Comment by SideburnsOfDoom
20 hours ago
Hydrogen is the minimum viable atom: one proton, one electron. H2 is a tiny molecule. "hydrogen embrittlement" is when it's small enough to diffuse into solid metal, because it's that much smaller than iron atoms.
It's hard to work with because of this, and what's the point? For most uses, electricity supply is already everywhere.
>Hydrogen is the minimum viable atom: one proton, one electron.
Wait until you hear about H+
Yes, hydrogen will ionise into loose protons.
The basic point is that a material that is highly flammable, needs to be compressed to high pressure in order to be useful, but also will seep through and damage steel containers because of the fundamental fact that the atoms and charged ions are just too small, is never going to be easy to work with. Compared to electrical battery tech now being widely and cheaply rolled out.
This goes some way to answering the "Why is it such a terrible idea?" question. Or at least it's an idea whose time has passed, due to the abovementioned battery tech maturing.
That’s a type of ion, or of course a proton. An ion with no electrons is not considered an atom normally. GP is correct.
(Atoms must have electrons - the definition in physics and chemistry is a structural one.)