jimk@fab4.UUCP (jimk) (10/14/89)
Mark Seiffert writes: >They question i have is what about Hydrogen. It has one valence >electron, is Hydrogen gas conductive? If it is, how would you measure >it? I remember from a long time ago when i used to read a lot there >was an article in Scientific American It's funny you brought this up at this time, as there is another short article on this subject in the current Sci. Am. ----- Some excertps: Stupendous pressure generated in a nutcracker like device has apparently turned hydrogen into metal. [Researchers] subjected a tiny sample of hydrogen, in an area less than 20 microns wide to a steady pressure of more than 2.5 MILLION atmospheres in a press called a diamond-anvil cell. The transfomation of the hydrogen takes only two or three minutes and can be seen through a microscope. At first the hydrogen is squeezed to a transparent solid form that is known to be non-conducting. But above 2 MILLION atmosphers the solid gradually darkens, indicating its transition to a semi-conducter. It is calculated that hydrogen metal will superconduct at temperatures above the freezing point of carbon dioxide (-79 degrees C). ----- The article goes on to say that when pressure is released the sample turns transparent, although they feel that by slowly removing the pressure the sample will retain its opacity. It also mentions how the stuff would make excellect rocket fuel. Cheers! Jim Kendall jimkfab4 -- Jim Kendall +------------------------------+ O-O - - o o The fab way: jimk@fab4 | This message was prerecorded |_ | ^ ' The gear way: fab4!jimk +------------------------------+ \__ ~
carl@aoa.UUCP (Carl Witthoft) (10/17/89)
In article <73@fab4.UUCP> jimk@fab4.UUCP (Jim Kendall) writes: [interesting stuff...]> >It is calculated that hydrogen metal will superconduct at temperatures >above the freezing point of carbon dioxide (-79 degrees C). Interestingly enough ( ???), all the theory and projections that Jimk posted are unchanged from what I heard back in grad school, 1978 (1978, NOT 1987:=) ). It's nice to hear that some experiments finally have been done... -- Alix' Dad ( Carl Witthoft @ Adaptive Optics Associates) {harvard,ima}!bbn!aoa!carl 54 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge,MA 02140 617-864-0201 "disclaimer? I'm not a doctor, but I do have a Master's Degree in Science!"