What is hydrogen and what are its atomic number and symbol?
Hydrogen is a chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all normal matter.
Questions about Hydrogen
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who discovered hydrogen and how did it get its name?
Henry Cavendish was the first to recognize hydrogen gas as a discrete substance in 1766, and between 1766 and 1781 he found that it produces water when burned. The name comes from the Greek words for water and to generate, reflecting that discovery.
What are the three isotopes of hydrogen?
Hydrogen has three naturally-occurring isotopes: protium, deuterium, and tritium. Protium has an abundance above 99.98 percent with no neutrons, deuterium has one neutron and is stable, and tritium has two neutrons and is radioactive with a half-life of 12.32 years.
How is hydrogen produced industrially?
Nearly all hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, mainly by steam methane reforming in which steam reacts with methane at 1000 to 1400 K. Producing one tonne of hydrogen this way emits 6.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide, while electrolysis of water with renewable energy yields green hydrogen at higher cost.
Why did the Hindenburg disaster end hydrogen airship travel?
The Hindenburg caught fire over New Jersey on the 6th of May 1937 when the hydrogen filling the airship ignited, possibly by static electricity, and burst into flames. Commercial hydrogen airship travel ceased after the disaster.
What are the main uses of hydrogen?
Hydrogen's main industrial uses include fossil fuel processing and ammonia production for fertilizer. Emerging uses include fuel cells to generate electricity, and liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen serves as a cryogenic propellant in liquid-propellant rockets such as the Space Shuttle main engines.
When did the first hydrogen atoms form in the universe?
Neutral hydrogen atoms formed about 370,000 years after the Big Bang during the recombination epoch, when the universe had expanded and the plasma had cooled enough for electrons to remain bound to protons. Protons themselves formed in the first second after the Big Bang.