From: kevinmyers007@gmail.com   
      
   Question for chemistry experts out there:   
      
   Say you have two electrically charged plates, covered by an insulating   
   material, and separated by a narrow gap occupied only by relatively sparse   
   water molecules, i.e. water vapor.  Now say you apply a relatively high   
   voltage to those plates, something    
   on the order of thousands of volts or more, creating a very strong electric   
   field between the insulated plates, across the area containing the water vapor.   
      
   1. What will happen to the water molecules between the plates?  Will the   
   molecules disassociate into hydrogen and oxygen ions?   
      
   2. If the molecules disassociate into ions, how is energy conserved in this   
   scenario, since no electrical current would actually flow between the plates,   
   yet work has been done on the molecules?   
      
   3. If the molecules do not disassociate into ions, what prevents the   
   disassociation from occurring?   
      
   The same questions could be asked of hydrogen gas molecules, which are known   
   to ionize under high voltage electrical fields.   
      
   Thanks,   
   KM   
      
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