Hydrogen--all other elements
 

Hi,

Is it true that all other elements (100+) in the Periodic Table are made from Hydrogen? Like, variations of Hydrogen nuclei in those atoms?

jbonham

The standard hydrogen nucleus is a proton. There are also isotopes that have a neutron or two in addition to the proton. Since even the biggest elements do not have a neutron to proton ratio greater than 2:1, fusing hydrogen atoms over and over could concievably make up any other nucleus.

However it's not true that

...all other elements (100+) in the Periodic Table are made from Hydrogen...Like, variations of Hydrogen nuclei in those atoms

because a hydrogen nucleus consists of exactly one proton. Helium's nucleus with it's two protons is not a "variation of a hydrogen nucleus" because it does not contain exactly one proton.

So, Hydrogen then is NOT the root of all elements?

Well, that question is confusing. What does that mean..."root of all elements"?

I think all elements did ultimately come into being through fusion of hydrogen atoms inside of stars. First hydrogen fused into helium (and maybe other light elements, I am not sure) and then these elements fused into heavier elements, etc.

How do you mean the question exactly?

Accordng to the site h2carco.com, under "The Truth about Hydrogen" it says "2) What is hydrogen?
Hydrogen, the first element in the periodic table, is the simplest, lightest, and most abundant element in the known universe. Hydrogen has one proton and one electron. All other atoms are made from combining additional numbers of hydrogen nuclei."

That is what I meant by the 'root of all elements'.

So, I guess what I am trying to determine, is what is the RELATIONSHIP of Hydrogen to all other elements?

Oh, all right. All elements were and are made from the nuclear fusion of hydrogen atoms inside stars (or thermonuclear bombs), or the fusion of the products of these reactions with each other or with hydrogen. So yes, that statement made by that website is correct.

OK, just a few more questions.. :)

So, the Hydrogen atom, 1 proton and 1 electron: only the electron moves, and the proton does not move at all? Correct? That is how I understand it, the whole atom may move, but the proton does NOT move, only the electron. Correct?

A little off topic, but I also read that Hydrogen could be stored and delivered via the same pipelines as natural gas. To be used for the same purposes.
Is that true? Do you know where I can find out more about that information?

Thanks RobJim

jbonham

Your first question is far more complex than it seems. It's almost a philosophical question in the field of Quantum Mechanics; is the electron really moving around or is it smeared over a region of space?

If we were to model it as a simple electron orbitting a proton, then the answer would be; both move, but the electron moves a lot more because it's less massive. This is what happens with the Moon orbitting the Earth, or the Earth orbitting the Sun. However the atom doesn't really work that way; it can't, because electrons are charged. If a charged object accelerates (and this includes changing direction from a straight path to a circular path), then it has to give off energy. The electron does not, so this can't be the right model.

I can't really give you a satisfactory answer to this, as my quantum mechanics skills aren't that great. I'd have to study up more to give you an answer, and it probably wouldn't be simple.

As far as the second question, it makes sense. Hydrogen is a gaseous, flammable fuel just like natural gas, so it makes sense that the same pipelines could be used for both, and they could be used in similar ways. I'd suggest some Google searching if you're really interested in the topic. I don't know much about it myself.

Calculating the Schroedingerequation there is a part, where the "movement" of the electron is replaced with the movement of the electron and the proton around the center of mass.
But once again you cant talk in "movement" at quantum levels.

As to Hydrogen is the mothersubstance of all the other Elements in the universe, this is not entierly true.
there is no posssibility to create atoms heavier than Iron through fusion.
atoms heavier than Iron are created through collision.
the Heavy Ion Department in Germany "created" e.g. the Atoms 113, 114 and 115.

Lets not forget the firt transuranic elements from www.lbl.gov