Alina Khan

Due Date: 12/19/18

Professor Michael Grove

English 21003

Literature Review Paper

 

The Ultimate SuperConductor “Metallic Hydrogen”

 

        One of the rarest and most valuable electrical conductors, known as the “Metallic Hydrogen,” was created by scientists at Harvard University in Massachusetts. The holy grail of high-pressure physics becomes a reality. While scientists were determined to create this superconductor since 1935, many years later, Harvard scientists succeeded in creating this new phenomenon. This new superconductor, created with the hardest material, diamond, has changed the lives of people throughout the world, being used for technological advances, such as rocket fuel. Metallic Hydrogen has proven to be a cheaper alternative for other electrical conductors.

       Current conductors are utilized for the flow of an electrical current in different directions. Most common electrical conductors are made with metal, through which electrical current is produced by positively or negatively charged ions. Researchers Yuki Kato, Satoshi Hori, Toshiya Saito,  Kota Suzuki, Masaaki Hirayama, Akio Mitsui, Masao Yonemura, Hideki Iba, and Ryoji Kanno(2016), addresses that, “A fabricated all-solid-state cell based on this lithium conductor is found to have very small internal resistance.” The researchers explain the fragility of the current conductors which are used for the flow of electrical currents. They describe the conductors created with lithium having very low resistance. Currently, we utilize lithium ion, which is the conductor found in most batteries. “The development of all-solid-state batteries still falls short of expectation largely because of the lack of suitable candidate materials for the electrolyte required for practical applications(Kato, 2016).” This material processes high power of which helps the performance of batteries, however still lacks the use of well-built materials.            

        According to the Periodic Table of Elements, hydrogen (H) is the smallest element of them all, containing only 1 atomic number and 1 electron configuration. This means that it is the lightest element on Earth, acquiring an atomic weight of 1.00794. “Hydro” comes from the Greek language, meaning water. Hydrogen exists as a gas at room temperature, that is colorless, tasteless, and odorless. When cooling this element to low temperatures, it transforms into a liquid, a process similar to condensation. After forming into a liquid, it solidifies when cooling it to colder temperatures under 14 degrees. When compressing solid hydrogen to a high density, it will result in pressures where the molecules in hydrogen will disperse into an atomic solid. Since hydrogen is the most common element in Earth, it can easily be produced. This is known as a metal, thus creating metallic hydrogen. Metallic hydrogen is one of the most abundant resources on Earth. On the other hand, superconductors are created with electrons of an atom which transfers to another atom during a critical temperature. A critical temperature is known as the temperature in its critical state.              

          Although scientists have been trying to create metallic hydrogen for hundreds of years, this dream has become a reality in 2017. The superconductor, metallic hydrogen, will revolutionize future technology. Scientists achieve extreme temperatures through metallic hydrogen since the power lines would not lose electricity during transmission. Normally, other electrical conductors would lose its’ heat energy due to resistance. Researchers, Ranga P. Das and Isaac F. Silvera(2017), observe the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen. They report the production of metallic hydrogen in a heavy steel diamond cell. The researchers have studied solid molecular hydrogen under pressure at low temperatures. Using the properties of atomic metal, scientists have discovered metallic hydrogen. On the other hand, researchers Egor Babaev, Asle Sudbo, N.W. Ashcroft(2004), predict that, “In the presence of a magnetic field, liquid metallic hydrogen will exhibit several phase transitions to ordered states, ranging from superconductors to superfluids.” Along with the power of the superconductor, Ashcroft(2004) had predicted that metallic hydrogen may be a room temperature superconductor. However, scientists Isaac F. Silvera and John W. Cole(2010), state that, “If metallic hydrogen is a metastable substance and can be economically produced in the laboratory then it would be the most powerful chemical rocket propellant in existence.” The material which was utilized for the metallic hydrogen allows an improvisation in energy storage and production due to its zero resistance, that enables the superconductor to store excess energy.  To add on to this, “Above some critical temperature the metastability of metallic hydrogen is overcome and the atoms recombine into hydrogen molecules releasing the energy of recombination, 216 MJ/kg. This is more than twenty times the specific energy released by the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen in the Space Shuttle’s main engines, 10 MJ/kg(Silvera, 2010).” The performance of metallic hydrogen uses a large amount of potential energy. Metallic hydrogen releases more energy than most electrical conductors. The atoms recombine to increase the release of energy.

        Therefore, metallic hydrogen is the superconductor which has empowered other electrical conductors. Scientists and researchers explain the use of other electrical conductors, but display evidence to prove that metallic hydrogen will provide more benefits to the society through its properties of more heat resistance, electrostatic repulsion, and it’s creation through the hard metal diamond. The utilization of metallic hydrogen will allow a cheaper alternative for a cheaper conductor, allow a easier transportation system such as high-speed trains, and also improve the presentation of electronic devices. Scientists continue to examine the advantages of metallic hydrogen and seek to find other superconductors which will prove to be beneficial to the society as a whole.        

 

Citations:

1.)Kato, Y., Hori, S., Saito, T., Suzuki, K., Hirayama, M., Mitsui, A., . . . Kanno, R. (2016). High-power all-solid-state batteries using sulfide superionic conductors. Nature Energy, 1(4), 16030. doi:10.1038/nenergy.2016.30

2.)Dias, R. P., & Silvera, I. F. (2017). Observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen. Science, 355(6326), 715-718. doi:10.1126/science.aal1579

3.)Babaev, E., Sudbø, A., & Ashcroft, N. W. (2004). A superconductor to superfluid phase transition in liquid metallic hydrogen. Nature, 431(7009), 666-668. doi:10.1038/nature02910

4.)Silvera, I. F., & Cole, J. W. (2010). Metallic hydrogen: The most powerful rocket fuel yet to exist. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 215, 012194. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/215/1/012194

5.)Lin, C. (2018, December 06). How Much Hydrogen Is There in the World? Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/much-hydrogen-there-world-7495331.html