the.com/hydrogen
the universe's first-born element, lightweight champion fueling stars and threatening to inherit your car
means The lightest and most abundant chemical element, a colorless flammable gas whose single proton and electron make it the simplest atom of all.
from Coined in the late 18th century by French chemist Lavoisier from Greek 'hydro-' (water) plus '-genes' (forming, born of) — literally 'water-maker,' because burning it produces water. The Greek root '-genes' is the same one hiding in 'genesis' and 'generate,' so the name quietly brands hydrogen as a parent of things.
- cosmic share
- makes up roughly 75 percent of all normal matter
- the lightest
- element number one, simplest possible atom
- hindenburg
- its flammability ended the airship era in seconds
- star fuel
- powers the sun by fusing into helium
- escape artist
- so light it leaks slowly into outer space
hindenburg airship — german zeppelin filled with hydrogen that caught fire over new jersey in 1937, killing 35 people
sun core fusion — hydrogen nuclei fuse into helium at 27 million degrees fahrenheit, releasing energy that powers all life on earth
water molecule — hydrogen bonded to oxygen (h₂o) makes up 71% of earth's surface and is essential for all known life