ,I would like to give you some general information about common used electrodes :
The Anode would be made up from following materials:
Graphite ,Pt, Iron oxides (good and cheap thing, but there would be a problem to produce compact electrode from it), Pb ( would be found in old car accumulator batteries), Pb oxides, Ni and it's oxides, Ti.

 The Cathode commonly produced from stainless steel.
The Anode is the electrode where oxidation is taken place and, consequently , that electrode must be much more stable for corrosion than Cathode where reducing process is actually carried out.
During electrolyses of pure water ,O2 and H2 are only compounds formed ,if materials  for both cathode and anode has been properly chosen.
O2 would be collected on Anode and H2 on Cathode.
The two gases must be evacuated via separated pipes, compressed and collected in different cylinders.

[miaskows]

All the described above is good only for common electrolyses and not for arc making, where for example Pb Anode would be immediately melted up due to the very low melting point of that metal.

[Corvettaholic]

So titanium would be the way to go? Maybe I can find some electrodes on ebay...

[constant thinker]

Titanium is very expensive is it not. If you have a rocket lying around you can go to the moon and get some though. Beat the rest of the world back to the moon. Be the first civilian to the moon without government funding.

[miaskows]

You can try Ti (melting point 1600 oC, high resistance to the certainly tipes of corrosion) to make up your Anode and stainless steel for Catode, but one couldn't help asking what for, for Good sake? All you going to collect are well known , very cheap and useless for home needs  ,O2 and H2. There still would be danger ,this time not from poisoning by inhalation of CO, but from explosion of H2 -air or H2-O2 gaseous mixtures. Besides you have not got proper machinery to compress the gases.By the way the only thing , concerned  electrolysis, that would have been worth dealing with in home condition, would be  producing of Ni and Cr coating of stainless steel and coper parts of cars and sanitary devices (taps , pipes etc).
A lot of the pplz has been doing such jobs in their sheds in the past (and i belive now days as well). The such bissness needs a lot of experience, but if somebody getting serious about it (read the manuals , study principles of practical electrochemistry ), then even somebody that has not got especial education in the field,after years of hard working would be able  in the end to turn to real profi in the electrolitic coating and make good money or at least to turn his house or car to unbelivable beautiful   Ni/Cr shining pieces.
It is nice to be scientist and to search for newest inventions , but the base line is what is ones aim except to natural curiousity would be.

[Corvettaholic]

Oh there is no useful purpose at all to this invention. Its just natural curiousity, like most of my contraptions. The atomic battery is along the same lines, but I need more funding to test that one out. Proof of concept is all I need to be happy... at first.

[freefaller]

Can i ask how you are preventing the electrolysis of water whilst executing the pyrolysis experiment?

Wont you be mixing Hydrogen and Oxygen, within the gas you are trying to produce.
Isn't that a bit risky for storage?