Mystery of missing hydrogen

November 24, 2008

Something vital is missing in the far distant reaches of the Universe: hydrogen - the raw material for stars, planets and possible life.

The discovery of its apparent absence from distant galaxies by a team of Australian astronomers is puzzling because hydrogen gas is the most common constituent of normal matter in the Universe.

If anything, hydrogen was expected to be more abundant so early in the life of the Universe because it had not yet been consumed by the formation of all the stars and galaxies we know today.

Dr Steve Curran and colleagues at the University of New South Wales made their observations with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in India, which comprises thirty 45-metre-diameter dishes and is one of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes. The results are to be published in a forthcoming issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

By looking at galaxies in which the light has taken over 11.5 billion years to reach us, they found an apparent lack of hydrogen when the Universe was only two billion years old - long before our own Sun and all other stars in the present Universe had formed.

Stars form when extremely cold clouds of hydrogen collapse under their own gravity until they become dense enough to ignite nuclear fusion. Over billions of years, this leads the formation of the heavier elements that make up planets, people and other matter. Each galaxy should contain gas masses equivalent to several billion stars, as in the Milky Way.

"Since hydrogen gas is consumed by star formation, we may expect more hydrogen gas in the distant, and therefore earlier, Universe as all of the stars we see today have yet to form," Dr Curran says.

His group analysed the data from optical telescopes and found that, although apparently dim due to their immense distances, the distant galaxies actually emit vast amounts of energy.

This energy is generally believed to result from the friction of the material spiralling at close to the speed of light into the black hole lurking within the heart of each galaxy. These "quasars" are found all over the sky but occur predominantly in the early Universe.

"At such distances, only the most optically bright objects are known," Dr Curran says. "The intense radiation from the matter accreting into the black hole in these quasars is extreme and we believe that this radiation is ripping the electrons from the atoms, destroying the hydrogen gas."

This would leave the gas as a soup of free subatomic particles known as a "plasma", which cannot be detected at the radio frequencies searched.

"Searching for neutral hydrogen in quasar host galaxies at such distances is really pushing current radio telescopes to their limits," Dr Curran says. "With the next generation of instruments, such as the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, we may be able to probe deep enough to find just how ionised the gas is.

"Meanwhile, astronomers should search for sources of radio emission that have no optical counterpart. The emission tells us that something invisible to an optical telescope is there. Such galaxies would host more benign quasars in which we may detect the neutral gas."

University of New South Wales

---

---

	Hydrogen: The Essential Element by John S. Rigden (Author) Seduced by simplicity, physicists find themselves endlessly fascinated by hydrogen, the simplest of atoms. Hydrogen has shocked, it has surprised, it has embarrassed, it has humbled--and again and again it has guided physicists to the edge of new vistas where the promise of basic understanding and momentous insights beckoned. The allure of hydrogen, crucial to life and critical to scientific discovery, is at the center of this book, which tells a story that begins with the big bang and continues to unfold today. In this biography of hydrogen, John Rigden shows how this singular atom, the most abundant in the universe, has helped unify our understanding of the material world from the smallest scale, the elementary particles, to the largest, the universe itself. It is a tale of...
	How to Build Solar Hydrogen Generator (How to Kill your Debt with Free Renewable Energy, Fuels & Self-Sustainability) The problem with converting water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis is that often you almost put in as much electricity, fuel or energy into splitting the molecules as the stored energy you get back. By letting a solar panel do the work for you, not only will you never pay for fuel again, but you’re running your car by the Sun and Water!
	100% Hydrogen Conversion for Autos/Trucks/SUVs In the summer of 2010 Frederick W. Wood & David Seigler, from Future Energy Concepts, Inc. released a video on YouTube which caused a viral stir on the internet. Their 14:30 minute video showed a 2004 Dodge truck that was modified with NEW high output Hydrogen Generator (HHO). They turned off the gas fuel system and ran the truck ONLY on H20 (water)! They explained how the system worked in detailed, as they drove it around the block. They announced the truck just completed a 3000 mile trip and used about 12 gallons of H20. Fred W. Wood also said this vital information was available to the public as OPEN SOURCE technology for all to use. This is the INFORMATION! (also available in paperback on Amazon.com)
	HYDROGEN - Hot Stuff Cool Science 2nd edition: Discover the Future of Energy by Rex A. Ewing (Author) Discover the solid science and cutting-edge technologies behind hydrogen energy and fuel cells, and learn how we will use this energy in our homes and buildings, vehicles and public transportation, for electricity in remote areas and for backup power, and much more. Zed, the wise wizard of the Wasserstoff Farm, leads readers through chapters that include an overview of basic chemistry and energy transformation; a look at global warming and the annual U.S. energy consumption; electrolysis and other ways of extracting hydrogen from water; extracting hydrogen from coal, natural gas and biomass; ethanol and methanol production; nuclear energy and hydrogen production; using wind and solar energy for hydrogen production; hydrogen storage; internal combustion engines fueled by hydrogen; and fuel...
	Hydrogen Fuel: Production, Transport, and Storage by Ram B. Gupta (Editor) From Methane to Hydrogen—Making the Switch to a Cleaner Fuel Source The world’s overdependence on fossil fuels has created environmental problems, such as air pollution and global warming, as well as political and economic unrest. With water as its only by-product and its availability in all parts of the world, hydrogen promises to be the next great fuel source. All of the Key Aspects of Hydrogen Fuel Hydrogen Fuel: Production, Transport, and Storage describes various aspects of hydrogen fuel, including production from both renewable and nonrenewable sources, purification, storage, transport, safety, codes, and carbon dioxide sequestration. The book examines the unique properties and uses of the hydrogen molecule, its ability to be produced from numerous energy sources, and its...
	How to Run your Car on Water (How to Kill your Debt with Free Renewable Energy, Fuels & Self-Sustainability) Never pay for fuel again! Either run on straight water (HHO) of just offset your current gas mileage with hydrogen. By dumping hydrogen from this generator right into your air intake, your computer will regulate and restrict the amount of gasoline the engine burns, giving you up to 60-80mpg.
	Hydrogen Peroxide: Medical Miracle by William Campbell Douglass II (Author) Peroxides are supposed to be bad for you. Free radicals and all that. But now we hear that hydrogen peroxide is good for us. Hydrogen peroxide will put extra oxygen in your blood. There's no doubt about that. Hydrogen peroxide costs pennies. So if you can get oxygen into the blood cheaply and safely, maybe cancer (which doesn't like oxygen), emphysema, AIDS, and many other terrible diseases can be treated effectively. Intravenous hydrogen peroxide rapidly relieves allergic reactions, influenza symptoms, and acute viral infections. No one expects to live forever. But we would all like to have a George Burns finish. The prospect of finishing life in a nursing home after abandoning your tricycle in the mobile home park is not appealing. Then comes the loss of control of vital functions the...
	Hydrogen Age, The: Empowering a Clean-Energy Future by Geoffrey Holland (Author), James Provenzano (Author) Hydrogen stands out as the best alternative to traditional polluting fossil fuels for many reasons-it can be produced without pollution, is nontoxic and noncorrosive, and we can never run out of it. It is as safe as or safer than the fuels we currently use and can be made virtually anywhere. The Hydrogen Age explains this promising fuel, shows how it can be harnessed to serve virtually all of our energy needs, and reveals why hydrogen is destined to become the clean, safe, renewable fuel of choice for the future. For more information, visit www.theh2age.com. (20071001)
	How to Make Hydrogen (The Secret Oil Companies Don't Want You to Know) Feeling pain at the pump? Considering alternatives to oil? This guide explain how you can create an endless supply of fuel right from your home. Give it a try!
	Fuel from Water: Energy Independence with Hydrogen by Michael A. Peavey (Author) The book advocates hydrogen fuel as the best long-term alternative to fossil fuels and as a way to stop polluting the air and subsidizing terrorists. Shows how to generate hydrogen by electrolysis, how to convert an internal combustion engine to hydrogen, and how hydrogen can be used in home appliances.