Page 15 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

For more on hydrogen, see Volume 1: Hydrogen and the Noble Gases in the Elements set.
Discovery
English chemist Robert Boyle did experiments during the later 17th century with metals and acids that released hydrogen gas. However, hydrogen was identified
as an element by English chemist Henry Cavendish
in 1766.At that time it was called inflammable air from metals or phlogiston.The name hydrogen was given
by French chemist Antoine- Laurent Lavoisier from the Greek meaning ‘maker of water’.
Deuterium gas (2H2, or
D2), an isotope of hydrogen,
was discovered in 1931 by Harold Urey in the United States.
Technology
Hydrogen gas is used to make many chemicals, including ammonia (which then goes
into fertilisers using the Haber process). It is also used in some food, such as margarine. Hydrogen gas lifted hydrogen balloons, but its flammability caused problems for airships. Disasters such as
the Hindenburg crash limited this application. It is a common rocket fuel and is used in fuel cells for making electricity. It
is also involved in reducing metal ores. Liquid hydrogen aids low-temperature experiments (cryogenics) because its melting point is so close to absolute zero.
Geology
Hydrogen is found in
water and in a wide range
of minerals in the Earth’s crust. Hydrogen is the most common element in all stars, including our Sun, and is
the primary source of their fuel through the fusion of hydrogen nuclei to make helium. Hydrogen is also
very common on Jupiter (whose core may contain solid metallic hydrogen).
Biology
Hydrogen is part of all living things and is essential to all life. Every form of organic matter contains hydrogen.
 A space shuttle taking off. The brown tank underneath the space shuttle contains liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel.
If dilute hydrochloric acid is poured
onto zinc granules, hydrogen is released.
Using a clay pipe and detergent, the hydrogen will fill bubbles that will float in air.
 Hydrogen is the simplest and lightest atom of any element. Hydrogen gas is so light that the molecules can easily escape from the Earth’s gravitational field, and so hydrogen is rarely found uncombined on Earth.
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