Metallic Hydrogen

[Stars_InTheirEyes]

Sensationalist headline grabbed my attention today:
Hydrogen turned into metal in stunning act of alchemy that could revolutionise technology and spaceflight

I don't really understand, but what I gather is:
- a 'metallic' hydrogen something (molecule?) was 'crushed' between two diamonds at immense pressure and below freezing temperatures
- takes tremendous energy to make
- they are unsure if it will be stable or will decay at room temp/pressure
- has super conductor properties (surely would be less so at room temp?)
- if converted back to 'molecular' hydrogen, energy would be released and it would be the most powerful rocket propellent around

Early days, but is it something with potential to change a lot? Or just another thing to sweep under the rug as an interesting but largely impractical experiment?

[Morkonan]

Metallic hydrogen can be found in the core of some planets. IIRC, it is stable.

(Diamond anvils are sooooo cool. )

[pjknibbs]

Metallic hydrogen can be found in the core of some planets. IIRC, it is stable.

Presumably it's only stable there because of the enormous pressure it's under, though?

[mrbadger]

Metallic hydrogen can be found in the core of some planets. IIRC, it is stable.

Presumably it's only stable there because of the enormous pressure it's under, though?

And at that it's only Jupiter size planets I think, so it's as inaccessible as it is stable.

[red assassin]

Yeah, I don't get the hype. There's nothing to suggest that it'll be in any way stable for long when you start turning the pressure back down, and that's a hell of a lot of pressure. It's a really cool discovery - it's been predicted for a long time but never demonstrated - but I don't see it changing the world.

[philip_hughes]

Yeah, I don't get the hype. There's nothing to suggest that it'll be in any way stable for long when you start turning the pressure back down, and that's a hell of a lot of pressure. It's a really cool discovery - it's been predicted for a long time but never demonstrated - but I don't see it changing the world.

Now you've done it... tomorrow's headline will now be: "metallic hydrogen changes world"

[Jericho]

Yeah, I don't get the hype. There's nothing to suggest that it'll be in any way stable for long when you start turning the pressure back down, and that's a hell of a lot of pressure. It's a really cool discovery - it's been predicted for a long time but never demonstrated - but I don't see it changing the world.

Pffff. You're so short-sighted. They said the same thing about the Slanket and the SnakeLight.

[red assassin]

I'll take metallic hydrogen changing the world over the other things/people likely to change it right now, that's for sure.

[xalien]

I remember reading about metallic hydrogen when I was a schoolboy 30 years ago, so it's not exactly a "new" thing. Don't remember what exactly the article was about (other than describing it's properties), maybe today it's the first time they've managed to make a sample of it or found a way to make manufacturing process commercially viable.

[UniTrader]

Awesome stuff if it really it, but the coming months will tell when this experiment is verified by other Labs.. the production of Metallic Hydrogen has been announced serveral times since its existence has been theorized, and so far none of them could be confirmed/reroduced.

Early days, but is it something with potential to change a lot? Or just another thing to sweep under the rug as an interesting but largely impractical experiment?

well, Liquid Hydrogen is, if the predictions are correct, an awesome stuff in multiple ways:
=> Supraconductivity at room Temperature, or maybe slightly above 0°C (the best "high temperature supraconductors" gain this property somewhere below 100°C, so they need immense cooling, MH could be cooled enough by Ice from your Fridge)
=> it is optimal as Rocket Propellant for at least 2 reasons:
-> Energy per Weight AND per Vloume is several times higher than all currently known Propellants, so a much smaller Rocket could achieve tha same (or a bigger Rocket could lift far more), current propellants ate mostely a tradeof for better Energy per Volume (i think RP1 falls into this) or per Mass (Liquid Hydrogen) - this is just a Guess, but a Rocket with the size and mass of the Falcon 9 could do the same as what the Saturn V did in the 70s
-> not entirely sure about this but from what i have read it is a Monopropellant (the Energy of MH is released when it is forced to decay into regular Hydrogen, no Oxidizer needed) which greatly simplifies plumbing for the Engine because you only need one kind of "Fuel", opposed to two like all of todayd Rockets have. it may make the ther Monopropellants for controlling the Spaceship redundant, which would further simplify things (last one is an assumption by me, more knowledge about the real Properties of MH is needed first though)


PS and no, i am not an expert in this field, but i have read multiple articles about this stuff in the last months..