Hydrogen is a highly flammable element that makes up 75% of the universe and is used as a fuel source. Its atomic number is one and it has numerous industrial uses. It was discovered in the 1400s and recognized as an element in 1766. It is dangerous and must be handled with care.
Hydrogen is a highly flammable chemical element found in great abundance throughout the universe. In fact, this element makes up about 75% of the universe, by volume, and appears in a very large number of compounds, especially those that make up various organic materials. Many people are familiar with hydrogen as a potential fuel source, thanks to its promotion as a potential alternative fuel, and we all consume it every day, in the water people drink and in the foods they eat.
The atomic number of hydrogen is one and is identified by the symbol H on the periodic table. It is a unique standalone element, not classified with other elements. Many scientists think of hydrogen as a kind of building block, because its simple structure underlies so many things. The colourless, highly flammable gas has numerous industrial uses, especially in the refining of petroleum products.
The history of the discovery of hydrogen is quite long. Like other gases, it rarely appears in pure form on Earth, and it took some time for people to realize that it was an element. The gas has been described as early as the 1400s, when experimenters combined acids and metals to produce a flammable gas. In 1671, Robert Boyle described this reaction in more detail, but it was not until 1766 that Henry Cavendish recognized hydrogen as a true element.
In 1783, Antoine Lavoisier proposed a name for the new element, adding the Greek hydros for “water” and genes for “born or formed.” Lavoisier recognized that when hydrogen was burned, it produced water as a byproduct, through its combination with the oxygen in the air. Thus, the element in a sense gives birth to water. Once hydrogen was fully recognized as an element, it began to be extracted from various natural sources and used in an assortment of fields.
Hydrogen is dangerous, as most people who know the fate of the Hindenburg know. It was originally used as a lifting agent in balloons and airships because it was so light, but the explosive nature of the gas has led to helium being proposed as a more stable and safer substitute. Because the item is so reactive, it must be handled with care to avoid unfortunate and explosive situations. Fortunately, few people work directly with pure hydrogen, and those who do are thoroughly trained.
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