Though scientists had produced and used hydrogen for many years, it was much later that it was discovered as an element. Robert Boyle, an Irish natural philosopher, is said to have produced hydrogen as early as 1671. But it was in 1776 that the British scientist, Henry Cavendish confirmed that hydrogen was a particular element. He called it ‘inflammable air’ and described its density as well. Later, Antoine Lavoisier conducted experiments similar to Cavendish and gave the element its name, hydrogen.
Hydrogen is the simplest and the most common element, which is present in almost all matter. Unlike other atoms, hydrogen has only one electron and one proton. It does not have a neutron in its atom. Hydrogen is also the most abundant element in the universe. It makes up about three-quarters of all matter.
One of the most important properties of hydrogen is that it is highly flammable, which means that it will burst into flames very quickly. This makes it extremely dangerous as well as very useful. In fact, the stars in our universe shine bright because the hydrogen in them is being burned. This process is called fusion. It is being studied to see if we humans can use it as a source of power. Our sun has enough hydrogen to last another 5 billion years!
Hydrogen is also a very important commercial element. Liquid hydrogen is used to study superconductors and it is also an excellent rocket fuel when combined with liquid oxygen. Another important use of hydrogen is in the Haber process, where it is combined with nitrogen to produce ammonia, a compound used to manufacture fertilizers, refrigerants, dyes etc.
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