Interesting Facts About Hydrogen

• Hydrogen was discovered in 1766 by English physicist and chemist Henry Cavendish.

• The name Hydrogen comes from the Greek words Hydro and Gen which mean water generator.

• The element Hydrogen is colorless, odorless, gaseous, nonmetallic element. The relative atomic mass of Hydrogen is 1.00797 making Hydrogen the lightest of all the elements. When combined with Oxygen, Hydrogen forms water.

• Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.

• When Hydrogen is subject to a pressure 500,000 times greater than that of the earth's atmosphere, hydrogen becomes a solid with metallic properties.

• Hydrogen is commonly used in hardening of oils and fats by hydrogenation.

• The two isotopes of hydrogen , deuterium and tritium are used in nuclear weapons.

• About 7.8 million metric tonnes (17.2 billion pounds) of hydrogen are produced in the United States today, enough to power 20-30 million cars or 5-8 million homes. Nearly all of this hydrogen is used by industry in refining, treating metals, and processing foods. Most of this hydrogen is produced in just three states: California, Louisiana, and Texas.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the primary user of hydrogen as an energy fuel; it has used hydrogen for years in the space program. Liquid hydrogen fuel lifts the space shuttle into orbit. Hydrogen batteries—called fuel cells—power the shuttle’s electrical systems. The only by-product is pure water, which the crew uses as drinking water.

• Hydrogen fuel cells (batteries) make electricity. They are very efficient, but expensive to build. Small fuel cells can power electric cars. Large fuel cells can provide electricity in out of the way places with no power lines.

• Because of the high cost to build fuel cells, large hydrogen power plants won't be built for a while. However, fuel cells are being used in some places as a source of emergency power to hospitals and to wilderness locations. Portable fuel cells are being sold to provide longer power for laptop computers, cell phones, and military

• Hydrogen occurs in the free state in volcanic gases and some natural gases. Hydrogen is prepared by steam on heated carbon, decomposition of certain hydrocarbons with heat, action of sodium or potassium hydroxide on aluminum electrolysis of water, or displacement from acids by certain metals.applications.

• The cost of hydrogen depends on a number of factors, such as how the hydrogen is manufactured, but generally speaking, the cost of generating hydrogen fuel from clean, renewable electricity is initially in the range of $4.00-5.00 per equivalent gallon of gasoline. However, as volume increases and the technology is refined, the cost of hydrogen will be reduced over time. In contrast, oil and other fossil fuels are increasing in cost as global supplies are impacted by geopolitical events and are exponentially consumed.

• The hydrogen fueling infrastructure is growing quickly. Both California and Illinois have launched “Hydrogen Highway” initiatives that will ultimately result in a network of fueling stations along major highways and interstates. Currently there are 13 stations in California, mainly clustered around the San Francisco Bay and the South Coast areas; an additional 17 stations are anticipated in the next year or so. The California “Hydrogen Highway” is envisioned to have 170 stations operating by 2010. The option of generating hydrogen at home is also becoming increasingly available. Stuart Energy Systems has developed a Personal Energy Station (PES), which is about the size of a washer/dryer and uses existing electricity and water supplies to generate hydrogen fuel that can then be used for vehicle fuel or as stationary power.

• The hydrogen bomb involves a nuclear reaction, whereas the process of electrolyzing water involves a simple transfer of electrons, which also occurs when one makes a cup of coffee or metabolizes the food they eat. A hydrogen bomb cannot be made with ordinary hydrogen, nor can the conditions that trigger nuclear fusion in a hydrogen bomb occur in a hydrogen accident; they are achieved, with difficulty, only by using an atomic bomb.

• There are currently about 200 hydrogen-fueled vehicles in the United States – mostly in California. Most of these vehicles are buses and automobiles powered by electric motors. They store hydrogen gas or liquid on board and convert the hydrogen into electricity for the motor using a fuel cell. Only a few of these vehicles burn the hydrogen directly (producing almost no pollution).

• Hydrogen has great potential as an environmentally clean energy fuel and as a way to reduce reliance on imported energy sources. Before hydrogen can play a bigger energy role and become a widely used alternative to gasoline, many new facilities and systems must be built. We will need facilities to make hydrogen, store it, and move it. We will need economical fuel cells. And consumers will need the technology and the education to safely use it.