What is Hydrogen Gas

Hydrogen gas is a gas that occurs naturally and is very light.  This is actually the lightest gas that has ever been found, it also has no colour, taste or smell.  The atom for hydrogen is so small and simple that it’s hard to believe that this gas is the most important and the most abundant in the universe.  It’s important to remember that hydrogen atoms are the building block for other atoms.

Where Can You Find Hydrogen?

Now that your question of what hydrogen gas is has been answered, you might want to know where it is found.  Over ninety percent of all atoms in the universe are believed to be hydrogen atoms.  Even the sun is made of hydrogen mixed with other gases.  This is the fuel that makes all the stars burn.  When you are on earth however you can find hydrogen is several places.  It can be found in water since it combines with oxygen to form water.  This is essential for life on earth and takes up three quarters of the earth’s surface, also three quarters of our bodies are made up on water.  It can also be found in other things such as fossil fuels like carbon and coal.

Hydrogen Reactions

It should also be known that hydrogen is one of the most reactive things in the world.  Because of its small size and mass hydrogen can mix very easily with other atoms.  Even a very small amount of hydrogen will create some sort of reaction.  Hydrogen only has one electron and therefore it has a very small gap in its shell.  It can become a charged ion which can make it very unstable, and this is the reason that it combines with other atoms very easily.

Hydrogen is also very flammable; this is actually one of the most well known things about hydrogen.  For instance water is made when hydrogen is burned with oxygen.  The molecules that are hydrogen and oxygen are very attracted to one another and when they do attract they form water.

Hydrogen Production

With hydrogen cars trying to be produced in order to save money and the environment this will require a lot of hydrogen to be produced in order for them to be efficient and used by everyday people.  If you are looking for pure hydrogen gas it can be almost impossible to find, in fact it can only be found in very small pockets underground.  Therefore this gas will need to be produced in another way such as getting it from fossil fuels and water.  Being able to split the compounds takes a lot of energy and a lot of money.

Researchers and scientists are always looking for new and improved methods of getting hydrogen, and doing so in ways that are much more environmentally friendly than the current ones.  One way that is being researched is using heat loving bacteria that can be found beneath the ocean.  This will allow us to make hydrogen from glucose that is found in wood and waste paper.