• Hydrogen used to be a lifting agent for zeppelins.Zeppelin in hangar image by zeppelins from Fotolia.com
  
  Hydrogen, represented by H in the periodic table, is the lightest chemical element. It is the most abundant element in the Universe, but despite this, naturally occurring hydrogen is rare on Earth, so, to make use of its unique qualities, it has to be manufactured. Manufacturing techniques vary but all involve a catalytic chemical reaction to produce hydrogen gas.
  
  

Rocket Fuels

• Hydrogen is used in rocket fuel.rocket image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com
  
  Thanks to its highly combustible nature liquid Hydrogen can be combined with oxygen to form an effective rocket fuel. The two are put together at launch and form an explosive mixture, which when ignited creates huge amounts of pressure within the rocket which in turn propels it into the air. The dangers of hydrogen being used as rocket fuel were all too clear in 1986 when the U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after take-off.
  
  

Chemical Processes

• Hydrogen is found in all acids.vitamin c - ascorbic acid image by Cornelia Pithart from Fotolia.com
  
  Hydrogen's most common use is within chemical processes. Hydrogen is found in all acids. In some, like hydrochloric acid, it is used directly to create the acid.
  
  It is used in the production of gasoline. It helps to break down the crude oil in its original state to the refined gasoline that we put in our cars.
  
  Fertilizer requires ammonia and to make ammonia hydrogen must be used.
  
  

Lifting Agent

• Hydrogen is the lightest element and as such it makes a perfect lifting agent. It famously lifted and carried the Hindenburg zeppelin across the Atlantic to a disastrous end after the gas ignited. Today, helium is used in airships as it is safer, but hydrogen gas is still used in weather balloons (they are much smaller than zeppelins and pose no risk to humans) to carry weather reading equipment high up into the atmosphere.
  
  

Thermonuclear Energy

• Hydrogen can be used to create huge amounts of energy by way of a nuclear reaction. When it is heated to an extreme temperature its atoms fuse and when this happens a huge amount of energy is released. This is what happens when a hydrogen bomb explodes.
  
  This reaction, if harnessed correctly, could be used to produce electricity but as yet scientist have been unable to do so.
  
  

Future Car Fuel

• Although not yet common, hydrogen is capable of fueling a car. Just like gasoline it is highly flammable and can combust to provide the energy needed to move the pistons in an engine. The best part about it is its emissions--the burning of gasoline produces CO2, but the only product of burning Hydrogen is water. At the moment hydrogen costs so much to make that it is not a feasible replacement for gasoline.