Hydrogen: the unifying element
The most common element in the universe is actually quite rare here on Earth
Hydrogen is the most important element there is. It is both dangerous and essential at the same time – just two of its amazing qualities. Hydrogen can be found in our bodies and many things around us. Also, hydrogen connects us all to the start of the universe – and all other things!
The special qualities of hydrogen start from its building blocks. In its most familiar form, hydrogen is the simplest element. Its atoms have just one proton and one electron. Like most other elements, it has isotopes with extra neutrons. But hydrogen is the only element with named isotopes. It’s called deuterium when it has one neutron and tritium when it has two. This is more than just a curious fact – our lives rely on hydrogen’s isotopes.
That’s because at the heart of the Sun, hydrogen atoms fuse together to make deuterium. One proton becomes a neutron in the process, releasing energy that becomes the heat and light we rely on. This is a similar process to the one that happened following the Big Bang, making hydrogen and leading to all the other elements. Most of the hydrogen in our bodies and everything else was made then, tying us to the start of the universe.
This simple atomic structure makes hydrogen much lighter than air. It enabled human flight in airships until another of hydrogen’s key properties had its say: it combines so well with oxygen that it burns easily, infamously destroying an airship called the Hindenburg in 1937. Yet as they burn, hydrogen and oxygen make water, which we need to stay alive.
Hydrogen reacts similarly well with many elements, making important substances. The materials hydrogen makes with carbon are the building blocks of living things like us. With so many important roles, hydrogen is truly the first among the elements.
“Hydrogen connects us all to the start of the universe”