Question: what happens when you split an oxygen atom

title: Water splitting
text: Some prototype Generation IV reactors , such as the High - temperature engineering test reactor , operate at 850 to 1000 degrees Celsius , considerably hotter than existing commercial nuclear power plants . General Atomics predicts that hydrogen produced in a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor ( HTGR ) would cost $1.53 / kg . In 2003 , steam reforming of natural gas yielded hydrogen at $1.40 / kg . At 2005 gas prices , hydrogen cost $2.70 / kg . Hence , just within the United States , a savings of tens of billions of dollars per year is possible with a nuclear - powered supply . Much of this savings would translate into reduced oil and natural gas imports .