hydrogen

Colourless, odourless, gaseous, non-metallic element, atomic number 1, relative atomic mass 1.00797. It is the lightest of all the elements and occurs on Earth, chiefly in combination with oxygen, as water. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, where it accounts for 93% of the total number of atoms and 76% of the total mass. It is a component of most stars, including the Sun, whose heat and light are produced through the nuclear-fusion process that converts hydrogen into helium. When subjected to a pressure 500,000 times greater than that of the Earth's atmosphere, hydrogen becomes a solid with metallic properties, as in one of the inner zones of Jupiter. Hydrogen's common and industrial uses include the hardening of oils and fats by hydrogenation, the creation of high-temperature flames for welding, and as rocket fuel. It has been proposed as a fuel for road vehicles.

Its isotopes deuterium and tritium (half-life 12.5 years) are used in nuclear weapons, and deuterons (deuterium nuclei) are used in synthesizing elements. The element's name refers to the generation of water by the combustion of hydrogen, and was coined in 1787 by French chemist Louis Guyton de Morveau (1737-1816), after having been discovered in 1766 by English physicist and chemist Henry Cavendish.

A hydrogen-powered bus began operating in Augusta, Georgia, USA, in 1997. The hydrogen is stored as nickel hydride, which releases hydrogen when heated.