Not only in the planet earth, but in the whole universe, Hydrogen is considered as the most common and abundant element. Why is it so? What is the reason behind it? All these answers and explanations are given by a professor of chemistry at Oregon State University.
According to Live Science, May Nyman, who is the professor of Chemistry subject at the Oregon State University, said that to find the reason behind Hydrogen being the most common element in the universe, theories of the Big Bang must be checked first. This is because; the Big Bang is responsible for creating the periodic table elements. These elements are considered as the building blocks of the whole universe.
In terms of science, the elements like Hydrogen, Helium, Sulphur or any elements have subatomic particles in it, having a unique number of those particles, namely protons, electrons, and neutrons. They contain specific charge in them, such as protons are positively charged, neutrons are neutral in nature and electrons are negatively charged.
The element Hydrogen has only one proton and one electron and is the only element which has no neutrons. Therefore it is considered as the simplest element in the universe and gives a valid reason for it to be the most abundant and common element in the universe.
As per estimation from the Jefferson Lab, approximately 90 percent of the visible universe is framed by Hydrogen proving that being in the simplest form, this element is the most common and abundant element in the universe. Nyman also said that Hydrogen atoms fuse and produce helium, which is the second most abundant and common element in the universe. Both the elements together, i.e. Helium and Hydrogen make up 99% of the universe.
Still, in the universe, there is about 10 times more Hydrogen than helium. Being the third abundant and common element in the universe, Oxygen is 1000 times less abundant than Hydrogen. Nyman reported that in the periodic table, the higher is the atomic number, the less abundant is that element in the universe. She added that apart from the universe, Hydrogen in terms of Hydrogen bonds play very vital roles in the human body.
