The cooler the factoid the better. I think these results paint a great picture of why Hydrogen is really cool, and really important. It also provides strong evidence for the assertion I put as the title of this post. First, recall the Bohr model of the neutral hydrogen atom: you have a proton nucleus, with an electron zooming around in specific energy levels. The electron is bound to the proton because their opposite charges make them attractive…the proton holds onto it through this electrical tugging.
Though this model is too basic and not exactly correct, it helps us intuitively illustrate physics fundamental to our understanding of the Universe—that when an electron jumps transitions between two different energy levels, light gets either absorbed lower level to higher level or emitted higher level to lower level.
If both of these energy levels keep the electron bound to the nucleus, we call it a bound-bound transition. Neutral hydrogen gas has many bound levels, and therefore has many bound-bound transitions some of them corresponding to visible colors!
Hydrogen is highly polarized, and can actually capture an additional electron , forming a negative ion. As you might expect, this ion is very weakly bound together—in fact, it only has one bound state the ground state , and the 2nd electron can easily escape through absorption of light!
Since it only has one bound state, it is impossible for H- , also known as hydride , to have bound-bound transitions. One of the places hydride shows up is in the atmosphere of the sun! This plasma makes it difficult for light to escape the surface—it is constantly interacting with the protons and electrons, getting absorbed and scattered all over the place.
In fact, despite the incredible speed of light, it can take a photon of light up to , years or more to escape! When something has a high opacity more opaque , you cannot see deeper into it. Oxford Reference. Publications Pages Publications Pages. Recently viewed 0 Save Search. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.
Subscriber sign in You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Username Please enter your Username. Password Please enter your Password. Forgot password? A Matter of Stability. Hydrogen and helium illustrate the fact that not all atoms have the same properties.
Both are gasses, but hydrogen gas is violently explosive, whereas helium gas is completely inert and cannot be made to undergo any kind of chemical reactions under normal circumstances.
Atoms of hydrogen have a single proton in their center and a single electron in the lowest energy level. Helium atoms, on the other hand, have two protons and two electrons in the lowest energy level. The lowest energy level is filled with its maximum number of electrons. This is a very stable arrangement, and helium in consequence is an inert gas with few chemical properties.
Hydrogen only has one electron in its lowest energy level. This is a very unstable arrangement, and hydrogen gas undergoes a variety of reactions so as to reach a stable electron configuration where its energy level is either empty of electrons, or filled with electrons. Atoms are at their most stable when their outermost energy level is either empty of electrons or filled with electrons.
Sodium atoms have 11 electrons. Two of these are in the lowest energy level, eight are in the second energy level and then one electron is in the third energy level.
This is a very unstable arrangement, and the element sodium is a highly reactive, deadly white semi-solid that will burst into flames on exposure to the air or will burn through human flesh on contact.
A reactive substance. Chlorine atoms have 17 electrons.
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