Periodic Table -- Hydrogen

Discovered by Henry Cavendish in 1766*

Atomic number : 1

Atomic mass : 1.007825 g/mole

Melting point : - 259.2 °C

Boiling point : - 252.8 °C

Density : 0.0899*10⁻³ g/cm³ at 20 °C

Vanderwaals radius : 0.12 nm

Ionic radius : 0.208 (-1) nm

First element in the periodic table. In normal conditions it’s a colorless,odorless and insipid gas, formed by diatomic molecules,H₂.

It’s one of the main compounds of water and of all organic matter, and it’s widely spread not only in The Earth but also in the entire Universe.

There are three hydrogen isotopes ⓵ Protium,mass 1, found in more than 99,985% of the natural element ⓶ Deuterium,mass 2, found in nature in 0.015% approximately ⓷ Tritium,mass 3, which appears in small quantities in nature, but can be artificially produced by various nuclear reactions.

Price: Protium : ?

Deuterium : $0.60 per liter (US$)

(Safe ☢) Tritium : $30,000 per gram (US$)

Uses: ⓵The most important use of hydrogen is the ammonia synthesis.

⓶Huge quantities of hydrogen are consumed in the catalytic hydrogenation of unsaturated vegetable oils to obtain solid fat.

⓷Hydrogenation is used in the manufacture of organic chemical products. ⓸Huge quantities of hydrogen are used as rocket fuels, in combination with oxygen or fluor, and as a rocket propellent propelled by nuclear energy.

⓹Hydrogen can be burned in internal combustion engines.

⓺Hydrogen fuel cells are being looked into as a way to provide power and research is being conducted on hydrogen as a possible major future fuel. ⓻For instance it can be converted to and from electricity from bio-fuels, from and into natural gas and diesel fuel, theoretically with no emissions of either CO2 or toxic chemicals.

More: ⓵Hydrogen is the most flammable of all the known substances.

⓶Hydrogen is slightly more soluble in organic solvents than in water.

⓷Many metals absorb hydrogen.

⓸At normal temperature hydrogen is a not very reactive substance, unless it has been activated by an appropriate catalyser or high temperatures.

⓹Molecular hydrogen dissociates into free atoms at high temperatures. ⓺Atomic hydrogen is a powerful reductive agent even at ambient temperature.

⓻It reacts with the oxides and chlorides of many metals, like Silver,Copper, Lead,Bismuth and Mercury, to produce free metals.

⓼It reduces some salts to their metallic state, like Nitrates ,Nitrites(NaNO₂), Sodium Cyanide(NaCN) and Potassium Cyanide(KCN).

⓽It reacts with a number of lements, metals and non-metals, to produce hydrides.

⓾Atomic hydrogen produces hydrogen peroxide, H₂O₂, with oxygen.

Special: ⓵Catalyser : Platinum or an electric spark.

⓶(Safe ☢)Hydrogen Bombs have Deuterium and Tritium.

⓷Hydrogen is not expected to cause mutagenicity.

⓸Hydrogen Bombs are more powerful than Atomic Bombs.

Information from : Lenntech