2007-01-14 09:11:07 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Hydrogen has many uses. For example, it is one of the two elements that make up water. It also appears in almost all organic compounds, so it is important to life.
Alone, it can react with oxygen to produce water, giving off a lot of energy as heat. It can be used in clean hydrogen cells in cars, which emit nothing but water vapor. These are the "cars of the future"; however, hydrogen-oxygen reactions are already in use as rocket fuel.
In addition, hydrogen can create even more clean energy using fusion. In nuclear fusion, two isotopes of hydrogen, called deutrium and tritium, travel at high speeds (nearing the speed of light) and fuse when they collide. Then, helium, a neutron, and a tremendous amount of energy is produced. Currently, fusion is impractical for commercial use in power plants because of the high temperatures required, but it is in development. Should fusion power plants appear, there is a virtually unlimited amount of hydrogen in water, and the energy produced from fusion far exceeds the energy required to separate water. However, the sun's natural temperature is ideal for fusion, and it is powered mainly by hydrogen-helium fusion.
Hydrogen was once used as a lighter-than-air gas that could keep airships, blimps, etc. in the air, but since the Hindenberg accident, people found out just how explosive hydrogen could be, so modern airships are filled with helium, an inert gas.
2007-01-14 09:14:33 · answer #1 · answered by sesquipedalian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sun uses hydrogen as fuel, which is pretty darn useful to us living things on earth.
Hydrogen also has this tendency to ionize in dilute solutions of water (when it is paired with an oxygen atom) to form acids. Some of which are pretty tasty.
2007-01-14 09:17:15 · answer #2 · answered by DrSean 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Liquid hydrogen powers rockets into space. Gaseous hydrogen is a reducing agent to convert nitro compounds to amines and olefins to paraffins.
2007-01-14 09:19:25 · answer #3 · answered by steve_geo1 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hydrogen burns air purifier than organic gas. the top products of hydrogen combustion ought to easily yield water, at the same time as organic gas combustion yields water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide
2016-12-12 11:23:03 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gaseous hydrogen is sometimes used for filling balloons.
2007-01-14 09:45:51 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
its used to make a lot of things.
such as H2O(water) is made by 2 molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen
there's the gas, hydrogen which is not healthy for humans
2007-01-14 09:20:54 · answer #6 · answered by clumsydevil 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mixing with oxygen to make water. It is also quite good in suns for producing helium and a lot of energy.
2007-01-14 09:15:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋