The history of the discovery of hydrogen occupies an important milestone in the development of science. According to modern scientific ideas, this gas is one of the most common elements in the Universe. It is the most important substance for the existence of stars, and, therefore, the main source of energy.
A brief history of the discovery of hydrogen
The element was discovered by British scientist Henry Cavendish in 1766. The origin of the name goes back to the Greek words “hydro” and “genes”, which means “water” and “generator”.
As early as 1671, Robert Boyle (1627-1691, an English chemist and physicist) published an article, “New Experiments Relating to the Relationship between Flames and Air,” in which he described the reaction between iron filings and dilute acids. During the experiments, the scientist noticed that the reaction of these substances leads to the evolution of gaseous hydrogen (“combustible solution of Mars”).
However, only in 1766, gas was approved as the main element by Henry Cavendish (1731-1810, an English chemist and physicist who also discovered nitrogen), who used mercury for synthesis. The scientist described it as "flammable air of metals." Cavendish accurately described the properties of hydrogen, but mistakenly believed that gas comes from a metal, not from acid. The modern name for the chemical element was given by the French natural scientist A. L. Lavoisier.
The story of the discovery of hydrogen (H) does not end there. In 1931, a professor of chemistry, Harold Urey, who worked in Chicago (USA), discovered deuterium gas. It is a heavy isotope of hydrogen and is written as 2 H and D.
Bricks of the Universe
For a long time, people could not understand the properties of matter. Although the ancient Greeks assumed that the "ether" (the surrounding space) consists of certain elements, there was no clear justification and, all the more, solid evidence for this fact.
In the fall of 1803, the Englishman John Dalton was able to explain the results of some of his studies, suggesting that the substance consists of atoms. The researcher also found that all samples of any given compound consist of the same combination of these atoms. Dalton also noted that in a number of compounds the mass ratios of the second element, which are combined with the given weight of the first element, can be reduced to small integers ("The Law of Multiple Proportions"). Thus, the scientist has a certain relation to the history of the discovery of hydrogen.
Dalton’s presentation of Theory of Atoms took place in Volume 3 of the scientific publication Systems of Chemistry, published by Thomas Thomson in 1807. The material also appeared in an article on strontium oxalates published in Philosophical Transactions. The following year, Dalton independently published these ideas, making a more detailed analysis in the work “A New System of Chemical Philosophy”. By the way, in it the scientist suggested using a circle with a dot in the center as a symbol of hydrogen.
First fuel cell
The history of the discovery of hydrogen is rich in interesting events. In 1839, British scientist Sir William Robert Grove conducted electrolysis experiments. He used electricity to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. Later, the researcher thought, is it possible to do the opposite - to generate electricity from the reaction of oxygen with hydrogen? Grove closed the platinum plates in separate sealed containers, one of which contained hydrogen and the other contained oxygen. When the containers were immersed in dilute sulfuric acid, current flowed between the two electrodes to form water in gas cylinders. Then the scientist connected several similar devices in a series circuit to increase the voltage created in the gas battery.
Since then, great expectations have been placed on hydrogen in terms of producing compact, environmentally friendly energy sources. However, the issue of 100% safety and high efficiency of end devices for mass consumption has not yet been resolved. By the way, the term “fuel cell” was first used by chemists Ludwig Mond and Charles Langer, who continued the research of W. R. Grove.
Autonomous energy sources
In 1932, Francis Thomas Bacon, an engineer at the University of Cambridge in the UK, continued to work on the projects of Grove, Mond, and Langer. He replaced platinum electrodes with a less expensive nickel mesh, and instead of using an electrolyte with sulfuric acid, he used alkaline potassium hydroxide (less aggressive to electrodes). It was essentially the creation of the first alkaline fuel cell, called the Bacon Cell. It took the British another 27 years to demonstrate a plant capable of producing 5 kW of energy, which is enough to power the welding machine. Around the same time, the first fuel cell car was demonstrated.
Later, fuel cells were used by NASA in 1960 for flights under the Apollo lunar program. Bacon cells stood (and stand) on hundreds of spacecraft. Also, "large batteries" are used in submarines.
Useful but dangerous
The history of the discovery of hydrogen is associated not only with joyful moments. The tragedy of the giant airship Hindenburg testifies to how unsafe this element is. In the 1930s, Germany built a series of zeppelins. The gas used was hydrogen. Being lighter than the nitrogen-oxygen mixture that makes up the bulk of the atmosphere, it allowed the transport of large volumes of cargo.
In 1936, German designers introduced the world’s largest Hindenburg airship at that time. The 245-meter giant contained 200,000 m3 of gas. Its carrying capacity is amazing: the device was able to lift up to 100 tons of cargo into the sky. The aircraft was used for transatlantic transport between Germany and the United States. The passenger gondola accommodated 50 people with luggage. On 05/06/1937, a hydrogen leak occurred upon arrival in New York. A flammable gas ignited, an explosion occurred, which led to the death of 36 people. Since then, safer helium has been used instead of hydrogen in aircraft.
Output
Hydrogen is one of the most important elements in the universe. Although its properties are well studied, it does not cease to interest scientists, engineers, and designers. This element is the theme of thousands of scientific papers, diplomas and essays. The history of the discovery of hydrogen is the history of science itself, a system of knowledge that has replaced ignorance and religious dogmas.