What are the two most common elements in the universe?
? What is the reason for their abundance? Chemistry is an obstacle for many high school students. It requires careful thinking and intelligence in the ability to perceive information and memorize it in all its properties, and this is the most questioned by students, so we will explain the most common elements in the universe below.
What are the two most common elements in the universe?
Answer
hydrogen and helium
What are the two most common elements in the universe?
The American chemist at the University of Oregon, Mae Neiman, has said that the lower the atomic element of an element, the more abundant it is in the universe, and the correct answer to the two most common elements in the universe are: “hydrogen and helium.”
Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements, accounting for 75% of the total components in the universe, followed by helium, where it constitutes 25%, and when the two elements are combined together, we find that they constitute regarding 99.9%, of the common elements in the universe.
We also find that the element that follows these two elements is oxygen, which is less abundant than hydrogen by regarding a thousand times. As for the rest of the elements, they are very rare elements, and it is worth noting that the chemical composition of the universe is not like that of the Earth.
Because we find that the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust is oxygen, which is equal to regarding 46.6% of the mass of the Earth as a whole, followed by silicon with 27.7%, then aluminum by 8.1%, and then iron by 5%, and calcium by 3.6%.
We will now learn in some detail regarding the two most common elements in the universe through the following.
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Causes of hydrogen diffusion
All chemical elements contain a group of particles, which are: neutral neutrons, positively charged protons, and negatively charged electrons.
The scientist “May Niemann” pointed out that hydrogen is one of the simplest elements in the universe, as it is composed of one proton and one electron as well.
It is also considered the only element that is devoid of neutronWhich explains why it is the most common element in the universe, and it should be noted that isotopes of hydrogen have neutrons, for example we find that deuterium contains only one neutron, and tritium contains two neutrons.
The main uses of hydrogen
Chemistry is a rich information sea, containing many multi-use elements, most notably hydrogen, and therefore it is classified among the two most common elements in the universe, and its uses can be summarized as follows:
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The hydrogen that is extracted from methane gas enters the manufacture of the industrial chemical “methanol”, which is often used as a fuel for the production of other chemicals, such as: Calformaldehyde It is used in the plastics industry, and methanol can also be easily converted into synthetic gasoline.
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This element combines with nitrogen under high temperatures and pressures; This is to form ammonia, which is fed into the manufacture of fertilizers, and nitric acid.
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Hydrogen enters the food industry; Because it is used in converting oils to sunflower seed oil, which is represented in semi-solid materials such as margarine.
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What is the difference between blue and green hydrogen?
Hydrogen gas has two colors, “blue and green”, and contrary to belief, they are not the same, but the difference between them is very simple, which we will explain in the following points:
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blue hydrogen:
It is formed from fossil sources, so that carbon emissions are captured and stored. -
green hydrogen
: It is created from non-fossil sources, and it is one of the preferred types for those who fear for the environment and their safety, so we find that there are many warnings that have been received regarding the continuation of the fossil economy.
Uses of the element helium
The element helium is one of the second most common elements in the universe following helium, and it is one of the inert elements, and one of its features is that it is colorless, odorless and tasteless, and the largest mass of it is concentrated in stars, and this comes due to the process of nuclear fusion, and it is from the 18 group of Nobel Gas.
The weight of helium gas is 4 g mol-1, and this element is a very light element, it is considered lighter than air, and its melting point is (0.95 K)and the boiling point is (4. 22 k) of helium.
It is one of the lowest values when compared to other elements, so it is used to fill balloons, as well as airships, and we will learn regarding the uses of this element through the following paragraph:
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It is used as a cooling agent in the Wide Hadron Collider, as it cools superconducting magnets in magnetic resonance imaging scanners, as well as in nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers.
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It is used in satellite devices to keep them cool.
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It is used in the manufacture of a helium ion microscope, to give a better accurate image than a scanning electron microscope.
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It has a low density, so it is used in making weather balloons, as well as airships.
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It powers the Apollo spacecraft by cooling liquid oxygen and helium.
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The laser uses helium and neon gas to scan barcodes for reading commodity prices.
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One of the factors that protect and protect, so it is used in the protection of optical fiber manufacturers, and semiconductors.
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It detects any leaks, for example: car air conditioning system leaks.
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What is green hydrogen?
What is the difference between hydrogen and helium?
considering that hydrogen and helium The two most common elements in the universe, we find that we have to differentiate between them, and this is very easy, and we will show you this through the following table:
Compare | hydrogen | helium |
atomic number |
1 is represented by the symbol H |
2 |
the atomic weight |
4.002602 amu |
1.00794 amu |
Atomic number |
1 |
2 |
complexes |
It is found in hydrogen as a diatomic gaseous molecule. |
It is found in helium as a monatomic gaseous substance. |
isotopes |
it contains: “Protium, deuterium and tritium“. |
It has two main isotopes, 3 and 4 . |
Oxidation |
It has -1, 0 and +1 oxidation states. |
It contains only 0 oxidation states. |
melting point |
-259 degrees Celsius. |
-272.2 degrees Celsius. |
Highlights |
flammable. |
unflamable. |
The two most common elements in the universe are frequently asked by students studying chemistry, because this information is very important, and it can come in the test.