1.2        Short History

Milestones

In 1671 Robert Boyle (1627-1691; English chemist and physicist) published a paper ("New experiments touching the relation betwixt flame and air") in which he described the reaction between iron filings and dilute acids, resulting in the evolution of gaseous hydrogen ("inflammable solution of Mars" [iron]).

However it was only much later, in 1766, that Henry Cavendish (1731-1810; an English chemist and physicist who also discovered nitrogen independently) identified hydrogen as an element. He collected it over mercury and described it as "inflammable air from metals". Cavendish accurately described the properties of Hydrogen, but he thought erroneously that the gas was derived from the metal rather than from the acid. Shortly after Antonie-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) made his contribution to the history of Hydrogen by proving that water was made of Oxygen and Hydrogen. Actually it was Lavoisier who named Hydrogen, as he had the habit of using new terms that expressed the theory behind them.

Sometime prior to the autumn of 1803, the Englishman John Dalton was able to explain the results of some of his studies by assuming that matter is composed of atoms and that all samples of any given compound consist of the same combination of these atoms. Dalton also noted that in a series of compounds, the ratios of the masses of the second element that combine with a given weight of the first element can be reduced to small whole numbers (the law of multiple proportions). This was further evidence for atoms. Thomas Thomson published Dalton’s theory of atoms in the 3^rd edition of his System of Chemistry in 1807 and in a paper about strontium oxalates. Dalton published these ideas himself in the following year in the New System of Chemical Philosophy.

Deuterium gas (²H₂, often written D₂) is made up from deuterium, a heavy isotope of Hydrogen. It was discovered by Harold Urey (a professor of chemistry at Chicago and California) in 1931. He realized that the nucleus of deuterium - often called heavy Hydrogen - has one proton and one neutron, whereas a normal Hydrogen nucleus just has one proton. Deuterium is useful in nuclear fusion reactions, as is tritium, because of the larger rate of reaction and high energy yield of the D-T reaction.

The practical use of Hydrogen and deuterium gas does not have a long history. They have been mainly used in the transport sector for fuelling air- and spacecrafts, later also for making bombs, and naturally in chemical and biochemical laboratories. Nowadays new and innovative ways of using hydrogen are being explored, including fusion plants, motor fuels, and the use of fuel cells.

In 1839 William Robert Grove invented the concept by which hydrogen together with oxygen (air) can produce electricity, thus laying the foundation stone for fuel cells. Essentially a fuel cell is a device that uses a fuel (usually hydrogen) to create electricity. The method is fairly simple. Hydrogen is introduced to one side of the fuel cell known as the anode. The hydrogen atom is then stripped of its electron as it progresses through the cell. The electron goes through a conductor to create an electrical current. At the other end, the hydrogen joins up with oxygen and forms water (H₂O). So, when we use a fuel cell, we create clean power (electricity) with pure water as the only by-product, both in significant amounts.

Since its discovery, the development of fuel cells has been one of the most difficult technological problems. Systematic research during the last 30–40 years has been fruitful. As certain types of fuel cells are now commonly available, albeit at high cost, several pilot plants have been built which operate successfully. In conclusion, it is still considered an emerging technology, but very promising both for electricity generation and for cogeneration.