Hydrogen, H

Basics, Common Molecules, History and Fuel Cells

By Mr. Palmer

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Basic Information:
  Atomic Number: 1
    -1 proton
    -1 electron
  Average Atomic Mass/Isotopes
    -1.0079 AMU
    -Protium (1 proton)
    -Deutrium (1 proton 1 neutron)
    -Tritium (1 proton 2 neutrons)
  Electron Configuration
    -1s1
  Common Oxidations
    -+1, -1
  Flame Test/Color Spectra
    -For hydrogen we can use a neon tube to show its line spectra.

 

Click on Line spectra image at left for more information on advanced topics.

Common Molecules:
Covalent Bonds
-H2O (water)
-CH4 (methane)
-C6H12O6 (sugar)
Ionic Bonds
-HCl (hydrochloric acid)
-H2SO4 (sulfuric acid)
-HNO3 (nitric acid)
-NH4NO3 (ammonium nitrate)
Polyatomic Ions
-NH4+1 (ammonium)
-HCO3-1 (hydrogen carbonate)
-HPO4-2 (hydrogen phosphate)
-Tritium (1 proton 2 neutrons)

 

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History:

Hydrogen was discovered by an English chemist in 1766. It was named by a french chemist and the translation from greek of hydrogen means "water former." Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and is probably responsible for 93% of all atoms in the known universe. It is the main fuel for stars as they take hydrogen atoms and fuse them together to form helium.

Hydrogen is also known for the great Hindenberg disaster when a German blimp blew up in New Jersey.

Hydrogen belongs to the Group 1 Alkali Metals even though it is a nonmetal. The reason for its placement in the periodic table is that it has only 1 valance electron, which fits with column 1 of the periodic table. In some respects because hydrogen is so simple and so common in our universe that hydrogen could easily be in its own group.

-Resource for information link 1

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Fuel Cells:

Today people are looking for alternative fuel sources for our vehicles for several reasons.

 
•1st an alternative fuel source will make the United States less dependent on foreign oil for your fuel supply.
 
 
•2nd hydrogen when it burns produces water as a waste product. With today's concerns over global warming the effects that carbon dioxide may have on our atmosphere reducing the production of green house gases may be better for the environment.
  
  •3rd the fact that 70% of our Earth is covered with water would mean that there would an abundant fuel supply.  

My favorite possible future energy resource is the fuel cell. A fuel cell takes hydrogen gas creates electricity and recombines with oxygen to form water. Fuel cells have a very high efficiency have no moving parts and can power an automobile. The only drawback to the system is the hydrogen gas which takes a lot of room for storage. The fuel cell can be combined with solar panels to run in reverse to create hydrogen gas which could lead to a very fuel efficient operation. Look for this page to be updated as more research is done on this subject.

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Property of SOESD
November 30, 2008