It is an odorless and colorless gas, non-metallic, flammable and insoluble in water. It usually occurs in molecular form. It is not found in any of the groups of the periodic table, although it is sometimes placed in group 1 or family 1 because it has only one electron in the valence shell.
It is the most abundant of all the elements, constituting 75% of the visible matter in the universe. On Earth, it is relatively rare and is produced industrially from hydrocarbons such as methane. Most of this element is obtained at the right time and in the right place where its use is required. It is used, among other things, to produce ammonia and improve fossil fuels.
It is obtained from natural gas and it is possible that it is made from water by an electrolysis process, but it would cost more. Its most common isotope is protium, whose nucleus consists of no neutrons and a single proton.
In metallurgy, its solubility and characteristics are of great importance, as many metals can become brittle in its presence and in the development of safe storage forms for later use as fuel.
The Electron configuration of hydrogen
Its electron configuration of Hydrogen is 1s1.
In 1671 Robert Boyle rediscovered this reaction which occurred between dilute acids and iron filings resulting in the production of hydrogen gas.
Short story.
However, in 1766 Henry Cavendish became the first in this element in the form of gas, identifying the reactions as flammable air and discovering deeper that when gas burns it can produce water, this was in 1781 This is credited with the discovery of hydrogen as another chemical element. But the name received from Antoine Lavoisier in 1783.
This element was first liquefied by James Dewar in 1898, who used regenerative refrigeration, the invention of which is very close to what is currently called a thermos.
Abundance of hydrogen in nature
In the universe, it is the most abundant element, constituting over 75% of normal matter by mass and over 90% of atoms. It is found in abundance in stars, as well as on gas giant planets.
It is mainly found in its atomic form in the universe and its properties are markedly different from those of natural hydrogen. It exists as a diatonic gas under normal conditions of temperature and pressure.
Although in interstellar space its diatomic molecules and atoms are abundant, on earth they are difficult to purify, generate and concentrate. It is the fifteenth most abundant element on the surface of the earth.
Most of the hydrogen on Earth is part of chemical compounds such as water and hydrocarbons or water. The gaseous state is produced by certain algae and bacteria, and is a natural component of flatulence.
metallic hydrogen
Despite hydrogen being classified as a non-metallic element, in 1996 a group of scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced that they had accidentally produced the first metallic hydrogen at temperatures of thousands of kelvins and pressures over one million Kelvin. atmospheres for one microsecond. Thus proving that at high pressures and temperatures, it is able to behave like a metal.
