Molecule & Atom Ionization for controlling motion

If you're looking to orient water molecules in an electric field, a relatively modest electric field can achieve this because water is a polar molecule. To align a water molecule, an electric field on the order of 1 kV/cm is often more than enough. Given a 1/8" gap (approximately 0.318 cm), this would equate to a voltage of approximately 318 volts.

In its neutral state, a hydrogen atom is not electropositive. The hydrogen atom consists of one proton and one electron, and it is electrically neutral because the positive charge of the proton balances the negative charge of the electron. However, hydrogen can become a positive ion (a proton) if it loses its electron, such as through ionization.

If you're dealing with ionized hydrogen (protons), these would indeed be repelled by a positive electric field and attracted to a negative one. If the hydrogen atoms are not ionized, they would not be significantly affected by an electric field because they are overall electrically neutral.

If you're trying to manipulate neutral hydrogen atoms with an electric field, you may need to ionize them first. Ionization typically requires a significant amount of energy and can be achieved in various ways, such as with a high voltage, intense light, or high temperatures.

The process of converting a neutral hydrogen atom into a positively charged ion (a proton, H+) is called ionization. For hydrogen, this involves removing the single electron from the atom. There are several methods that can be used to achieve this:

Electrical Discharge: Passing a high-voltage electric current through the gas can strip electrons from their parent atoms, creating ions. This is the principle behind techniques like glow discharge and arc discharge.
Electron Impact: High-energy electrons can knock electrons off atoms to create ions. This often happens in devices like mass spectrometers.
Photoionization: High-energy photons (such as ultraviolet light or X-rays) can also ionize atoms by knocking off electrons.
Thermal Ionization: At very high temperatures, the kinetic energy of the atoms can be high enough to cause ionization. This is what happens in the sun and other stars.
Chemical Ionization: Certain chemical reactions can result in ionization. For example, some strong acids can ionize hydrogen.